Setting Up Active Directory for Beginners

Windows ServerAD DSGPOSecurityPowerShell
Setting Up Active Directory for Beginners

What I built

  • A Windows Server promoted to a Domain Controller for corp.local (think: the “boss” of the network)
  • A basic OU (Organizational Unit) structure to keep things tidy (Corp Users, Workstations)
  • A couple of users and groups, with a role-based pattern (e.g. Helpdesk group)
  • Password policies – one for everyone, and a stricter one for admins
  • Some baseline Group Policies to lock things down

Core steps (in plain English)

  1. Made the server a Domain Controller – so it could run AD DS.
  2. Created OUs – folders where you keep users/computers for easier management.
  3. Added users & groups – e.g. created Emily Chen, then put her into the Helpdesk group.
  4. Set password rules – 12+ characters for normal users, 16+ for admins.
  5. Applied baseline security policies – through Group Policy Objects (GPOs).

The real lessons (things that went wrong)

  • DNS & time are everything. If your Domain Controller isn’t using itself as DNS or the time drifts, Kerberos breaks and logins fail.

    • Fix: point DNS to 127.0.0.1 and make the DC a reliable time source.

  • Think about OUs first. Don’t dump policies at the domain root. Put computers/users into OUs and link GPOs there.

  • Password rules aren’t always obvious. The “Default Domain Policy” applies to everyone, but fine-grained policies only kick in for the groups you explicitly target.

  • Don’t assume policies applied. Always check with tools like gpresult /r or whoami /all to confirm.

  • Automate early. PowerShell makes life easier when adding multiple users/groups – way faster than clicking.

  • Use groups properly. Instead of giving people permissions directly, add them to groups and assign access at the group level. Cleaner, safer, easier to audit.

Quick checks I ran

  • Get-ADDomain; Get-ADForest – make sure the domain is alive.
  • gpresult /r – confirm which policies apply to a workstation.
  • whoami /all – see what groups/privileges a logged-in user has.

What I learned

  • A reliable AD setup starts with good DNS, correct time, and a sensible OU design.
  • Group Policies are powerful but can also cause chaos – test them in a lab first.
  • Fine-grained password policies are best used for special cases (like admins), not everyone.
  • Scripts > clicking around. Automation makes your setup reproducible.

What’s next

  • Add a second Domain Controller for backup.
  • Set up System State backups.
  • Write and test a restore runbook (so I know how to recover if things break).