There are three ways in which you can add the Active Directory domain controller server role to a server:

  • You can add the role interactively by using the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard. The rest of this topic explains how to start the wizard, and it provides links to additional topics that explain the options that are available on each wizard page.

  • You can perform an unattended installation by running the dcpromo /unattend command with the appropriate parameters at the command line. For more information, see Installing an Additional Domain Controller by Using the Command Line (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128100).

  • You can automate the installation by using an answer file. For more information, see Installing an Additional Domain Controller by Using an Answer File (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128101).

You can add the Active Directory domain controller server role interactively by starting the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard in the following ways:

  • You can use the Add Roles Wizard. You can access the Add Roles Wizard in the following ways:

    • Click Add Roles in Initial Configuration Tasks, the application that appears when you first install the operating system.

    • Click Add Roles in Server Manager, which is always available on the Administrative Tools menu and through an icon in the notification area.

    The Add Roles Wizard installs the files that are required to install and configure Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) on a server, but the Add Roles Wizard does not start the actual AD DS installation. When you complete the Add Roles Wizard, click the link to start the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard and install AD DS.

  • You can click Start, click Run, and then type dcpromo. As an alternative, you can type dcpromo at a command prompt, as in previous versions of the Windows Server operating system.

  • A member of the Domain Admins group can precreate a read-only domain controller (RODC) account by using the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. (Either right-click the Domain Controllers container or click the Domain Controllers container and click Action, and then click Pre-create Read-only Domain Controller account.) A delegated RODC administrator can perform the next stage of the RODC installation by running the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard on a server to attach that server to the RODC account. For more information about using this method to install an RODC, see Performing a Staged Installation of a Read-Only Domain Controller.

The following topics provide more information about specific wizard pages that you might encounter when you install AD DS:

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