Re: Looking for a step by step guide on setting up AD

Thanks all who responded.

Herb Martin wrote:
But do realize that ANY such "step by step" or "checklist" is going to be
for an "average" or "typical" setup and that learning just a little bit
about AD, but learning that little bit really correctly and well, is in
most cases
much easier and more effective since it allows you to tailor the methods
to
your own environment and needs.

You nailed it !
In all honesty, I had already stumbled across Microsoft's top-level sites
for Active Directory, namely
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/directory/activedirectory/
and its counterpart at TechNet:
http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/technologies/featured/ad/default.mspx
and the corresponding Step-by-Step Guides.
Now the real question is: Where do I begin ? Where? (That was the aim of my
original post.)
I'm not sure how well served are freelance IT consultants (like me) with
this enormous amount of information in the shape of loosely coupled
publications on a single technology, AD in this case.
I would be better served if there existed a highly digestible, low
signal-to-noise ratio, single document with a balanced amount of conceptual,
theoretical and practical content that guides the implementer through a
satisfactory deployment of the technology. Think of something in the order
of 150 - 200 pages with the famous 80/20 rule at its core, that is, with 20%
of the technology you cover 80% of the scenarios. That would be more in line
with how many independent consultants do business today. When a client
calls, you cannot say "well, wait until I'm done reading this 900+ pages
book on Active Directory". Speaking of books, take a look at the top hits
for "Active Directory" on Amazon. The titles range from 500 - 900 pages.
Even "Active Directory for Dummies" from 1999 is 400+ pages long. Of course,
there must be room for specialization, but the entry barrier for getting
things done should be low.
Sometimes I think less is more.

Thanks,
Fernando

"Herb Martin" <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OwQmcrgmIHA.4712@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Fernando Ronci" <fernandoronci@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ejxX5NfmIHA.536@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi,

Can anyone please recommend me a step by step walkthrough on setting up a
Domain Controller and Active Directory on Windows Server 2003 ?

Yes, search the built-in help for these:

checklist DNS
checklist active directory

Or just simple: checklist and select either the (single) Active Directory
checklist
link, or the many AD related KB articles.

I've found lots of articles, white papers and blog posts on AD, but not
the kind of thorough, one-stop, step-by-step guide that explains how to
carry out a professional setup of Active Directory in a corporate
environment. Does that document exist ?

Yes. This Google search also works quite nicely for the actual
"step-by-step"
Microsoft guides:

"active directory" "step-by-step" site:microsoft.com

The first entry is this one (when I do the search):

Active Directory Step-by-Step Guides
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/directory/activedirectory/stepbystep/default.mspx

But do realize that ANY such "step by step" or "checklist" is going to be
for an "average" or "typical" setup and that learning just a little bit
about
AD, but learning that little bit really correctly and well, is in most
cases
much easier and more effective since it allows you to tailor the methods
to
your own environment and needs.

Setting up AD itself is trivial in most cases -- you have actually tried
this on
a test machine, right?

Setting it up effectively for a real domain is somewhere between trivial
(also)
and very complex depending on the requirements and environment.

Tell us what you are having trouble understanding or tell us about your
environment and what you plan to actually do. We can help if you give
us specifics... either by giving your direct advice or sending you to more
specific papers and guides in some cases.

Thanks.
Fernando


.

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