22.3. Installing New Domain Controllers

Before you install a domain controller, verify DNS; we touch on this topic again shortly.

After you install the OS on the server, ensure that it has an active network connection and that it can properly communicate with the DNS server. During the Active Directory installation phase, the OS needs to query DNS for domain names in order for the installation to complete successfully. If you will be installing Active Directory on a server that exists within an existing forest, the network connection of this server can be configured to use more than one DNS server. This is necessary because an existing forest may have many DNS servers for each "branch" of the forest, and the Active Directory Installation Wizard on this new server must be able to locate all servers in the forest.