Hello,
need an Active Directory server. But what is the best place to install the "Active Directory Domain Services" ? On
the host server or inside a VM?
It is not recommended to run a DC on a VM for performance reasons. If in production environment you still want to run DCs on VMs, it is recommended to run at least one DC / DNS / GC on a physical machine and that this DC will be the FSMO holder.
It is recommended to have at least two DC / DNS / GC servers per domain.
As you are only creating a test environment, you can run DCs on VMs without problems.
I think that installing AD on the host machine directly would leave more room for the VMs. But would there be any
adverse consequences for having Hyper-V role and "Active Directory Domain Services" role running on the same server?
For performance reasons, it will be better to run it on physical servers. That is all.
Advice: If you are using multiple DCs, never use snapshots / images as they cause USN rollbacks when restoring.
This
posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.
Microsoft Student
Partner 2010 / 2011
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator:
Security
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer:
Security
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist:
Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist:
Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist:
Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist:
Windows 7, Configuring
Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise
Administrator
Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Server Administrator
