General Tutorial Series (GTS) - VirtualBox Mar 19, 2026 ·updated Mar 25, 2026 ·146 views ·4 min read

Windows Server 2022 Active Directory Installation and Configuration - Virtual Box

In this Lab, you will learn how to configure Active Directory on Windows Server 2022 on Virtual Box

Virtual Box Windows Active Directory Installations

School + Self-Taught

▶ General Tutorial Series GTS · Episode

☰ Tutorial Overview

In this tutorial we walk through the complete installation and configuration of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) on Windows Server 2022 running inside a VirtualBox virtual machine. This is part of the General Tutorial Series — a broad-scope series covering everything from server administration and OS configuration to networking and software setup across multiple platforms.

By the end of this tutorial you will have promoted a standalone server to a Domain Controller, configured DNS, created Organisational Units, user accounts and security groups, joined a Windows 11 client to the domain, and applied your first Group Policy Object — all running safely in an isolated virtual environment.

✓ What's Covered in This Tutorial

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VirtualBox VM Setup Network adapters, RAM, and storage configuration for Server 2022

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Windows Server 2022 Install Clean OS installation with Desktop Experience selected

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AD DS Role Installation Adding the role via Server Manager and PowerShell

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Domain Controller Promotion Creating a new forest and root domain from scratch

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DNS Configuration Forward/reverse lookup zones and record verification

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OUs, Users & Groups Organisational Units, user accounts, and security groups

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Domain Join Joining a Windows 11 client VM to the domain

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Group Policy Basics Creating and linking GPOs for policy enforcement

▶ Video

☷ Step-by-Step Guide

VirtualBox VM Setup Create two virtual machines in VirtualBox 7 — one for the Domain Controller (DC01) running Windows Server 2022, and one for the client machine (Client-Win11) running Windows 11. Configure both VMs with a NAT adapter for internet access and a Host-Only Network adapter for the isolated internal lab network.

Windows Server 2022 Installation Attach the Windows Server 2022 evaluation ISO to DC01 and perform a clean installation. Select Windows Server 2022 Standard (Desktop Experience) to get the full GUI. After installation, rename the server to DC01 and assign a static IP of 192.168.180.1 on the internal adapter with DNS set to 127.0.0.1. Default Gateway can be left blank.

AD DS Role Installation Install the Active Directory Domain Services role through Server Manager → Add Roles and Features, or via PowerShell using Install-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools. This installs the required binaries and management tools without yet creating the domain.

Domain Controller Promotion Click the notification flag in Server Manager and select Promote this server to a domain controller. Choose Add a new forest and set the root domain name to lab.local. Set Forest and Domain functional levels to Windows Server 2016, configure the DSRM password, and proceed through the wizard. The server will configure AD DS and reboot automatically.

DNS Configuration & Verification Open DNS Manager from Server Manager → Tools and verify the lab.local forward lookup zone was created with _msdcs, _tcp, and _udp SRV subfolders. Confirm the reverse lookup zone for 192.168.180.0/24 is present. Run Resolve-DnsName lab.local and nltest /dsgetdc:lab.local in PowerShell to verify.

Organisational Units, Users & Groups Open Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) and create three Organisational Units under lab.local: IT, HR, and Lab Computers. Create user accounts — jadmin (John Admin) in IT and smiller (Sarah Miller) in HR. Create a Global Security Group called IT-Admins in the IT OU and add jadmin as a member.

Domain Join — Windows 11 Client On Client-Win11, assign a static IP of 192.168.180.101 and set DNS to 192.168.180.1 so it can resolve lab.local. Join via System → Rename this PC (advanced) → Domain: lab.local using LAB\Administrator credentials. After reboot, log in as LAB\jadmin to confirm domain authentication is working.

Group Policy Basics Open Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) and create a new GPO named HR-Restrictions linked to the HR OU. Navigate to User Configuration → Policies → Administrative Templates → Control Panel and enable Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings. Run gpupdate /force on the client and verify LAB\smiller is blocked from Control Panel while LAB\jadmin retains full access.

☍ Lab Environment

Component	Details
Hypervisor	Oracle VirtualBox 7.x
Server OS	Windows Server 2022 Standard (Desktop Experience)
Client OS	Windows 11
Network Mode	Host-Only Network / NAT (VirtualBox)
Domain Name	`lab.local`
DC Hostname	`DC01`
DC IP (Internal)	`192.168.180.1`
Client Hostname	`Client-Win11`
Client IP (Internal)	`192.168.180.101`
Key Role	`Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)`

⚙ Skills & Technologies

Active Directory Windows Server 2022 VirtualBox DNS DHCP Group Policy Domain Controller PowerShell Server Manager Virtualisation Kerberos NTFS / SYSVOL

General Tutorial Series (GTS) — This tutorial is part of a broad-scope series covering a wide range of IT topics including server administration, operating systems, networking, and software configuration across multiple platforms. Future episodes will cover Linux administration, additional Windows Server roles, networking fundamentals, and software-specific deep dives.

All steps are demonstrated in an isolated VirtualBox environment. Not intended for production use.