I already had my first contact with Windows 8 in this article described. Of course, I am particularly excited about the new features of the Active Directory. So I set about installing my first Windows 8 Server domain controller.
According to Microsoft, the new version of the Active Directory will bring a few very interesting new features. Firstly, it will be easier and more secure to operate virtual DCs, as a USN rollback will no longer occur when the DC is restored via a snapshot. However, this also requires changes to the hypervisor in order for this to work correctly. Microsoft itself will probably be the first to support this new technology with Hyper-V. However, vmWare and the like are sure to follow suit quickly. With this new technology, which is called "gen ID", it will be possible to clone domain controllers. How exactly this will work remains to be seen J
First install the "Active Directory Domain Services" role
Click on "Next" a few times and the installation will start
After installation, the DC can also be upgraded immediately.
This wizard is also visually somewhat different from Server 2008 R2
Then set the function level, there is a new feature here "Windows Server 8" can be set as the function level
Then click on "Next" again a few times, unfortunately the upgrade fails with this message:
Apparently, the new function level has not yet been included in the Developer Preview. What a pity, I suspect there will be little new to report. So I go back to the beginning and change the function level to "Server 2008 R2", then it works.
In the meantime, the installation has been completed and the server has been restarted, there are new entries in the "Start menu"
The rest is rather unspectacular, the consoles are identical to those under Windows Server 2008 R2. I have not been able to discover any new features so far.
Apparently, not all new features are included in this early preview. I will therefore stop the insight into the Active Directory at this point. But as soon as there is news, you can read about it here.
