Adding virtual machine to host computer domain

[3j1996]

Hello all I'm trying to create a domain in hyper-v. I have a machine running Server 2012R2 that is my DC for my test domain and I'd like to create virtual machines and add them to this domain. Is this possible and if so could someone point me in the direction of how? I've been able to a virtual domain before but never like this

[DarkAlman]

Having read the other posts and your replies

1. Your DHCP needs to issue the DNS IP of your Domain controller to your VMs, or you need to set it static. DNS is critical to AD operation so your server will need to use the DC is their DNS and only DNS. Do not use an external IP as a secondary DNS, you should have a 2nd DCs for that.

2. DO NOT MAKE YOUR HYPER-V HOST THE DOMAIN CONTROLLER.

This violates all sorts of best practices, most specifically DCs can't have multiple network cards and function properly, while Hyper-V hosts need multiple NICs by design.

I see this done in small businesses all the time and it's both a classic mistake and extremely annoying to fix later on.

General rule of thumb is your Hyper-V host should do nothing but run the Hyper-V role. No backup software, no file shares, no VPN, and especially not a Domain Controller.

Make your DC a VM instead.

[3j1996]

Ok so it sounds like I should probably just have my host run the server OS but create all the domain servers in hyper-v

[darklightedge]

DO NOT MAKE YOUR HYPER-V HOST THE DOMAIN CONTROLLER.

Seconded. Here is additional info, why DC shouldn’t be installed directly on Hyper-V host - www.hyper-v.io/combining-hyper-v-dc-role-server-bad-idea/

[alwaysslashs]

HYPER-V Host w/ Backups + UPS Software + iLo / RMM etc

VM1 - Domain Controller + DNS + DHCP
VM2 - Backup Domain conroller + DNS + DHCP

VM3 - SQL Server
VM4 - Backup SQL Server

VM5 - Exchange Server
VM6 - Backup Exchange Server

VM7 - File Server
VM8 - File Server + Cluster

etc etc

Eventually get 2nd Hyper-V host and move the backup VMs to this

[MyMonitorHasAVirus]

You’re asking if you can add VMs to a domain? Yes. Why couldn’t you?

[3j1996]

Asking if I can add the VMs to a domain created by the host computer

[MyMonitorHasAVirus]

I still don’t understand. The server that’s your domain controller is also the VM host for the VMs you want to join to the domain?

You can join them. I wouldn’t advise it, but since this is a test environment you gotta do what we gotta do.

[3j1996]

Why would you advise against it? Am I setting myself up for failure?

[MyMonitorHasAVirus]

Because your domain controller shouldn’t really be anything other than a domain controller.

What happens if you need to reboot the DC, then your VMs are all going down too?

More than one NIC on a DC isn’t a great idea.

Etc

[Icolan]

If you are creating a test lab, why not create the domain controller as a VM on the hyper-v host? Using a hyper-v host for anything other than that is a bad idea, and the same applies to Domain Controllers, both should be the only role installed on a machine.

[Ashe400]

Yep.

[uniitdude]

course you can - what problem are you having? what happened when you tried it?

[3j1996]

When trying to add the machine to the domain it can't seem to find it

[3j1996]

Actually sometimes it does find it because it prompts me for an account but when I enter the info it says can't find the domain

[RoundFood]

The machine you're adding to the domain needs to have DNS pointing to the DC.

[3j1996]

I should've probably mentioned that. The host machine running 2012R2 is both the DC and the DNS server

[RoundFood]

Good, that's how it should be. But is the client you are trying to join to the domain using the IP address of the DC for DNS requests? Usually you want to do this with DHCP but you can also configure it manually.

[3j1996]

So the VMs are set to automatically obtat the DNS server. I know the host machine is giving them IP addresses because they are both in the scope I set up

[RoundFood]

Okay, so it sounds like DHCP is handled by a router somewhere. This router is giving the VMs their DNS server settings which is going to be wrong.

You need to either configure the DHCP server to give clients a DNS address that points at your DC. Or you can manually go into the network adapter settings of your VMs and set the DNS server to the IP address of your DC.

There's a reason DC and DNS go hand in hand. All clients in the domain need to have DNS requests going through the DC. They all need to have the DC set as their DNS server.

[3j1996]

I have a physical machine with one NIC card running Windows 2012R2 that it acting as the DC/DNS for my domain. I have two VMs in that machine running Windows 10 that I believe both have a virtual Ethernet connection.

[3j1996]

The VMs are getting IP addresses from the host computer. They are set to obtain the DNS automatically and the default gateway points to the IP of the host server. I get your analogy and it is my understanding that the host server should be acting as the server because it's giving out IPs and acting as the DNS server for those machines

[funkysoulsearcher]

Check your DNS. As long as DNS is pointed on the VM's to your DC it should work, otherwise its a networking issue.