Installing Active Directory Services on your Windows Server 2012R2

In this post, I demonstrate how to install Active Directory Domain Services on a freshly installed Windows Server 2012R2 Server. If you missed the previous video, you can watch it at the following link: Windows Server 2012 Prelimary configuration steps. Watch this video to prepare a Windows Server to be pre-configured for installation as a Domain Controller.
After the preliminary steps for the server have been done. Follow these steps:

Log on to the server as administrator
Wait for Server Manager to load.
From the Server Manager Dashboard click number 2 Add Roles and Features
On the Before you begin screen click Next
On the select Installation type ensure that Roles-based or Features-based Installation is selected and click next
On the select Destination Server screen ensure that your target server name is highlighted. In our example that is DC1, then click next.
From the select server roles list select Active Directory Domain Services.
On the Add Roles and Features Wizard pop-up box select Add Features
On the Select Server roles screen, click next
On the Select Features screen, click next.
On the Active Directory Domain Services screen, click next
On the Confirm installation selections screen, check the box to Restart the destination server automatically if required, and click Yes on pop up dialog box.
The installation starts. You can monitor progress on blue bar that is going across.
When the progress bar reaches the end on the Installation Progress screen, notice just beneath the bar, the message that Configuration required, Installation succeded on DC1.
Click on close for the screen, and move your mouse to the top of the Server Manager screen, then click on white flag with the yellow triangle and exclamation point in it. This reveals a menu items that still need to be performed for the installation to be complete. From the resulting menu select the blue link Promote this server to a domain controller, a screen called Deployment Configuration is presented with three options.
Select Add a new forest, then under Specify the domain information for this operation, type your domain name, in this instance where are using Contoso.com, then click next.
On the Domain Controller Options screen type the Directory Services Restore Mode password, and confirm, then click next.
On the DNS Options screen, click next
On the Additional Options screen, wait for the NetBIOS doamin name to be populated. It should say CONTOSO. Click next to go the next screen.
On the Paths screen, leave defaults, and click next.
On Review Options, review your selections, and click next.
Wait for the Prerequisites Check screen to finish populating. then click the Install button to continue
The Installation screen displays progress on your installation. Wait for it to finish.
You’ll get a banner indicating the computer is about to restart.
The computer restarts
Log on to your domain controller, and verify that Active Directory and DNS where installed correctly.
Wait for Server Manager to load.
Notice the additional items listed on the left column. One for ADDS Active Directory Domain Service, and another DNS for Domain Name Service.
Click ont the tools menu in Server Manager. Note the addition of five new entries for Active Directory
Click the DNS on the tools menu.
On the DNS manager expand DC1, then expand forward lookup, then Contoso.com
Click on the contoso.com object and notice the DC1 server in the list of records
Close the DNS Manager
From the tools menu on Server Manager select Active Directory Users and Computers.
On the Active Directory Users and Computers console, expand contoso.com, then click on the Domain Controllers object in the left column. Notice DC1 in the Domain Controllers object.
Close the Active Directory Users and Computers Console.
We have succesfully installed and verified a doman contoller in the contoso.com domain.