Replicating Your AD Domain Controller in the Cloud
Your Active Directory (AD) is a critical component in your IT infrastructure. This blog will walk you through the quick and easy steps to build an offsite replica of your AD Domain Controller using Pertino.
Download and install Pertino
Download and install Pertino on your existing AD server.
Change your AD server to be a Resource
Log into the Pertino Web Interface https://app.pertino.com
Click on the Device View and select your AD controller. You should see the option to make this device a Resource. For Pertino, a Resource is a device that has been identified as a sever--critical in order for this machine to be added as an ADConnect server.
Enable Pertino ADConnect
Log into the Pertino web console https://app.pertino.com
Go to AppScape and Activate the ADConnect service.
Once activated, click on MyApps, and Add your AD server as a name server.
Build a Windows server in the cloud and install Pertino on it
Fire up a Windows 2008R2 or 2012 virtual machine (VM) on your public cloud provider of choice.
Want a free option? Check out AWS Free Tier: http://aws.amazon.com/Free
Add the server to the domain and promote it
Because we enabled ADConnect in the step above, you can add your new server VM to Pertino just as if it were on the local LAN. Once added to your original AD domain, promote the server VM to a AD Domain Controller as follows:
Windows 2008
- From the command prompt type: dcpromo
Windows 2012
That’s it. You have successfully configured AD Connect and used it to replicate your AD to a server in the cloud.