Simple domain setup

EJizzel

Does anyone know of any links to setting up a simple domain that I can use for practice. I have VMWare 6.0, a evaluation copy of Server 2003 and windows xp. I wanted to setup a simple domain to have 2003 as my server and be able to join a windows xp client to the domain and maybe even use 2003 as a file server. Thanks

alharland

Hello,

Firstly, what exam are you planning to study for? This will greatly influance how you want your lab setup. Also, the spec of the computer (mainly the amount of RAM) that you run VMware on will also play a major part on how you setup your lab.

If I remember correctly, for my 290 exam, I used VMware with 3 servers (1 DC, 1 member server, and 1 standalone server) and 2 clients, although this was maybe a little over kill for the 290 exam. My computer has a 2Ghz processor, and 2Gb RAM. I found this works perfectly well.

For the 291 exam, that I am currently studying for, I am using 5 servers (I have 2 domains, each with a DC and a member server, and also another server to act as the router between the 2 domains) and 2 clients. I am also in the process of adding an extra 1Gb RAM, as when all the VM's are running at the same time, it does start to go a bit sluggish.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Adam.

EJizzel

Thanks for the reply. I have a 1.8ghz pentium with 1.5gigs for ram. Im getting a new laptop within the week Duo Core 2 (2.2 GHZ) 3 gigs ram. I would like to study for the 70-270 as my 1st cert and wanted to setup a simple domain to join 2 XP workstations to communicate. I definitly plan on getting the 70-290 right afterwards though.

Sie

With that laptop you shouldnt have any problems running the labs you need for those exams.

What you need to bear in mind with Virtual machines is RAM (as mentioned above) you need to first allocate the host machines RAM (The physical machine) then add the RAM for each virtual machine you use.

IE:

You run XP as the host machine using 512MB of RAM, you then have two virtual XP clients running each using 256MB of RAM. Then you will need atleast 1GB of RAM (512+256+256)

Your comment about using two XP clients and one DC should work fine for the 70-270, I would also setup two clients and a member server in a workgroup (to run at a different time) so you can see the differences etc.

Anyway a servers just died here so gotta dash.........

mrj

Since you're getting a laptop, simply create an XP and 2k3 system via VMware and let those run. together. Use nlite and shrink the XP install down if you want.

Creating a domain is simple, dcpromo. You can find this on sites such as www.labmice.net, etc. Unfortunately creating a domain really won't teach you much - it's that simple. Troubleshooting, design, etc is where things get more difficult.