Adding Windows 7 to the Domain Environment

In a corporate environment, the client machines (Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7) will be connected to the domain environment. There are two ways to connect the Windows 7 machine to the domain. You can connect the Windows 7 machine to the domain from the Windows 7 operating system or from Active Directory.

It does not matter which way you choose to connect the machine to the domain. We usually connect the Windows 7 machine through the Windows operating system, but either way does the same task.

Having the Windows 7 machine on the domain offers many benefits to administration, such as the following:

• You can deploy Group Policy Objects (GPOs) from one location instead of Local Group Policy Objects (LGPOs) on each machine.
• Users can back up their data to a server. This way, the nightly backups cover user information. Most Windows 7 machines will not be backed up separately.
• You can manage users and groups from one central location (Active Directory) instead of on each Windows 7 machine.
• You can manage security to resources on servers instead of resources on each Windows 7 machine.

Perform the following steps to connect a Windows 7 machine to a Windows Server 2008 domain:

1. On the Windows 7 machine, click Start and then right-click Computer. Choose Properties from the context menu.
2. In the Computer Name, Domain, And Workgroup section, click the Change Settings link.
3. Click the Change button next to the To Rename This Computer Or Change Its Domain Or Workgroup section.
4. In the Member Of section, click the Domain radio button and type the name of the Windows Server 2008 domain previously created.
5. A Credentials dialog box appears that asks for the administrator's username and password. Enter the Administrators username and password and then click OK.
6. A dialog box stating that you are part of the domain appears. Click OK and reboot the machine.
7. From the Windows 7 machine, log onto the domain with your username and password.

You also have the ability to create the computer account in the Active Directory Users and Computers MMC snap-in.

Perform the following steps to add the Windows 7 machine to the domain from the Active Directory snap-in:

1. From the Windows Server 2008 machine, click Start → Administrative Tools → Active Directory Users And Computers.
2. Expand the domain and right-click the Computers OU. Choose New → Computer.
3. In the Computer Name field, type the name of the Windows 7 computer. Click OK.
4. Double-click the new Windows 7 computer in the right-hand window to open its properties.
5. Take a look at the different tabs and then click the Cancel button.

In the next section, we look at one of the most exciting technologies to hit the market in a long time: virtualization.