4.3 Changing the Computer Name and Joining the Domain
During the operating system installation on your secondary server,
the Windows Server 2008 R2 setup program selects an arbitrary computer
name, one that no other computer on the local network possesses. During
the initial planning phase of your network deployment, you should have
devised a computer-naming scheme that enables you to select an
appropriate name for your server easily. You also have to join the
server to your AD DS domain manually.
Note
To change your server’s computer name and join it to your domain, use the following procedure:
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Log on to Windows Server 2008 R2 using the local Administrator account. The Initial Configuration Tasks window appears.
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In the Provide computer information section, click Provide computer name and domain. The System Properties sheet appears.
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Click Change. The Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box appears.
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In the Computer name text box, type the name you selected for your server.
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In the Member of box, select the Domain option and type the full name of your AD DS domain.
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Click OK. A Windows Security dialog box appears.
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In the User name text box, type the name of the network Administrator account you created when installing your primary server.
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In the Password text box, type the password associated with the account and click OK. A Computer Name/Domain Changes message box appears, welcoming you to the domain.
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Click OK. Another message box appears, informing you that you must restart the computer.
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Click OK. Then click Close to close the System Properties sheet. A Windows message box appears, prompting you to restart the computer.
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Click Restart now. The computer restarts.
Once the computer has restarted, you can log on using a domain account instead of the local administrator account.
4.4 Moving the Computer Object
Once you have joined the secondary server to your AD DS domain, the server appears in the Windows SBS Console, on the Network/Computers tab, as shown in Figure 3. However, notice that the server appears in the Client computers section, not the Servers section. This is because during the process of joining the server to the domain, the domain controller has no way of distinguishing a server from a workstation.
To move the secondary server to the Servers section and configure it
to receive the Group Policy settings intended for servers, perform the
following:
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Log on to your Windows SBS 2011 primary server using the local Administrator account. The Windows SBS Console appears.
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Click Start. Then click Administrative tools, Active Directory users and computers. The Active Directory Users And Computers Console appears.
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Expand the node named for your domain and browse to the My business/Computers/SBSComputers organizational unit (OU).
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Right-click the computer object representing your secondary server and, in the context menu, select Move. The Move dialog box appears.
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In your domain, browse to and select the My business/Computers/SBSServers OU and click OK. The console moves the computer object to the SBSServers container.
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Close the Active Directory Users And Computers Console.
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In the Windows SBS Console, click Network and select the Computers tab.
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In the Tasks list, click Refresh this view. Your secondary server moves from the Client computers section to the Servers section.
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Restart the secondary server to refresh its Group Policy settings.
