Once provisioning completes, copy the generated Kerberos configuration:
This report covers the installation of Samba AD DC on Ubuntu Linux running inside WSL2 on Windows 11. It does cover the promotion of a Windows 11 PC to a domain controller status (which requires third-party hacks or older, unsupported Windows versions like Windows 2000/NT), as such methods are unstable and unsupported by Microsoft.
| Issue | Solution | |-------|----------| | Can't join domain | Ensure DNS on Windows 11 points ONLY to the DC. Run nslookup lab.local to verify. | | Time sync error | On Windows 11, run as admin: w32tm /resync or sync time with DC IP. | | Samba AD won't start | Check logs: sudo journalctl -u samba-ad-dc . Ensure no other DNS service is on port 53. | | Hyper-V VM slow | Enable nested virtualization if needed. Assign more RAM/CPU. | how to install active directory on windows 11
If you're prompted to restart, do so.
host -t SRV _ldap._tcp.corp.local
Edit the .wslconfig file in your Windows user profile directory ( C:\Users\YourName\.wslconfig ) to enable network mirroring, which allows the WSL instance to share the host's IP address directly.
This guide covers the two most practical methods: Run nslookup lab
Now that the AD is running inside Windows 11, you must configure the network so other computers can join the domain.