Introduction
Active Directory Certificate Service (AD CS) provides the certificate infrastructure to enable scenarios such as secured wireless networks, virtual private networks, internet protocol security (IPsec), and smart card log on. In this article we will see about how to configure AD CS in Windows Server 2012.
Requirement
Windows Server 2012 or 2014
The following are the steps needed to configure AD CS:
Step 1: Open Server manager by clicking the icon present in the task bar as shown below.
Step 2: In the server manager select the option “Add roles and features”.
Step 3: In the Add roles and features wizard, before continuing, the following tasks should be completed:
The Administrator account should have a strong Password.
Network Settings such as static IP should be configured.
The most current security updates should be implemented.
And then click Next.
Step 4: In the installation type select “Role based or feature based installation” and click next.
Step 5: In the server selection wizard choose “select a server from the pool.” In the server pool area it contains the name, IP Address, and operating system of the desired server.
Step 6: In the server role wizard choose “Active Directory Certificate Services”. Once you click a pop up will appear; in that, select Add features option and click next.
Step 7: In the features wizard add the desired features you want and click next.
Step 8: In the Active Directory Certificate Services Window read the important things and click next.
In role services, select default services
Step 9: In confirmation, click the Install option
Step 10: In the results wizard, the installation has started and it will take some time to finish.
Finally, after installation click close option.
Step 11: Now go to the Server Management Dashboard and findthe AD CS option that is available.
Step 12: In the dashboard click AD CS; once you have opened it, it will show a warning messag such as “Configuration Required for Active Directory Certificate Service at SimpleServer12” and click More options.
Step 13: Again the All Server Task Details and Notifications window will appear.
In that click “configure Active Directory Certificate Services”.
Step 14: AD CS configuration wizard appears in the credentials option; click Next.
Step 15: In role services, select the needed services to configure and click next
Step 16: In the Authentication window, click windows authentication and click next.
Step 17: In the Server certificate choose the existing server and click next.
Step 18: In the confirmation tab hit the configure optio -- it takes some time.
Step 19: Finally, in the result tab you can see the selected and configured features.
Conclusion
After the configuration, now we will be able to secure our domains from the wireless networks and VPNs, etc.