This topic describes how to deploy a domain controller server on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance and connect an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance to a self-managed domain.

Prerequisites

  • The RDS instance runs one of the following RDS editions:
    • RDS Basic Edition.
    • RDS Cluster Edition.
    • RDS High-availability Edition. This applies if your RDS instance runs SQL Server 2012 or later.
    Note If your RDS instance runs RDS Basic Edition, you must submit a ticket to apply to be added to the allowlist before you create a system admin account for the RDS instance.
  • The RDS instance belongs to the general-purpose instance family or the dedicated instance family.
  • The RDS instance and the ECS instance that hosts your domain controller server reside in the same virtual private cloud (VPC).
  • The security group to which the ECS instance belongs is configured to allow access from the private IP address of your RDS instance. For more information, see Add a security group rule.
  • The private IP address of the RDS instance is allowed by the firewall of the ECS instance. The firewall is disabled by default. If you have enabled the firewall, you must configure the firewall to allow access from the private IP address of your RDS instance.
  • The domain account that is used belongs to the Domain Admins group because high permissions are required for a client to proactively add a domain.
  • The domain controller server uses the same IP address as the Domain Name System (DNS) server.
  • Your Alibaba Cloud account is used to log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console.
Note This feature is available only for specific customers. If you want to use this feature, submit a ticket or apply for the permissions to use this feature from your account manager.

Background information

Microsoft Active Directory (AD) is a directory service that is provided for specific Microsoft products, such as Windows Server Standard, Windows Server Enterprise, and Microsoft SQL Server. A directory is a hierarchical structure that stores information about the objects on the same LAN. For example, AD stores information about user accounts, such as names, passwords, and phone numbers, and allows other authorized users on the same LAN to access the information.

AD is an important part of the Windows ecosystem. A number of large enterprises rely on the domain control mechanism that is provided by Windows to plan and implement centralized access management. If you migrate all your workloads from an on-premises environment to the cloud or use a hybrid cloud architecture, make sure that the cloud supports AD for global management. AD support is a key factor to determine whether you can migrate on-premises SQL Server databases to the cloud.

ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server enables you to connect an RDS instance to a self-managed domain to improve your business systems.

Usage notes

None.

Select a Windows version

You must deploy a domain controller server on an ECS instance that runs Windows Server. The ECS instance must run Windows Server 2012 R2 or later. We recommend that you use Windows Server 2016 or later and select English as the display language. In the following sections, Windows Server 2016 is used to describe how to deploy a domain controller server for an RDS instance.

Procedure

  1. Deploy a domain controller server on an ECS instance
  2. Configure a security group for the ECS instance
  3. Configure the RDS instance

Deploy a domain controller server on an ECS instance

  1. Log on to the ECS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. On the Instances page, find the required ECS instance and click the ID of the ECS instance.
  5. Log on to the ECS instance.
  6. Search for and open Server Manager.
  7. Click Add roles and features and configure the following parameters.
    Parameter Description
    Installation Type Retain default settings.
    Server Selection Retain default settings.
    Server Roles
    • Select Active Directory Domain Services. In the dialog box that appears, click Add Features.
    • Select DNS Server. In the dialog box that appears, click Add Features. Make sure that your computer uses a fixed IP address. If the IP address dynamically changes, the DNS server becomes unavailable.
    Server Roles
    Features Retain default settings.
    AD DS Retain default settings.
    DNS Server Retain default settings.
    Confirmation Click Install.
  8. After the installation is complete, click Close.
  9. In the left-side navigation pane, click AD DS. In the upper-right corner of the page, click More.
    More
  10. Click Promote this server to a domain and configure the following parameters.
    Promote
    Parameter Description
    Deployment Configuration Select Add a new forest and specify the domain name. new forest
    Domain Controller Options Configure the password for the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) mode. DSRM password
    DNS Options Clear Create DNS delegation. Clear
    Additional Options Retain default settings.
    Paths Retain default settings.
    Review Options Retain default settings.
    Prerequisites Check Click Install.
    Note After the installation is complete, the system restarts.
  11. After the system restarts, search for and open Server Manager again.
  12. In the left-side navigation pane, click AD DS. Right-click the required domain controller server and select Active Directory Users and Computers to go to the AD user management module.
    AD user management
  13. Expand testdomain.net. Right-click Users and choose New > User.
    Create a user
  14. Specify a username and click Next.
    Username
  15. Specify a password, select Password never expires, and then click Next. Then, click Finish.
    Specify a password
  16. Double-click the created user and add the user to the Domain Admins group.
    Add the user to the Domain Admins groupAdded

Configure a security group for the ECS instance

  1. Log on to the ECS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. On the Instances page, find the required ECS instance and click the ID of the ECS instance.
  5. On the page that appears, click the Security Groups tab. On the tab that appears, click Add Rules in the Actions column.
    Note A number of ports need to be enabled for a domain controller server. We recommend that you configure a separate security group for the domain controller server instead of configuring the domain controller server in the same security group as other ECS instances.
  6. On the Inbound tab, click Add Rule to create a rule to allow your RDS instance to access the ECS instance over the following ports.
    Allow the RDS instance to access the ECS instance
    Protocol Port range Description
    TCP 88 The port for the Kerberos authentication protocol.
    TCP 135 The port for the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) protocol.
    TCP/UDP 389 The port for the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
    TCP 445 The port for the Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol.
    TCP 3268 The port for Global Catalog.
    TCP/UDP 53 The port for the DNS service.
    TCP 49152~65535 The default dynamic port range for connections. Enter a value in the following format: 49152/65535.

Configure the RDS instance

  1. Access RDS Instances, select a region at the top, and then click the ID of the target RDS instance.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Accounts.
  3. Click the AD Domain Services tab and click Configure AD Domain Services.
    Configure AD Domain Services
  4. Configure the following parameters and select I have read and understand the impact of AD Domain Services on the RDS Service Level Agreement.
    Warning After the AD domain feature is enabled, SLA is not guaranteed. For more information, see ApsaraDB RDS Service Level Agreement.
    Add a domain
    Parameter Description
    Domain Name The domain name that you specified when you create an AD on the Deployment Configuration page. In this example, enter testdomian.net.
    Directory IP Address The IP address of the ECS instance on which the domain controller server is deployed. You can obtain the IP address by running the ipconfig command on the ECS instance or by using the ECS console. View the private IP address
    Domain Account The username of the account that you created.
    Domain Password The password of the account
  5. Click OK and wait until the domain is added.

FAQ

Which account can I use to connect my RDS instance to a domain? How do I control the permissions of the account?

We recommend that you use an account that has the administrative rights on the domain. If you do not want to enable the administrative rights, you can use the principle of least privilege by performing the following operations. However, if you use the principle of least privilege, you must manually remove your computer from the domain controller server when you disconnect your RDS instance from the domain. Otherwise, an error is reported when you reconnect your RDS instance to this domain.

  1. After you create a user and confirm that the user belongs to the Domain Admins group, choose Computers > Delegate Control to add the user that you created. Control permissions 1Control permissions 2
  2. Right-click the user and select Create a custom task to delegate. Then, click Next.
  3. Select Only the following objects in the folder and the red highlighted items that are shown in the following figure. Then, click Next. Control permissions 3
  4. Select the items that are shown in the following figure. Then, click Next until the procedure is complete. Control permissions 4