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 is not a shared instance and runs one of the following SQL Server
versions:
- SQL Server 2019 SE or EE
- SQL Server 2017 SE or EE
- SQL Server 2016 SE or EE
- SQL Server 2012 SE or EE
- The RDS instance and the ECS instance that hosts your domain controller server reside in the same virtual private cloud (VPC).
- The security group of the ECS instance is configured to allow access from the private IP address of the 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 the private IP address of the RDS instance.
- The domain account that is used belongs to the Domain Admins group because high permissions are required for a client to add a domain.
- The domain controller server uses the same IP address as the Domain Name System (DNS) server.
- You have logged on to the console by using an Alibaba Cloud account.
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 accounts and allows authorized users on the same LAN to query the account information. The account information includes usernames, passwords, and phone numbers.
AD is an important component in 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.
Precautions
Null.
Select a Windows version
You must deploy a domain controller server on an ECS instance that runs Windows Server. The minimum requirement for the operating system of the ECS instance is Windows Server 2012 R2. We recommend that you use Windows Server 2016 or later and select English. In the following sections, Windows Server 2016 is used as an example to describe how to deploy a domain controller server for an RDS instance.
Procedure
Deploy a domain controller server on an ECS instance
Configure a security group for the ECS instance
Configure the RDS instance
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 administrator rights on the domain. If you do not want to enable the administrator rights, you can use the least permissions by performing the following operations. However, if you use the least permissions, you must manually remove your computer from the domain controller server when you exit the domain. Otherwise, an error is reported when you reconnect your RDS instance to this domain.
- After you create a user and confirm that the user belongs to the Domain Admins group,
choose
- Right-click the user and select Create a custom task to delegate. Then, click Next.
- Select Only the following objects in the folder and the red highlighted items that are shown in the following figure. Then, click
Next.
- Select the items that are shown in the following figure. Then, click Next until the procedure is complete.