server 2008 config questions

get one of the mcse training manuals for 2008 and follow it.

ok wanderer i guess i cant really screw anything up seen its the only dc/domain can i?

Easier to screw it all up than not, especially if you have no background training.

It is a false precept to think you can learn this stuff by just doing it.

You need to learn this stuff in the proper sequence. Otherwise you end up with huge holes in your knowledge base and many assumptions that result in going down the wrong paths.

For example you ask if champion.ie is a good domain name. Did you know .ie is for Ireland? Normally you use .local

You ask if dns is important to active directory. It is central to AD. If you don't know these things you need to learn them which is why I suggested the book.

I have to disagree with that not being able to learn the stuff by doing, but it takes a lot of exposure. You also won't be as well equipped to handle any odd issues that can arise, or if the setup is different than what you're exposed to. Going through a book, or at least a study guide (even a cram/quick one), will give you more of an idea of what you're looking at, and what other options there are.

Another thing you'll pick up is that implementing AD PROPERLY takes a little advance planning on how you're going to lay out the individual elements (users, printers, etc.) and how they'll be grouped. Doing this right now could mean the difference between their easily expanding to 50 users, or having to re-do the whole thing again.

Your other option on a network that small is to skip AD and DNS altogether.

hi wanderer thanks for your reply..i know ie is ireland as i am in ireland.
i just wondered if it would cause any issues. we are not planning to host a web site on this server. i do need AD setup as the users must login and obviously for file/folder permissions etc. i know DNS is a very involved thing...i mean there are entire books on it. i am doing mcitp server 2008 and im halfway through the book...but in the book it says under DNS, this section doesnt teach you how dns works...only shows enhancements since 2003...so that doesnt help...but im reading the o reilly book on bind/dns. but i need help with it now...thats why i posted here. its very simple 1 domain no exchange setup...please make me some suggestions regarding dns.

not a problem.

MS DNS is pretty straight forward. Here is a good guide
Setting Up DNS for Active Directory

you point the workstations to the ms dns server ip
in DNS you will see "forwarders" and in here you input the isp dns server ips. Windows uses this to forward internet requests to these serves while keeping records of itself and the local lan hosts/ip addresses.

ayyyy thanks man appreciated...

I'm not familiar with 2008, so it may be a new thing that AD is REQUIRED as in integrated part of setting up users. That seems to be the gist of a book that I have, anyway. The servers I administer are all 2003. So once you mention AD you have to get involved with local DNS.

DNS CAN be involved if you're a core services provider for an ISP or something like that. Your setup should be pretty straightforward, like Wanderer mentions.

You were talking about your domain name selection. It's good for now, for a year, for two... What about five? I've lost track how many times I've planned a setup based on someone's list of needs, almost doubled it to be on the safe side, and then 4 months after implementation be asked, "We know we didn't ask for it, but can our setup do THIS?" And it can, because you've planned for that in your overhead.