Promoting a domain controller using Windows PowerShell

For the Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell, Microsoft does not offer a dedicated PowerShell cmdlet to add a read-only domain controller. Instead, Install-ADDSDomainController is used with the dedicated -ReadOnlyReplica parameter. The simplest script would look like the following code:

Import-Module ADDSDeployment

Install-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools

Install-ADDSDomainController -DomainName lucernpub.com -Sitename RemoteLocation -ReadOnlyReplica

However, to add a read-only domain controller to an existing domain as you would in the previous examples, the following script would be needed:

Import-Module ADDSDeployment

Install-WindowsFeature AD-Domain-Services -IncludeManagementTools 

Install-ADDSDomainController -DomainName lucernpub.com -Credential 
(Get-Credential) -ReadOnlyReplica -installDNS:$true 
-NoGlobalCatalog:$false -DatabasePath "E:\NTDS" -Logpath "E:\Logs" -SysvolPath "E:\SYSVOL" 
-Sitename RemoteLocation

This will add a read-only domain controller to the lucernpub.com Active Directory domain using credentials you will be prompted for securely. The domain controller will be installed with a DNS Server and configured as a global catalog server. All of the Active Directory-related files are stored in corresponding folders on the E:\ drive, and, when successful, the Windows Server installation you intend as the domain controller will be rebooted automatically.

Replace the values in the preceding sample file with the values of your choice.