Windows Azure is an ideal platform for AD DS domain controller replicas because it provides IP address consistency in a new way. Windows Azure virtual machines must obtain IP addresses from DHCP serversyou cannot assign static IP addresses to thembut unlike standard DHCP address leases that can expire, causing the address to change, a cloud VM retains its IP address lease for its lifetime. NOTE  AD DS AND WINDOWS AZURE AD
You can install Active Directory Domain Services on any Windows Azure VM running Windows Server. AD DS is part of the operating system and requires no special resources other than those needed to provision the virtual machine, such as sufficient disk space for the AD DS database. However, there is also a cloud service called Windows Azure Active Directory (Windows Azure AD) that can provide identity and access management within the cloud. Although the two can interact, Windows Azure AD is not the same as the AD DS service supplied with Windows Server 2012 R2
Removing a domain controller With the deprecation of Dcpromo.exe, the process of demoting a domain controller has changed and is not immediately intuitive. To remove a domain controller from an AD DS installation, you must begin by running the Remove Roles And Features Wizard, as shown in the following procedure. 1. In Server Manager, launch the Remove Roles And Features Wizard and remove the
Active Directory Domain Services role and its accompanying features. A Validation Results dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 5-10.
FIGURE 5-10  The Validation Results dialog box of the Remove Roles And Features Wizard
Objective 5.1: Install domain controllers
CHAPTER 5
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