Easiest way to get an Active Directory server for testing

Question

We're developing a .net application, and are about to add authentication to it. We'd like to use Active Directory for this, but are aiming to make this as simple as possible for the test-server used for development.

What does it take to get Active Directory up and running? Can I run it locally on my Win7 installation? I've heard about ADAM and AD LDS, but don't really know the details besides knowing they are lightweight implementations.

So; what's the easiest way to a working Active Directory for testing?

So glad to see that nobody from MS bothered to provide a test instance. — sorin, Aug 06 '14 at 10:58
You can use this test server: https://documize.github.io/ad-ldap-test-server — Harvey Kandola, Sep 07 '18 at 14:37

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 01 '10 at 20:37

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Your going to need a server installation (Windows 2003/2008/2008R2) to install Active directory.

Generally the easiest way to do this in a test/dev enviroment is to install the server OS in a VM and setup a domain inside of that. It's really not that hard if you are just looking to run a very small domain for people to test auth against.

answered Feb 01 '10 at 20:37

Zypher

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Same goes for the lightweight versions? (AD LDS / ADAM) – stiank81 Feb 01 '10 at 20:42
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@stiank81: Correct, for any of the AD components you need the Server OS. – Zypher Feb 01 '10 at 20:50
if you have the "full" version you wouldn't need the lightweight version. There is no difference from an authentication perspective. – Jim B Feb 01 '10 at 21:01

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 01 '10 at 20:38

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You could do it in a VM using Virtual Box, your host machine hardware will determine how well it performs. You will also need a license to install. It will NOT run locally on Win7, you need a Server OS.

answered Feb 01 '10 at 20:38

DanBig

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You don't need a licensed copy, they have trial downloads that you can install into a VM. If you're already running Hyper-V, then you can download a VHD file that's ready to go, even easier. – mfinni Feb 01 '10 at 22:01
Oh yeah, forgot about that. Yesterday was a busy one, I was just typing away... – DanBig Feb 02 '10 at 13:17
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so fix the actual answer – Aidan Ryan Jan 18 '11 at 17:23

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 03 '15 at 21:21

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Samba, the free and very popular SMB/CIFS file server, has a built in Active Directory and LDAP server. You're best off running it in a Linux VM of some sort (I prefer VirtualBox for simple testing applications). Be sure to see the installation section for the requirements.

answered Oct 03 '15 at 21:21

DaAwesomeP

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This isn't Microsoft AD, but it's a good method for basic testing. Samba also manages its users separate from the actual Linux OS it's running on, which simplifies user management due to the seemingly infinite number of Samba management programs available. – DaAwesomeP Oct 18 '15 at 00:55

Easiest way to get an Active Directory server for testing

3 Answers3