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does anyone know of a way of running an active directory domain controller, in amazon web services, and connect it to a physical pc outside of the network. Many thanks

Jacob Pounds
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2 Answers2

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Sure, companies do this all the time. Use a VPN to connect your AWS VPC back to your corporate network.

EEAA
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  • Do you know of any easy to follow tutorials to do this, as I'm kinda new with aws, thanks! – Jacob Pounds Apr 29 '17 at 14:28
  • I don't. Tutorials are generally not useful for things like this, as there are too many variables in play. You'll either need to dig in and learn the technologies involved or hire someone to help you out for a short contract to get you off on the right foot. I've done this many times, so if you find yourself in a bind and need help, feel free to contact me. – EEAA Apr 29 '17 at 16:12
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There are three sections to this - High level method, AD Option, Connectivity

High Level Method

You can either run a form of AD, or you can run a federation proxy to an external AD service (AWS AD connector). If you run a proxy there's more latency but it's simpler.

AD Options

You can run

  • Your own AD controller on EC2
  • AWS Simple AD (part of AWS DS). This is a simpler product that emulates AD, and works well for simple use cases. Limitations here.
  • AWS Active Directory (part of AWS DS). This is full, managed Microsoft AD.

Connectivity

You can

  • Simply connect over the internet. This may not be fully secure, I don't know AD protocols well enough to say
  • Run a Virtual Private Network. This is secure, it's relatively quick, cheap, and easy
  • Use Direct Connect, a dedicated line (massive overkill for your situation). Expensive, fast, slow to set up.

Recommendation

You should probably consider AWS Simple AD with a VPN.

Tim
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