Script to add Windows devices to Active Directory domain

Windows devices can be added to an organization’s Active Directory (AD) domain, so that users can log onto their devices using their AD credentials. Adding devices to the domain can be accomplished by utilizing PowerShell scripts. The scripts provided in this article can confirm successful domain DNS server configuration and resolution, essential for successful domain joining of device. These scripts can be executed from the Hexnode portal using the Execute Custom Script remote action.

PowerShell scripts

Execute the following scripts in sequence for adding the Windows device to the AD domain successfully.

1. Configuring the DNS Server

   Script to configure DNS server

   # Replace with your AD domain controller IP(s) $dnsServers = @("192.168.1.10","192.168.1.11") Write-Output "Configuring DNS servers..." Get-NetAdapter | ForEach-Object { Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceIndex $_.InterfaceIndex -ServerAddresses $dnsServers } Write-Output "Testing DNS resolution..." try { $result = Resolve-DnsName YourDomain.local -ErrorAction Stop Write-Output "DNS resolution succeeded:" $result | Format-Table -AutoSize } catch { Write-Output "DNS resolution FAILED: $_" } Write-Output "DNS configuration complete."

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   # Replace with your AD domain controller IP(s) $dnsServers = @("192.168.1.10","192.168.1.11")     Write-Output "Configuring DNS servers..." Get-NetAdapter | ForEach-Object { Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceIndex $_.InterfaceIndex -ServerAddresses $dnsServers }   Write-Output "Testing DNS resolution..." try { $result = Resolve-DnsName YourDomain.local -ErrorAction Stop Write-Output "DNS resolution succeeded:" $result | Format-Table -AutoSize } catch { Write-Output "DNS resolution FAILED: $_" }   Write-Output "DNS configuration complete."

   This script configures the target devices to use specific DNS servers that are the IP addresses of the Active Directory domain controllers. All active network adaptors are updated with the provided DNS addresses (Domain controllers). Further, a resolution test is conducted against YourDomain.local to confirm domain resolution.

   

2. Pre-checking AD domain resolution

   Script to pre-check AD domain resolution

   $domain = "YourDomain.local" Write-Host "Running pre-checks for domain join to $domain..." Write-Host "" # 1. Check current DNS servers Write-Host "Checking DNS configuration..." Get-DnsClientServerAddress | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ServerAddresses # 2. Test DNS resolution of the domain Write-Host "`nTesting DNS resolution for $domain..." try { $dnsResult = Resolve-DnsName $domain -ErrorAction Stop Write-Host "DNS resolution succeeded:" $dnsResult | Format-Table -AutoSize } catch { Write-Host "DNS resolution FAILED: $_" } # 3. Check domain controller discovery Write-Host "`nChecking for reachable domain controllers..." $dcInfo = nltest /dsgetdc:$domain if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { Write-Host "Domain controller found:" Write-Host $dcInfo } else { Write-Host "Domain controller discovery FAILED." } # 4. Test network connectivity to DC ports (example: LDAP 389, Kerberos 88) Write-Host "`nTesting connectivity to domain controllers..." $dcName = (nltest /dsgetdc:$domain | Select-String "DC:").ToString().Split()[1] if ($dcName) { Write-Host "Testing connectivity to $dcName..." Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $dcName -Port 389 # LDAP Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $dcName -Port 88 # Kerberos Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $dcName -Port 445 # SMB } else { Write-Host "No domain controller name available for port tests." } Write-Host "`nPre-check complete."

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   $domain = "YourDomain.local"   Write-Host "Running pre-checks for domain join to $domain..." Write-Host ""   # 1. Check current DNS servers Write-Host "Checking DNS configuration..." Get-DnsClientServerAddress | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ServerAddresses   # 2. Test DNS resolution of the domain Write-Host "`nTesting DNS resolution for $domain..." try { $dnsResult = Resolve-DnsName $domain -ErrorAction Stop Write-Host "DNS resolution succeeded:" $dnsResult | Format-Table -AutoSize } catch { Write-Host "DNS resolution FAILED: $_" }   # 3. Check domain controller discovery Write-Host "`nChecking for reachable domain controllers..." $dcInfo = nltest /dsgetdc:$domain if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) { Write-Host "Domain controller found:" Write-Host $dcInfo } else { Write-Host "Domain controller discovery FAILED." }   # 4. Test network connectivity to DC ports (example: LDAP 389, Kerberos 88) Write-Host "`nTesting connectivity to domain controllers..." $dcName = (nltest /dsgetdc:$domain | Select-String "DC:").ToString().Split()[1] if ($dcName) { Write-Host "Testing connectivity to $dcName..." Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $dcName -Port 389 # LDAP Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $dcName -Port 88 # Kerberos Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $dcName -Port 445 # SMB } else { Write-Host "No domain controller name available for port tests." }   Write-Host "`nPre-check complete."

   Before attempting to add a device to the AD domain, the AD domain resolution can be checked using the above script to ensure successful device joining. The script checks whether the domain name can be resolved, attempts to discover a reachable domain controller, and then proceeds to check connectivity to key ports such as LDAP (389), Kerberos (88) and SMB (445), if a domain controller is identified.

3. Adding the device to the AD domain

   Script to add device to configured AD domain

   # --- Configuration --- $domain = "YourDomain.local" # Replace with your AD domain $user = "YourDomain\Username" # Account with rights to join computers $password = "P@ssword!" # Plain text password (replace securely!) $ou = "OU=Computers,DC=YourDomain,DC=local" # Optional: target OU # --- Convert password to secure string --- $securePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString $password -AsPlainText -Force # --- Create credential object --- $credential = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($user, $securePassword) # --- Check if already domain-joined --- $computerSystem = Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem if (-not $computerSystem.PartOfDomain) { Write-Host "Joining domain $domain..." Add-Computer -DomainName $domain -Credential $credential -OU $ou -Force -Verbose Write-Host "Restarting to complete domain join..." Restart-Computer -Force } else { Write-Host "Device is already domain-joined." }

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   # --- Configuration --- $domain = "YourDomain.local" # Replace with your AD domain $user = "YourDomain\Username" # Account with rights to join computers $password = "P@ssword!" # Plain text password (replace securely!) $ou = "OU=Computers,DC=YourDomain,DC=local" # Optional: target OU   # --- Convert password to secure string --- $securePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString $password -AsPlainText -Force   # --- Create credential object --- $credential = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($user, $securePassword)   # --- Check if already domain-joined --- $computerSystem = Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem if (-not $computerSystem.PartOfDomain) { Write-Host "Joining domain $domain..." Add-Computer -DomainName $domain -Credential $credential -OU $ou -Force -Verbose Write-Host "Restarting to complete domain join..." Restart-Computer -Force } else { Write-Host "Device is already domain-joined." }

   The device can be added to the AD domain, whose DNS was configured and validated for resolution. Configure the domain name ($domain), user with administrator privileges to join a device to the domain ($user), the user password ($password) and the OU ($ou – if required). The Add-Computer cmdlet is used to facilitate the joining. The device is forcefully restarted to complete domain join.

What happens at the device end?

Upon successful execution of the script, the device will undergo an automatic restart. Afterwards, the device is joined to the Active Directory (AD) domain, allowing users to log in to the device using their AD credentials. Upon login, checking Settings > Accounts > Access work or school confirms the connection to the designated AD domain.