On old Windows Active Directory environments, you might need to upgrade the Sysvol share from File Replication Service to Distributed File System Replication. This is very easy to do and it should be done asap in your environment.

Unfortunately I do not have screenshots to share with you, but here are the steps:

With dfsrmig /getmigrationstate you can see the status of the migration. Dfsrmig has 4 states starting from 0:

• State 0 – started
• State 1 – prepared
• State 2 – redirected
• State 3 – eliminated

Step 1:

dfsrmig /setglobalstate 0

Wait untill all Domain Controllers have the state “started”. You can check the state with dfsrmig /getmigrationstate. Be very patient as it might take some time to replicate changes particularly if you have Domain Controllers on remote offices.

Step 2:

dfsrmig /setglobalstate 1

Wait until all Domain Controller have the state “prepared”. You can check the state with dfsrmig /getmigrationstate. Once again, be very patient and double check the output.

Step 3:

dfsrmig /setglobalstate 2

Wait until all Domain Controller have the state “redirected”. You can check the state with dfsrmig /getmigrationstate. Be very patient and double-check the output.

Step 3:

dfsrmig /setglobalstate 3

Wait until all Domain Controller have the state “eliminated”. You can check the state with dfsrmig /getmigrationstate. Be very patient and double-check the output.

In addition to the last migration state, make sure the File Replication Service service is disabled on every Domain Controller.

References:

https://www.rebeladmin.com/2015/04/step-by-step-guide-for-upgrading-sysvol-replication-to-dfsr-distributed-file-system-replication/

A while back Microsoft announced the new and shiny Windows Server 2022 and just a few weeks ago the ISO of the technical preview has been made public.
What is new you might ask? Well from the articles I read, Windows Server 2022 is more secure, has a better integration with Windows Admin Center (aka modern MMCs) and has simpler migration steps if you want to move your server to Microsoft Azure. Check the article at the bottom of this page.

There are also some visual changes. Take a look at the start screen:

Microsoft Edge Chromium comes pre-installed on Windows Server 2022:

Icons are modern looking like in the latest versions of Windows 10:

The Settings app looks also slightly different

The old Control Panel is luckily still around:

So while aesthetically you might say very little has changed from Windows Server 2019 or even 2016, I am positive that Microsoft has done a lot of changes under the hood that matter and make your infrastructure more secure than ever. This is the version of Windows Server you want to install by default in 1-2 years time.

References:

https://www.qubicgroup.com/news/microsoft-reveals-list-of-new-features-for-windows-server-2022/

https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2021/03/02/announcing-windows-server-2022-now-in-preview/

In this day and age having an on-premise Active Directory is not mandatory, especially if you are a small and/or new organization. Most of the services will be in Microsoft 365 anyways, so why bother maintaining local AD?

If you have an Azure Active Directory Tenant, users are allowed to join Windows 10 devices to the AAD domain by default.

In the AAD Portal, under Devices > Device Settings, settings can be adjusted to the organization’s needs.

Joining the device is very easy. Just open the modern Settings app in Windows 10 > Accounts > Access work or school > + Connect. Then select Join this device to Azure Active Directory.

After logging off, any user that is a member of the tenant can log in with their email address/Azure AD account.