Installing and configuring an entire forest/domain sandbox using Parallels VMs?

Hello everyone. I've been trying to find sources that explain in details how to install and configure 1- Two AD controllers, 2- Three or more VM desktops belonging to said virtual domain. Yes, I have been able to do it a few times, but all the times I did, things were "less than perfect" (i.e., I had to use two virtual network adapters per VM, one in the shared network configuration, and another in the host only configuration), and there were many aspects of the setup that left me wondering if things were "right", or if I missed something. I am a DBA, not a network administrator, and things such as "Do I need a VM for a gateway?", "Do I need more than the main and secondary domain controllers as DNS servers?" were questions that I always struggled with.

So, I guess my question is: Are there any resources out there that spell out how to create a sample sandbox domain that works perfectly with Parallels VMs? I am looking for something that specifically details IP addresses for the first DC, for the secondary DC, for the default gateway, for the preferred and secondary DNS servers, network configurations, etc.

As I said, I have been able to make it work before, but I kind of feel I "hacked" my way through it. (At least, Windows was always complaining I had "at least one IP address that wasn't static" with my two VM network adapters...

I've Goggled the hack out of it. Yes, there are semi-complete answers. But nothing 100% 1- Do this. 2- Use this IP address for your first Domain controller, 3-Use this ip address for your second domain controller, 4- Use this IP address for your Default Gateway, 5- Use this IP for your DNS server and this one for your alternate,... All that with all the VMs in the sandbox AD environment with access to not only the VMs in the "lab environment" but also with access to the Internet... You get the picture.

All I want is to be able to configure a sandbox AD environment. Is that something beyond Parallels's functionalities? Is there a tutorial out there that could help? Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks, R.

 

Setting up a forest/domain sandbox using Parallels virtual machines requires a few steps. First, you will need to download and install Parallels Desktop on your computer. Once that is complete, you will need to configure your Parallels virtual machine with the desired operating system. Once the operating system is installed and configured, you will need to install and configure Active Directory. This includes creating a forest, domain, and user accounts. Finally, you will need to configure network settings such as DHCP, DNS, and so on. Once everything is ready, you can start using the sandbox environment for testing and development.