How to Join a Windows 11 VM to an Active Directory Domain (Home Lab Guide)

Learn how to join a Windows 11 computer to a Windows Server 2022 Active Directory domain in your home lab. Step-by-step guide for IT beginners and sysadmins.

Why Build a Simple Active Directory Lab?

If you're serious about a career in IT support or system administration, building a home lab is one of the best investments of your time. It gives you hands-on experience with real-world tools like Active Directory — the same tech used by many companies to manage users, devices, and policies.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to join a Windows 11 computer to your own AD domain — a core task every IT pro should know how to do. It’s quick, straightforward, and sets the foundation for more advanced lab scenarios.

What You’ll Need

• A Windows Server 2022 VM with Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) installed and configured

• A Windows 11 VM

• Both VMs on the same virtual network (via VirtualBox, Hyper-V, VMware, etc.)

• Your domain name (e.g., mcnairtech.local)

• Admin credentials for your domain

Step 1: Point the Windows 11 Client to the Correct DNS Server

Active Directory relies heavily on DNS, so make sure your Windows 11 VM is using your domain controller’s IP as its DNS server.

1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Ethernet (or Wi-Fi) > Edit IP assignment

   

2. Change the DNS settings to Manual

   

3. Set the Preferred DNS to your DC’s IP address (e.g., 192.168.50.254)

4. Click Save

Pro Tip: If your DNS is misconfigured, the domain join will fail — even if everything else is perfect. This is because Active Directory heavily relies on DNS to locate domain controllers and other essential services within the network. When your Windows 11 client tries to join the domain, it queries DNS for the domain controller's address. If the DNS server is not set to your domain controller’s IP or cannot resolve the domain name, your client won’t be able to find the controller, causing the domain join process to fail.

Step 2: Join the Windows 11 Computer to the Domain

1. Open Settings > System > About

2. 

2. Scroll down and click Domain or Workgroup

3. Select Join this device to a local Active Directory domain

4. Enter your domain name (e.g., mcnairtech.local)

5. Provide domain admin credentials (like Administrator)

6. Reboot when prompted

   After restarting, your computer will be part of the domain.

Step 3: Test the Domain Join

1. On the Windows 11 login screen, choose Other user

2. Enter the domain and username, such as:
   MCNAIRTECH\Administrator

3. Once logged in, open Command Prompt and run: whoami

4. You can also test by running:

   gpupdate /force

If Group Policy updates successfully, you're connected.

What’s Next?

• Create a new user in Active Directory and log in from the Windows 11 VM

• Apply a basic Group Policy (like a custom desktop background or password policy)

• Set up DHCP and DNS roles on the domain controller

• Build toward a multi-site or multi-domain environment

The more you experiment, the more confident you’ll get with AD — and the closer you are to becoming job-ready.

Wrapping Up

Joining your Windows 11 VM to an Active Directory domain might seem small, but it’s a key step in getting comfortable with Windows networking and domain management. Once you’ve done this, you’ll have a solid foundation to start exploring more complex AD features in your lab.

If you found this helpful, bookmark the site or share it with someone else working on their IT skills. More easy-to-follow lab guides are coming soon!