For this series of four Blogcast recordings, I've reproduced a demonstration I did for a Technet Evening Session entitled "The New Features of Windows Server 2003" a few days ago. The particular feature is called "Install from Media", and is useful when you need to install a Domain Controller in a Branch Office or remote site, but have limited bandwidth for connectivity. If you were to install a domain controller in the normal manner, and allow AD/FRS replication occur, it could significantly impact your network pulling across gigabytes of data over a small link.

Install from Media first requires a backup of the system state from an existing Domain Controller View (2:08)
The .bkf file is copied to CD/DVD/Tape and shipped to the remote site and restored to disk. The .bkf file is expanded to it constituent parts. View (1:55)
DCPromo /adv is run to promote the member server to a domain controller using the system state backup files View (2:48)
A new site is created in Active Directory (if not previously created) and the AD topology updated to move the new domain controller into that site. View (1:27)

There is further information on this topic on the Microsoft Knowledge-Base and Daniel Petri also has an excellent write-up about this on his site (plus a stack of other useful info).

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so how many words does a recording with pictures and words speak? Please let me have your feedback about these style of recordings - whether you love them, loath them or neutral? What else would you like to see recordings of?

Edited by John on 3rd Nov 2005 - Rehosted WMV files.