by Greg Shields

How many times in your IT career have you sat back and waited for the multiple-reboot process that is joining a computer to a domain. I sometimes wonder how many years of my life I’ve lost waiting for that multi-step process to complete.

With Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, that process gets a bit shorter with the release of Microsoft’s Offline Domain Join tool djoin.exe. This tool enables Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 computers to join a domain without needing to communicate with a domain controller (at least, at first). Exceptionally useful for massive desktop rollouts, this tool comes in particularly handy when automating the deployment of virtual desktops. Here’s how you’ll use it:

Step one requires the use of a domain-joined computer. This computer, which will be referred to as the provisioning computer, works with a domain controller to pre-populate information about the offline computer. From the provisioning computer, run the following command to create the necessary provisioning file:

Running this command creates a text file that includes the necessary information for later adding this computer to the domain.

Step two involves copying the file you created in step one to the client computer, which has not been joined to the domain.

Step three completes the process by ingesting the information in the copied file into the offline client. This is done by running the following command on the offline client computer:

Once complete here, reboot the computer to join it to the domain. You can further automate this process by adding a little scripting around the domain join steps, or even including its information in an unattend.xml file.

About the Author

Greg Shields is an independent author, speaker, and IT consultant, as well as a Partner and Principal Technologist with Concentrated Technology. With 15 years in information technology, Greg has developed extensive experience in systems administration, engineering, and architecture specializing in Microsoft OS, remote application, systems management, and virtualization technologies. He is a Contributing Editor and columnist for TechNet Magazine and Redmond Magazine, and serves as the Series Editor for Realtime Publishers, the world’s leading provider of high-quality content for the IT market. Greg is a highly sought-after and top-ranked speaker for both live and recorded events, and is seen regularly at conferences like TechMentor Events, Microsoft Tech Ed, VMworld, and more. He is a multiple recipient of Microsoft “Most Valuable Professional” award.