I'm curious if anyone has upgraded their Active Directory (AD) forest or domain to the functional level of 2025. If you haven't made the leap yet, do you have any plans to do so in the near future? Additionally, do you use Windows Server Core for your AD functions? I found it quite amusing that Azure Connect requires a full GUI!
5 Answers
I'm really hesitant about using 2025 for Active Directory. It's too critical for our operations, and I've seen enough issues with 2025 domain controllers that I recommend sticking with a 2016 functional level. While I can manage Server Core fine, a lot of my clients struggle with it.
I actually run core on every server that doesn’t need a GUI. But yeah, I agree with some others who say they’ve had enough of Server Core after dealing with headaches from it.
I've read some horror stories about moving to the 2025 functional level. And I have had some frustrating experiences with Windows Server Core—there are just some weird issues that pop up, and I find the reduced attack surface doesn't really justify the headaches.
Our standard is still Server 2022, so we're operating at a 2016 functional level. For Server Core, we run it on all servers that don't need a GUI, like domain controllers and file servers.
I don't have any plans to upgrade to 2025 yet. Honestly, I'm still cautious about running AD on a 2025 server due to some concerns I have about stability.
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