Preparing a Windows Server to become a domain controller

To make Active Directory a reliable service in any networking environment, the domain controllers need to be available with high integrity. Any changes an administrator needs to make to a deployed domain controller might diminish the availability. Any component or configuration that is misbehaving might diminish the integrity. Therefore, let's look at how to properly prepare a Windows Server installation to become a domain controller, before we actually promote it to becoming a domain controller.