gMSA management tasks
The Active Directory domain in which you are going to create and administer group Managed Service Accounts must meet the following requirements:
- The domain has an least one domain controller that runs Windows Server 2012.
- The domain has the KDS Root Key created.
You can create a KDS Root Key by executing the PowerShell command Add-KDSRootKey on the Windows Server 2012 based domain controller. See “Create the Key Distribution Services KDS Root Key” at technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj128430.aspx for further details.
NOTE: Exchange operations cannot be performed on the on-premises Exchange Server environment using the gMSA account. For example, Remote mailbox, User mailbox, or Contact.
You can use the Active Roles console to perform the following tasks on group Managed Service Accounts:
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Creating a gMSA
Perform the following steps in the Active Roles console to create a group Service Managed Account (gMSA).
To create a gMSA
- Right-click the OU or container in which you want to create a gMSA and select New | Group Managed Service Account.
- In the wizard that opens, complete following fields:
- Name Specifies the name of the gMSA in Active Directory.
- Description Specifies a description of the gMSA.
- DNS host name Normally, you should supply the fully qualified domain name of the server on which you are going to use this gMSA. For example,
ITFarm1.domain.com.
- Account name (pre-Windows 2000) Specifies the legacy logon name of the gMSA (sAMAccountName). Normally, this setting is identical to the name of the gMSA.
- Password change interval (days) Specifies the number of days before a managed password is automatically changed for the gMSA. This setting can be modified only upon account creation. After the gMSA is created, this setting is read-only.
- Computers or groups Specifies the computers on which the gMSA can be used to run services. You can add individual computers to this field, or you can add computers to a security group and then add the group to this field.
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Managing properties of a gMSA
For an existing group Managed Service Account (gMSA), perform the following steps in the Active Roles console to view or change the properties of the gMSA.
To view or change the properties of the gMSA
- Right-click the gMSA you want to administer and click Properties.
This opens the Properties dialog box containing the same fields as the gMSA creation wizard (see Creating a gMSA) with the only difference that the Password change interval field is read-only. In addition, the Account is disabled check box on the Account page shows whether the gMSA is disabled for logon, and allows you to disable and re-enable the gMSA.
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Searching for gMSA in the directory
The Active Roles console allows you to find group Managed Service Accounts that meet your search conditions.
To search for gMSA in the directory
- Right-click the OU, domain or container in which you want to search for gMSA and click Find.
- In the Find window that opens, configure and start your search:
- In the Find list, click Custom Search.
- Click the Field button, and select the msDS-GroupManagedServiceAccount object type and the object property to search for.
- Configure and add the desired search condition for the object property you have selected.
- If needed, add more search conditions by repeating Steps b and c.
- Click Find Now.
In the list of search results, right-click a gMSA and use the shortcut menu to perform management tasks. For example, you can right-click a gMSA and then click Properties to view or change the properties of the gMSA.
