This article contains important information regarding Active Directory Domains on the Cloud and using Cloud Servers as Domain Controllers.  The Rackspace Cloud Control Panel and provisioning system rely on the local Administrator account to perform certain tasks on our Windows Cloud Servers via the Xen Agent installed on your Cloud Server.  

When a Windows Cloud Server is joined to an Active Directory domain or becomes a Domain Controller itself, the local Administrator account is disabled, so certain functionality is lost.  Please be aware of the following limitations if you plan on using Active Directory on the Cloud:

• Once a machine is promoted to a Domain Controller, certain tasks normally performed through the Rackspace Cloud Control Panel will no longer work.  Specifically, you will no longer be able to perform password resets or soft reboots on your machine.  If you forget your domain login information, Rackspace will not be able to recover your password or assist you in regaining access to the machine.

• If you take a snapshot of a Cloud Server that is part of an Active Directory domain, you will not be able to build a new server or restore a current server from that image.  If you need to take a snapshot of a machine on an Active Directory domain, you must first remove it from the domain.  If the server in question is a Domain Controller, you will have to demote it before performing the snapshot.