Automatically bulk create user accounts in Active Directory

Tutorial Outcomes

Learn how to use XIA Automation to:

• Create user accounts in Microsoft Active Directory on-premises
• Generate unique usernames that meet your organization's policy
• Generate passwords that meet your organization's policy

1. Create the Automation Profile

Create a new Automation Profile in the XIA Automation Administration Tools. Set the Permissions as required.

2. Create the Variable Definitions

Add the Variables you need to create users in AD such as FirstName, Surname, SamAccountName, UserPrincipalName and Password.

3. Hide the generated Variable Definitions

The SamAccountName, UserPrincipalName and Password variables will be generated by XIA Automation so they can be set to Hidden. This hides them from the end user when the profile is executed via form input in the XIA Automation Server web interface.

4. Configure the Account Name Generator Task

To generate unique account names in your Active Directory, create a new Active Directory Account Name Generator Task:

Assign the SAM and UPN Account Name Variables and add an Account Name Template that meets your organization's policy. The <n> token can be used to generate a unique account name when a name already exists in the domain by appending numeric values.

You may wish to use a Variable Copy Task and a String Variable Substring Task to ensure the account name does not exceed the maximum length permitted in Active Directory.

5. Configure the Password Generation Task

To generate a password that meets your organization's policy, create a new Password Generation Task:

Assign the Password variable as the Output Variable and specify the settings as required.

6. Configure the Account Creation Task

Create a new Active Directory Account Creation Task:

Configure the LDAP path in which to create the user:

Configure the other task settings as required and assign the variables to the appropriate fields.

If your domain has multiple DCs, you can add an Active Directory Replication Task after your creation task.

Press Save Configuration before executing the automation profile.

7. Create an Active Directory User Account

Execute the Automation Profile to create an Active Directory user account, either manually via the form input in the XIA Automation Server web interface, or in bulk via CSV, or automatically via file import.

Supported Platforms

Creating user accounts in Active Directory is supported on domains running the following versions of Windows:

• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2012 R2