Setting up 2 servers in a domain

Hi all,

I am a total noob, I have a Windows 7 Pro at home, I want to set up 2 Windows 7 Pro virtual machines with static IP address and part of a domain. Reason being that I want to install SQL Server on each machine and then practice replicating data between them, and other things. What are the steps that I have to take. I am a total noob to Windows administration and networking, so what are the main steps that I need to take to get this setup? THanks in advance!

Putting 2 virtual machines is certainly possible, but for the domain part you need a domain controller to begin with, so you need a Windows Server edition out there at least for that, unlikely at home. Client editions of Windows can join domains from Professional and upward, but cannot create one.

Now to the real question, is that setup just for playing with SQL Server? There is no need at all to put 2 virtual machines for this. Just install it twice on your real hardware (with different instance names) and forget about virtual machines. With both instances running together on the same computer, they can simply communicate directly with each other, so you can try the replication setup directly. There should be no practical difference if the servers are on the same hardware or on different boxes, the configuration is the same.