Windows Server 2012 and Active Directory

Q. Do I need to prepare my Active Directory with the Windows Server 2012 schema changes to deploy Windows Server 2012 file servers in my domain?

A: No. You don't have to make Windows 2012 schema changes to deploy Windows 2012 file servers in a domain. The exception is if you want to take advantage of Dynamic Access Control (DAC), which allows access control based on the classification of data and attributes of the user's Active Directory (AD) account, which has to be serviced by a Windows 2012 domain controller (DC). To introduce a Windows 2012 DC, the Windows 2012 schema updates in addition to forest and domain preparation must have been run.