Beginning Windows System Administration

Explore Windows file management basics, including creating files and folders with the Control Panel. Plan hardware and virtualization needs, including Windows 10 pro editions, Hyper-V, and Oracle VM VirtualBox.

Explore the fundamentals of Windows operating systems, distinguishing clients from servers, and learn how Windows 7/8/10 serve users while Windows Server 2008/2012/2016 host web pages, files, and databases.

Discover how Windows uses user accounts, usernames, passwords, and profiles to define logon and environment, and how the Users and Administrators groups control access and software installation.

Explore how to view and manage local users and groups in Windows, including Administrators and Users groups, create users, assign passwords, and control permissions for logon and software access.

Explore the user account control introduced in Windows Vista, contrasting standard user and administrator tokens, and learn why prompts protect against unauthorized installs by requiring consent.

Demonstrate how user account control prompts manage changes on Windows, showing admin versus standard user prompts and teaching how to adjust settings in control panel, system security, and the registry.

Master the module 1 lab on local users and groups by performing hands-on exercises on your Windows computer, covering Windows 7, 8, and 10, with explanations after each task.

Create and manage local users and groups using computer management, assign logon rights, verify group memberships, and explore admin versus standard user permissions in Windows.

Learn the basics of computer networks, including network cards, switches, IP addresses, and how clients, servers, and a print server interact via wired or wireless connections.

Explore Hyper-V virtualization, learn how a hypervisor enables multiple virtual machines on a single physical system, sharing hardware resources via virtual switches and adapters.

Learn to install and enable the Hyper-V hypervisor on Windows, verify your edition, and use Hyper-V Manager to create and manage virtual machines.

Learn how to create and install a Windows virtual machine in Hyper-V, including configuring memory (dynamic options), a virtual network adapter, and selecting installation media from image files.

Discover options if you lack Hyper-V: install the Hyper-V role on Windows editions, or use free virtualization tools like VirtualBox with Windows Server 2012/2016.

Download ISO files for Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows Server 2016, then install them in a Hyper-V virtual machine for a 90-day evaluation.

Create a virtual machine named dc, install Windows Server 2016 from an iso in Hyper-V, and prepare a busy three main client with future networking via virtual switches.

Explore a Hyper-V lab solution by creating and configuring virtual machines, installing Windows, setting locale and administrator access, renaming hosts, and restarting to complete setup.

Explore what a public IP address is, why it must be unique like a telephone number, and how your ISP assigns blocks so you can communicate with remote servers.

Explore private IP addresses and their use for internal networks, highlighting reserved ranges, why private addresses stay internal, and how they differ from public IP addresses.

Explore how public IP addresses are assigned by your internet service provider via a modem, enabling a home computer with a network card to connect to the internet.

Learn how private IP addresses like 192.168.x.x work alongside public IPs, and how routers connect different subnets via switches to enable internet access and secure network segments.

Create a private virtual switch in Hyper-V, connect multiple VMs, assign the same private IP range (10.x), and temporarily disable Windows firewall to verify connectivity.

Connect lab computers to a switch and assign IP addresses. Disable firewall on all machines and rename one to a router to form a private network.

Create virtual switches, add network cards, configure a router with two network cards connected to two switches, rename machines via Control Panel, and disable Windows Firewall to enable lab networking.

Explore home network basics, including IP addresses, host addresses, and subnets, and learn how a router, gateway, and switch connect a private network to the internet.

Assess the current network setup and use a virtual machine as the router. Configure IP addresses and install the routing and remote access role to enable routing between networks.

Configure routing and remote access, assign IPs to interfaces, and enable LAN routing between networks while setting default gateways and firewall rules to verify connectivity.

Develop hands-on skills in adding a router and configuring routes to ensure network connectivity, verify with ping, and review configurations in the module lab.

Learn how to add a router in a Windows lab, configure routing and remote access, set up clients with correct IP addresses and gateways, and verify connectivity.

Tackle module 4 lab adding a subnet by creating a soapnet with multiple network interfaces and moving dc to the soapnet.

Learn to add a subnet by creating a private Hyper-V virtual switch, attaching a router network adapter, and configuring IP addresses for the subnet; verify connectivity with ping.

Navigate a lab reset to subnet A, showing how to configure Hyper-V, DC1, and client1 on the same subnet, and verify connectivity.

Learn how the domain name system maps names to IP addresses using A records and CNAME aliases. Understand DNS zones, zone files, and how servers resolve fully qualified domain names.

Explore how DNS lookups work, how DNS servers query others, and how public and private DNS zones map domains to IP addresses.

Explore how internal private DNS zones direct client queries to a primary DNS, with a backup and secondary DNS for resolution, and how local zone records map to IP addresses.

Install and verify the DNS server role via server manager. Explore forward lookup zones and reverse zones and their basic use.

Create a private dns zone on the dns server, add an A record for the web server on dc 2, and configure clients to use that dns.

Configure dns resource records and aliases for web services, using a records and fully qualified domain names. Use ipconfig /all and a dns lookup tool to verify records.

Set up and troubleshoot a DNS lab by creating a new machine, configuring a name, obtaining an IP address, and ensuring connectivity to reinforce practical Windows system administration skills.

Learn to install and configure a DNS server, create a local zone with an A record and a CNAME alias, install a web server, and test DNS resolution on clients.

Explore how Active Directory domains centralize user and computer management with a central database, domain controllers, and trusted logon across thousands of machines.

Experience a hands-on demo of installing Active Directory, configuring DNS and IP address, and promoting the server to a domain controller with domain, forest, and root domain setup.

Explore Active Directory users and organizational units within a Windows domain, learn to create users with Active Directory or PowerShell, and manage a single domain controller and administrator roles.

Explore active directory administration by viewing users and groups, logging in as the administrator, and using Active Directory Users and Computers to manage containers and organizational units.

Demonstrates creating organizational units in active directory and adding users with logon names, passwords, and domain membership, using examples by function or geography such as accounting.

Learn how to join a computer to the domain, establish a link with Active Directory, and configure DNS to enable trusted logins and domain account creation.

Demonstrates joining a client to a domain via the domain controller, configuring DNS for dynamic updates, and signing in with a UPN or local account within Active Directory.

Practice creating domain users, joining a client to the domain, and comparing domain logon with local accounts while understanding Active Directory authentication.

Explore creating a domain, new users and organizational units, joining a client to the domain, and managing logon options with Active Directory, DNS, and local administrator guidance.

Join a computer to the domain to see how Domain Admins and Administrators grant local rights, while Active Directory replaces local user stores and domain users join the Users group.

Learn how active directory computers and groups work, and how joining a computer to the domain creates a trusted relationship with the domain controller, enabling access via group memberships.

Explore Active Directory groups and computers by examining a domain controller, domain structure, and organizational units; learn how group membership, computer accounts, and OU placement shape logins and administration.

Configure Active Directory with at least two domain controllers to ensure fault tolerance, enable seamless failover, and rely on replication for up-to-date copies.

watch a step-by-step demo of installing a second domain controller, configuring DNS, promoting the server, and enabling replication to create a full domain and DNS copy.

Demonstrate post installation of a second domain controller and how replication copies all users, computers, and organizational units, and updates via DNS Manager and Active Directory Users and Computers.

Explore NTFS security rights and how they lock down access for users or groups, and compare read versus modify permissions on a folder or file.

Learn how to share folders over a network using NTFS and share rights, including read, change, and full control, plus inheritance and integration with Active Directory.

Learn how to share a folder on a domain member and set NTFS rights, granting authenticated users full control and assigning Bradley read and modified rights.

Verify each user’s rights and map a network drive to the per-user data share. Show how inherited NTFS and share permissions create read or write access for Bradley and Sally.

Explore how Active Directory groups manage share and NTFS rights, using least privilege to resolve conflicts. See how read data and modify data global groups assign rights and simplify administration.

Demonstrates best practice for assigning NTFS rights via Active Directory groups on a domain controller, including creating global groups, managing memberships, and granting read access to a data share.

Set up and verify share permissions and NTFS rights in a hands on lab, following best practices and reviewing the solution video to identify and correct mistakes.

Set up a data share and configure NTFS permissions to give the users full control. Use groups, break inheritance to set explicit rights, and map access for consistent data sharing.

Explore group policy as a centralized way to apply settings to Active Directory users and computers, and distinguish between user and computer settings linked to organizational units.

Discover how to create and manage group policy objects, how replication across domain controllers ensures settings apply to users and computers, and how logon and startup behavior are controlled.

Learn to create a group policy in the Group Policy Management Console, edit settings, and apply a prohibition on the control panel to illustrate policy enforcement.

Explore group policy basics, applying policies at the main level or per user or computer, learn downward inheritance, and see how linking policies affects all users and computers.

Link a group policy object using the management console and control panel, then test its effects on users and computers in Active Directory and adjust security filtering.

Participate in a hands-on group policy lab to configure user access to the control panel, automate tasks with group policy preferences, and map drives.

Configure group policy objects to restrict access to the control panel and map network drives for users, including creating, linking, and updating drive mappings.