Complete Windows Server Administration Course

Explore what Oracle VirtualBox is and how it lets you run multiple operating systems on a single computer, with installation on Windows or Mac to host Linux or other OSes.

Learn to download and install Oracle VM VirtualBox on Windows, from virtualbox.org, using the setup wizard, then prepare to create virtual machines.

Explore three common methods for installing an operating system, including CD or DVD installation, downloading and attaching an ISO image, and network boot for mass deployments.

Download Windows Server 2022 from the Microsoft Evaluation Center, choose the 64-bit ISO, and note a 180-day evaluation with internet activation in first ten days for installation in Oracle VirtualBox.

Install Windows Server 2022 in Oracle VirtualBox by attaching the ISO and performing a custom install on a 50 GB disk. Set up the administrator account and explore server manager.

Learn to add resources to a virtual machine, including memory, CPU, disk space, and network cards, while respecting host limits and powering off the VM before applying changes.

Learn to change a Windows server hostname and verify system information, including CPU and memory, using server manager, properties, task manager, resource monitor, and command-line tools.

Navigate the Windows server GUI, managing the desktop, start menu, taskbar, and search bar with essential display, time, region, and power settings. Use server manager to add roles and features.

Access Windows systems via console or remote desktop. Find the IP address via ipconfig and enable remote access through remote settings and firewall, ensuring bridged networking is configured when needed.

Explore how Windows uses a file system to organize C drive folders, including NTFS and FAT, and explain the purpose of program files, users, and Windows directories.

Navigate the Windows file system using GUI, command line, and search bar; learn to access the c drive, Windows, and System32 with dir, cd, and quick search.

Learn to find files and directories and file types in Windows using both graphical search and the dir /s command, and locate file locations via properties and wildcards.

Master file maintenance in Windows server administration by performing copy, delete, move, and rename operations via GUI and command line, including creating files and navigating directories.

Create and manage local Windows user accounts, assign group membership, set passwords and activation states, and adjust display names, while understanding the role of Active Directory in directory service accounts.

Learn to use server manager to add roles and features, configure local server properties, and manage domain controller, DNS, and web server with the dashboard and cloud services.

Explore how to download, install, configure, manage, and uninstall programs on Windows, with a WinZip example illustrating the full program lifecycle.

Learn essential Windows shortcut keys for multitasking and troubleshooting, including ctrl+alt+del, ctrl+alt+arrow for screen orientation, F1 help, F5 refresh, and Windows key combos for run, explorer, task manager, and desktop.

Begin module 6 of the Complete Windows Server Administration Course with an orientation to core concepts and practical strategies for effective server management.

Learn how to add roles and features in Windows Server administration. Understand role dependencies, service roles, and when features install independently.

Define the domain controller and its role in enforcing policies across a domain, including Active Directory and DNS, and explain how authentication relies on the domain controller.

Identify the four prerequisites for Active Directory: dns, a static ip address for the server, the domain controller name, and the netbios domain name.

Discover how domain name service (DNS) resolves host names to IP addresses, performs reverse lookups, and creates CNAME aliases to simplify naming, enabling seamless web access.

Install Active Directory Domain Services with an accompanying DNS server, assign a static IP, promote the server to a new forest domain controller named lab.local, and verify DNS with nslookup.

Master active directory users and computers by organizing objects into organizational units, managing attributes, and understanding forests, LDAP, SYSVOL, and the AD database across domain controllers.

Learn to structure Active Directory by creating organizational units, sub OUs, and groups, then add users and manage their group memberships across a domain and forest via a domain controller.

Download and install Windows 10 Enterprise from TechNet, set up a virtual machine in VirtualBox, and register the client with Active Directory by joining the domain.

Register Windows 7 and Windows 10 clients to the Active Directory domain, ensuring a static IP, DNS, a domain account, and domain join. Log in with domain credentials.

Remove your host computer from the Active Directory DNS by opening network and sharing settings, changing the adapter to obtain DNS server address automatically, preventing internet access issues.

Join a Windows 10 client to the Active Directory domain, verify DNS and connectivity, and log in as a domain user (Jerry Seinfeld); note VirtualBox memory settings used.

Discover the Active Directory Administrative Center, a tool that simplifies managing Active Directory domain services with global search, password resets, and object creation for users, groups, and computers.

Navigate the domain and trust console in Active Directory to manage trusts, verify or remove trusts, create shortcut realm and external trust, and manage forest trust routing for name suffix.

Explore Active Directory site and services to optimize authentication and replication across sites. Configure subnets, inter-site transports (IP and SMTP), and add new sites for domain controllers.

Use Active Directory group policy to configure user and computer settings across the domain, including security and password policies, via domain policy rather than local edits.

Begin module 7 of the complete windows server administration course, outlining the module's objectives and core topics for effective server management.

Learn to use Windows PowerShell for task automation and configuration management, explore get-help, update-help, get-command, and create a local user with New-LocalUser in Active Directory on a domain controller.

Learn essential Windows PowerShell commands for file management, processes, and services, including Get-ChildItem, New-Item, Copy-Item, Remove-Item, Get-Process, and PS1 scripting.

Learn how Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) enables remote management and data retrieval via WMIC, the WMI management console, and related tools to automate tasks on multiple servers.

Welcome to module 8 of the complete Windows Server administration course, introducing the module and its role in building server administration expertise.

Define and explain the network interface card, its external ports, and how traffic flows from your computer through a router to the internet, with multiple ports enabling VLANs or subnets.

Enable internet on the VM by bridging the virtual network to the host using a bridged adapter in VirtualBox, enabling internet access and Windows updates.

Configure Windows networking by understanding IP, subnet, gateway, and MAC address, using ipconfig to view IPv4, DNS details, and DHCP or static assignments.

Learn how Windows Update automatically downloads and installs fixes, security patches, and feature improvements through the Windows Update service, with reboot planning, update history, and Group Policy controls.

Create and share a folder on the c drive using smb/cifs and samba or nfs, set access permissions, and access it from a remote computer by mapping a network drive.

Open Windows firewall in the control panel, enable or disable it for domain, private, and public networks, and configure inbound and outbound rules for programs or ports, verifying the rules.

Begin module 9 of the complete Windows Server administration course, outlining the upcoming topics and practical exercises to strengthen server management skills.

Learn four storage types: local storage inside the computer, direct attached storage, storage area network, and network attached storage, with examples like ram, hard disks, and external disk.

Learn how to add a disk on Windows server, whether in a virtual or physical environment, by creating, initializing, partitioning, formatting, and mounting the new disk to a drive letter.

Extend an existing disk by adding a new disk in VirtualBox, then use Windows Server disk management and the extend wizard to create a ten-gig data drive.

Perform disk cleanup to free up space by removing unused files on Windows Server 2016. Discover how Disk Defragmenter rearranges data into a continuous sequence and how to optimize drives.

Explore the basics of raid, including raid zero, one, and five, to understand redundancy, performance trade-offs, and how parity and mirroring preserve data on physical disks.

Explore four backup types: system, application, database, and file system, using Windows Server Backup, install via server manager, perform and schedule backups, and restore deleted files from a backup.

Advance your Windows Server administration skills in module 10 of the complete Windows Server administration course.

Explore management careers from lead to director, detailing supervisors, managers, directors, and vice presidents across groups like storage, networking, security, Windows, and Linux.

Post your resume on online job sites to see how recruiters and HR match you to roles, guiding you from initial interview to offer and onboarding.

Install Oracle VirtualBox on Mac to set up a virtualization environment for Windows Server administration as part of the complete Windows Server administration course.

Celebrate completing the Windows Server Administration course and share your feedback to help us improve future iterations. Rate this course and leave a review to support ongoing enhancements.

Apply what you have learned in the real world to advance your Windows server administration career. Stay motivated, overcome hurdles, and learn from effort and failure with the instructor's support.