Exam 70-410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012

Explains Windows Server 2012 editions, including Essentials as a Small Business Server replacement with licensing limits, and Hyper-V edition with no UI, per-VM licensing, and domain joining.

Examine Windows Server 2012 features, including web server hosting, outbound email, telnet client/server, biometrics such as fingerprint logon, PowerShell, process activation server, search services, server backup, and migration tools.

Plan your Windows Server installation by choosing a fresh install, upgrade, or migration path. Learn to use migration tools to transfer shares, permissions and roles while preserving settings.

Upgrade Windows Server 2003 and newer from equivalent editions or newer, launch setup from the original operating system, and move up within the same edition family.

Plan thoroughly before installing windows server 2012, configure the install source, language, licensing, and upgrade or custom options, then set the local administrator password and consider domain join.

Discover offline domain join by provisioning with disjoined X-C /provision, saving a domain file, transferring it to the new server, then running djoin /requestODJ and DS join, reboot.

PowerShell is the essential management tool for Windows Server 2012, enabling server administration through script driven commands beyond the graphical interface, crucial in both Windows and core editions.

Enable features on demand to save disk space by removing unused roles and features. Retrieve the needed files from remote locations, installation media, or Windows Update when configuring these components.

Identify the features on demand search order: start with the user-specified location from the add rules wizard or decem engine image commands, then Windows Update or group policy evaluation.

Consult migration guides to plan migrating roles from older Windows Server versions. Install server migration tools on source and destination, create deployment folders, and register the tools on the source.

Offer an introductory overview of Windows Server 2012, covering basic install options (full server or server core) and how to add roles and features for future modules.

Use Server Manager as a landing spot to view my server or groups of servers, identify errors, and access add/remove roles, features, PowerShell, event viewers, and Best Practices Analyzer.

Explore Event Viewer to filter and analyze server events across local and group servers, using saved queries, severity levels, event IDs, and time service insights for troubleshooting.

Enable remote management on Windows Server 2012 through the server manager interface or elevated PowerShell, configure remoting commands, and ensure firewall ports are open.

Explore configuring NIC teaming to provide bandwidth aggregation and failover for load balancing and fault tolerance. Learn switch independent and switch dependent modes, including active standby and required switch participation.

802.11ac delivers higher speeds and reliability across 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, with wider channels and MU-MIMO, while Windows Server 2012 provides built-in support.

Explore updated netsh commands in Windows Server 2012 R2 to view wireless driver support and 11 AC details, including network mode and profile information.

Explore essential tools and utilities for windows server management, and learn how to enable remote management and locate help as you navigate the module.

Demonstrates installing Windows Server core on a virtual machine, from booting an iso to configuring the administrator password, in a lab environment.

Explore server core tools, including command line utilities such as ipconfig and cmd, PowerShell, SConfig, Notepad, msinfo32, Task Manager, and remote administration with graphical tools.

Press control-alt-delete to open the task manager, choose file > run new task, and select command or powershell to restore the command prompt; close the task manager to return.

Explore the roles available on server core, including Active Directory domain services, DHCP, DNS, file services, Hyper-V, and WSUS, and discover how a smaller footprint reduces the attack surface.

Open firewall ports for remote administration using net shell and enable the remote admin service on the Windows server, ensuring remote management works through the local firewall.

Server core lacks several features, including Windows deployment services, network policy and access services, federation server for Active Directory, and the application server role, which can prevent hosting Exchange.

Learn to manage permissions through groups in Windows Server 2012 using PowerShell, adding and removing members, listing groups, and assigning a primary (principal) group to streamline access control.

Explore PowerShell commands for computer management, including testing the secure channel, resetting the computer machine password, and repairing domain trust between computers and Active Directory domain controllers.

Master server core concepts, including installation, remote management, and role limitations; use command prompt, sconfig, and PowerShell to manage, and learn how to add or remove the gui.

Install the work folder server component as a role service within file and storage services. Create multiple sync shares, each mapping a file system location to a user or group.

Configure the work folder server role via server manager or PowerShell, then create a sync share with server name, certificate, UNC path, encryption, and a user-based folder name.

Use PowerShell to configure a Windows Server 2012 work folder by adding features, creating a sync share, and setting the path and access, plus conflict resolution.

Configure work folders on Windows 8.1 via control panel or group policy, using domain or local policy, with location and management via System Center 2012 Configuration Manager or Windows Intune.

Discover the new storage management interface that uses WMI to filter data, script tasks with PowerShell, and manage file and storage services via the dashboard across a data center.

Explore PowerShell cmdlets for managing virtual disks, disks, and disk images with connect, disconnect, mount, and dismount actions behind a familiar dashboard.

Understand basic disks, including primary and extended partitions with logical drives, and how the master boot record and the active partition enable booting.

Configure gpt disks on basic disks with partitions up to 128 and crc protection; dynamic disks use an ldm partition to support partitions larger than two terabytes and oem diagnostics.

Explore the meanings of simple volumes and pools, including span, striped, mirrored, and raid 5 configurations, and understand fault tolerance and recovery.

Explore how to manage volumes using the disk management utility, diskpart, and PowerShell to resize partitions.

BranchCache boosts performance by caching data locally at branch offices, using hosted or distributed cache modes, and operating per subnet with http/https and smb protocols.

Configure file shares using the server manager wizard, choosing quick or advanced shares, and set NTFS and share permissions, access based enumeration, and auditing for effective access.

Learn the offline files options for a shared folder—selective availability, no offline availability, and automatic availability—and how caching via the advanced sharing button runs executables from the local cache.

Explore how NTFS permissions control access through explicit and inherited ACLs, with allows and denies, the priority of explicit denies, and the everyone group caveat.

Explore NTFS permission examples, showing how inheritance, explicit denies, and permission resets affect folders like stuff, widgets, and things when moved across drives or servers.

Enable access based enumeration (abe) on a file share to restrict visibility to authorized users; unauthorized users will not see the share or will encounter access denied.

Explore how shadow copies on Windows Server 2012 volumes enable versioning and quick restores of files and folders. Learn to enable, view previous versions, and restore from snapshots.

Explore configuring print and document services within the same access realm as files and folders, and apply similar permissions to printing data.

Printer pooling combines multiple physical printers into a single pool and routes print jobs to the first available device, ensuring shared, high-volume printing with the same driver for all printers.

Learn to configure printer pooling on windows server 2012 by using multiple printers with the same driver so any printer can receive a print job, via physical or ip ports.

Enable branch office direct printing by centralizing printer configuration at headquarters, caching printer information at the branch, and printing directly to the branch printer, reducing traffic on the wide-area link.

Deploy network based printers by creating a group policy in print management, distributing to XP or higher clients, using preferences, shared printers, or sneaker network deployment.

Use the Windows Server 2012 R2 printer migration wizard or the print BRM Dudie X-C command line to migrate printers and back up WSD devices.

Manage multiple servers with server manager by creating server groups for core, exchange, and application servers, and extend administration to 2008 servers using updates and RSAT.

Create a server group to organize multiple servers, such as DNS servers or domain controllers, then use Active Directory to assemble the Mayfield site servers in a single console.

Explore presentation virtualization that delivers full desktops and remote apps through remote desktop services, web access, and gateway configurations to connect clients to server-hosted resources.

Application virtualization, known as App-V, is part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack; install and configure it to isolate applications from the operating system and stream them.

Learn Microsoft enterprise desktop virtualization (MED-V). Manage users accessing legacy OS and deploy virtual machines on client workstations via Hyper-V, in the desktop optimization pack.

Explore how virtualization simulates complete hardware for virtual machines, including BIOS, memory, processors, scuzzy controllers, network adapters, legacy adapters, fiber channel, and remote eFax video adapters.

Plan Hyper-V deployments by configuring Hyper-V settings, virtual switches, and the virtual storage area network, set defaults for virtual hard disks and virtual machines, and consider live migrations or replication.

Configure pass through disks to grant exclusive access to a physical drive via the add drive option, then consider differencing disks for space efficiency with potential performance trade-offs.

Shrink or expand virtual hard disks, using the edit virtual hard disk wizard in the Hyper-V console; it's not as easy as a property sheet for dynamic or fixed VHDs.

Compare VHD and VHDX formats, noting VHD's legacy 2 TB limit. Convert to VHDX for better performance, up to 64 TB, with logging and a data file fallback.

Configure Hyper-V virtual adapters with internal, external, or private switches, assign VLAN IDs, and manage bandwidth to optimize performance and isolation.

Configure hyper-v vm networks by adjusting authorization policy with the authorization manager for local administrators group to delegate tasks, and use the legacy network adapter without a virtual machine driver.

Provide the driver for most operating systems and emulate the network adapter. Note pixie boots are supported, while legacy adapters do not support 64-bit Server 2003 or XP virtual machines.

Master remote management in Hyper-V virtualization by configuring virtual machines, virtual hardware, and networks, then enable remote management, group servers, and administer them from a single workstation console.

Explains how CIDR and VLSM let you split a /16 network into smaller subnets, calculating usable hosts with 2^n - 2 and avoiding oversized networks.

Discover how Windows Server 2012 uses PowerShell to troubleshoot tcp/ip with a unified get/set interface, exposing ip address details, ipv4/ipv6 info, neighbor cache, routing, and udp settings.

Learn how supernetting reverses subnetting by combining contiguous networks into a larger address space, expanding host capacity as network ids allocate bits to the host id.

Replace broadcasts with a link-local unicast address that communicates only on the local subnet. The system automatically generates it and uses the fe80:: prefix with a 64-bit interface id.

Explain how host private addresses function as unique local addresses with a 40-bit organization identifier to prevent conflicts, using a seven-bit prefix and a local flag to indicate local status.

Explore the base 16 hexadecimal numbering system, converting each 16-bit block of a 128-bit IP address into hex characters, by summing the binary positions 8, 4, 2, and 1.

Explore the autoconfiguration process, where a client obtains a link-local address, checks for conflicts, receives locally assigned prefixes, and uses managed flags to invoke DHCPv6 for DNS information.

Configure ISATAP to enable unicast IPv6 to IPv4 connectivity with auto-configured addresses and a router advertising prefixes. Modify DNS global query block list and restart DNS.

Six to four enables unicast IPv6 connectivity between IPv6 sites and IPv4 hosts on the internet. Enable internet connection sharing on an IPv6 network to use it as a router.

Explore how DNS maps names to IP addresses and supports dynamic updates as networks grow, replacing host files for reliable logon services and domain controllers.

Explore how single label names differ from fully qualified names and how Windows DNS uses a domain suffix and a global zone called wins to aid name resolution.

Explore essential DNS tools and commands for configuring and troubleshooting, including nslookup, ipconfig, dnslint, netsh, and network monitor, to diagnose replication issues and DNS cache problems.

Learn essential DNS concepts for Windows Server 2012, including local DNS, resolver cache, root hints, recursion and iterative queries, authoritative versus non-authoritative responses, and forwarders.

Explore primary and secondary DNS zones, including read-write and read-only copies. Learn about stub zones, Active Directory integrated DNS on domain controllers, and replication of DNS and Kerberos traffic.

Install and configure the DNS server role on Windows Server 2012, explore DNS registration enhancements, zone types and transfers, and understand dynamic updates and DHCP-DNS integration.

Learn how the DNS cache stores host records on the server and how to view or clear it with ipconfig /displaydns and ipconfig /flushdns to fix name resolution issues.

Learn DNS requirements for IPv4 and IPv6 coexistence by configuring A and AAAA host records and PTR records, with dynamic DNS registration when clients use the proper DNS server.

Learn how DNS enables name resolution to locate services on the network, and how the IP infrastructure is configured, including setting up DNS servers.

Explore how the dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) service in Windows Server 2012 automatically allocates IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and configurations, including static pools, reservations, and stateful versus stateless options.

Install and configure DHCP on Server Core using the command line, ideal for small servers with low overhead. Enable remote administration to manage DHCP remotely with Windows tools.

Install the DHCP server role via server manager and authorize it in Active Directory to allow services to run, ensuring no rogue DHCP servers issue configurations.

Install dhcp on the local server using the dashboard and roles and features wizard, configure a scope to assign IPs to clients, and watch progress via notifications.

Create and configure an IPv4 scope with a descriptive name, address range, and subnet mask, plus exclusions for statically assigned servers and common options like router, DNS, and DNS suffix.

Explore how IPv6 allocates address ranges, configures a local subnet, and uses a prefix like a subnet mask; set exclusions, preferred lifetime, and other IPv6 DHCP options.

Create a DHCP reservation using the host's MAC address to ensure the client always receives the same IP address on boot. Describe the client and assign the fixed IP.

Identify and explain common DHCP options, including router, DNS servers, and search suffix, plus subnet mask, DNS domain name, NetBIOS node type, and WINS, enabling dynamic IP configuration across networks.

secure dhcp by restricting physical access, enabling audit logs, and enforcing authorization and authenticated layer 2 connections; use nap to control who can join and manage dhcp servers.

Explore improved partial PowerShell commands for DHCP and DNS settings, view server version for failover and policies, and learn about new capabilities in Server 2012 R2.

Configure client and server for PXE boot with Windows Deployment Services, deploy OS images from a WIM file, and have barebones clients pull a full OS from Windows Deployment Services.

Explore common event IDs in Windows Server 2012 installation and configuration logs, including event 0 0, 56, and 55, to diagnose startup, authorization failures, and IP address allocation via DHCP.

Explore domain structures, including root domain, domain trees, and forests, and identify the schema master and enterprise admin roles. Understand two-way transitive trust and cross-domain access within a shared namespace.

Explore how a forest comprises domain trees, how the domain naming master and schema master govern naming and schema, and how enterprise and schema admins wield forest-wide privileges.

Explore how the Active Directory schema defines object classes like user, group, and computer, with attributes such as sid and sam account name, and distinguishes mandatory from optional fields.

Define a site as a physical component with subnets and machines; it serves as a unit of replication, enabling fast intra-site and scheduled, compressed inter-site replication.

Domain controllers host a copy of the directory database and system volume, replicating via SYSVOL. They propagate group policy and logon scripts using Kerberos and the key distribution center.

Explore forest and domain functional levels, raise them when possible, and transfer operations master roles while delegating control in Active Directory across domain controllers and trusts.

Explore two Windows Server 2012 functional levels, including protected user protections, Kerberos pre-auth, constrained and unconstrained delegation limits, and forest-based authentication policy silos for authentication isolation.

Explore how forest functional levels set 2012 as the minimum for new domains, the one-way upgrade path, and how the Active Directory recycle bin may allow lowering in some cases.

Deploy read-only domain controllers in insecure or admin-scarce sites to authenticate logins while preventing AD changes. Define maintenance roles and password caching to balance security and access.

Active Directory logon uses a ticket granting ticket to access local and network resources; each access validates the ticket with the domain controller to enforce authentication across resources.

Plan domain controller installation, noting DC promo is no longer supported for standard installations; use server manager to add domain services role and promote the server to a domain controller.

Demonstrates installing Active Directory domain services on Windows Server 2012, including renaming the computer, setting a static IP, configuring DNS, and adding AD DS via server manager.

Upgrading domain controllers is straightforward on Windows Server 2008, running setup from the installation disk, choosing language, clicking install now, accepting the license, and selecting the upgrade type.

Learn how special identities determine user rights and permissions, including anonymous login, the everyone group, authenticated users, and guest accounts, and distinguish interactive versus network access in Windows Server 2012.

Explore why removing a computer from the domain is poor practice and how resetting the trust relationship with Active Directory, dsmod, netdom, or PowerShell fixes secure channel and group policy.

Use ldifde to import data by running ldifde -i -f <filename>, with the file containing the data to import, and include the -k option to continue on errors.

Master managing Active Directory with PowerShell to perform bulk operations, create and modify user accounts quickly using piping and set commands.