Exam 70-417: MCSA Windows Server (Part 1 of 2)

Explore common cloud computing with Microsoft services and hosting options, including 365, Dynamics, and Exchange Server. Learn how you can also host your sequel server and leverage Microsoft System Center.

Explore Windows Server 2012 editions: standard, datacenter, and foundation, covering licensing, unlimited VM licenses with datacenter, Hyper-V, RAM up to 4 TB, and foundation domain limits.

Explore Windows Server 2012 editions, focusing on multi-point premium to support multiple users on a single host with input and output, expanding RAM, sessions, and network infrastructure.

Explore server core, a minimal command prompt and powerShell interface with a reduced attack surface. It supports core roles like Active Directory and serves as a small-footprint virtualization platform.

Explore other install options, including the System Center Configuration Manager (NCCAM) for enterprise deployment and Virtual Machine Manager templates to deploy new virtual machines quickly.

Install Windows Server 2012 Enterprise in Hyper-V from an ISO, performing a custom install on a designated drive. Configure Server Manager and set the initial administrator password for first login.

Identify the minimum hardware requirements for server core, including a 1.4 GHz processor, 512 MB memory, and a 32 GB hard drive, and distinguish server core from the full version.

Plan carefully before you install, then start from the install source to set language and licensing. Choose upgrade or custom, define the directory structure, and protect the local administrator password.

Run the best practice analyzer, configure services from Control Panel to advanced network services, and finalize DNS, Remote Desktop, and remote management settings for round two server installation.

PowerShell serves as a central management tool for Windows Server. It runs behind the scenes via scripts, complementing GUI tasks and supporting core versions without a GUI.

Override features on demand (default behavior) by using a source path with the Windows feature command in PowerShell, or specify an alternate source path during installation, or via group policy.

Learn how to migrate roles from older Windows Server versions, from global catalog to file and print server roles, using server migration tools and a four-step deployment process.

Install and configure server roles and features using a modular, role-based approach, enabling remote management and day-to-day server communication through firewall settings.

See how to run the Best Practices Analyzer on a domain controller with Active Directory, DHCP, and DNS, and interpret BPA results, warnings, and filters to identify issues and corrections.

Discover Windows Server administrative tools, including Active Directory administration center, Active Directory Users and Computers, DNS tools, Event Viewer, group policy management, performance monitor, resource monitor, and Task Scheduler.

Enable remote management through the Windows server manager interface and PowerShell, configure sm remoting, check local server properties, and open firewall ports with netsh for remote admin.

Delegate administration in Windows servers by using the server operators group or granular permissions in Active Directory, then use the delegation wizard to scope rights by domain or organizational unit.

Explore different services in Windows Server, from basic control panel service start/stop and simple configuration to advanced services such as network services and network load balancing.

Demonstrate installing Windows Server Core in a virtual machine by booting from an ISO, entering a product key, and selecting the server core option for a command-prompt-driven setup.

Master the power of PowerShell as the core tool for managing Windows Server, using verb-noun commands like get user and set user, dash arguments, and case-insensitive syntax.

Shows how to work on a server core using a command prompt and PowerShell, compare CMD and PowerShell, access help, and install or remove Windows features such as DNS.

Discover how to add a GUI to server core using PowerShell to install the GUI feature, include all sub features, and specify the source.

Install or remove a Windows Server role or feature using an offline wim image, finding the image index with get-windowsimage and applying install-windowsfeature with the proper source path.

Explore server core tools, including cmd.exe, ipconfig, PowerShell, sc config, Notepad, 32-bit registry editor, msinfo32, and Task Manager, with remote administration using graphical tools.

Explore PowerShell examples for computer management in Active Directory, including domain-joined computers, trust relationships, testing secure channel, and resetting computer accounts and machine passwords.

Enable remote desktop to manage remote servers, noting the one-to-one server connection and potential lockouts. Configure remote desktop services via server manager with a checkbox on the local server node.

Learn about Server 2012 R2 improvements, including session shadowing for remote desktop monitoring and control, tighter Server Manager integration, and restricted admin mode that protects admin credentials.

Remote Desktop gateway enables external clients to access remote desktops and apps without a vpn, by installing a role or service and its associated components.

Install the hyper-v role on server 2012 and plan hardware for virtual machines, ensuring 64-bit support, slat and dep, and enough memory, disk, and network throughput.

Explore how virtualization simulates a complete virtual machine, including its BIOS, memory, processors, and devices such as scuzzy controllers, network adapters, legacy adapters, and fiber channel adapters.

Plan Hyper-V with careful defaults for settings, virtual switches, and virtual storage networks to optimize virtual hard disk space. Configure VM settings, Nguma memory, live migrations, and replication.

Understand Hyper-V dynamic memory, setting a minimum memory with startup memory and smart paging to handle spikes, and use PowerShell to configure the parameters.

Load integration services in the virtual machine, insert the integration disk, and install utilities that enable data exchange, heartbeat, backups of snapshots, and improved OS shutdown.

Configure start and stop actions for Hyper-V virtual machines to control automatic startup, save state options, or safe shutdown after interruptions.

Discover how pass-through disks provide exclusive access to a physical drive for a VM, using offline disk handling, add-drive settings, and differencing disks to create parent and multiple children.

Convert a fixed virtual hard disk to a dynamic disk, compact the dynamic disk to its minimum size with PowerShell, and optionally convert it back to a fixed disk.

Shrink virtual hard disks via the Hyper-V edit virtual hard disk wizard. Expand dynamic or fixed disks, but apply changes through the wizard rather than a property sheet.

Master essential maintenance for virtual hard disks, focusing on backups and snapshots, and converting between fixed and dynamic, plus moving between HD and VHDL X formats.

Explore multiple methods to create virtual hard disks in Hyper-V, from the Hyper-V manager wizard to independent VHD creation, disk management, diskpart, and PowerShell.

Explore how virtual adapters attach virtual machines to internal, external, or private switches with VLAN IDs, bandwidth control, and dynamic MAC allocation, DHCP guard, and IPsec offload on synthetic adapters.

Enable legacy network adapters to boot a VM from the network via pixie boot, downloading the OS from Windows deployment server; hardware acceleration and VM queue configuration are not supported.

Learn how external virtual networks in Hyper-V affect the physical network adapter and host connectivity, and how to manage internal networks and temporary disruptions during setup.

Explore Active Directory as a networked database hosted on domain controllers. Learn how the global catalog enables faster searches and how read-only domain controllers support branch offices.

Explore domain structures and forest concepts, from the root domain and schema master to domain trees, subdomains, and two-way transitive trusts that enable cross-domain access.

Explore the domain container and built-in container, learn where default groups land, and identify the users, computers, and domain controllers OUs with group policy applied to lock down their security.

Explore how users, computers, and resources across sites in the Sandra classroom domain are organized, with site-specific group policies, group memberships, and replication control.

Explore how to plan and upgrade forest and domain functional levels in Windows Server 2012, including schema upgrades with adprep, forest prep, and aligning domain controllers to 2012 rules.

Explore forest and domain functional levels, including two Server 2012 levels, and examine protected users, Kerberos pre-auth, four-hour ticket lifetimes, and force base Active Directory policies shaping authentication isolation.

Explore dns and active directory resource records, including forward lookup zones and service records, to locate domain controllers by site and understand reverse lookup zones mapping ip addresses to names.

Demonstrates installing Active Directory domain services and a domain controller using server manager, following a checklist for a proper computer name, static IP, and DNS.

Perform a clean installation of Windows Server domain controllers, join to the domain, install the directory services role, create a new domain, and promote to domain controller.

Install a domain controller at a remote site using install from media, backing up Active Directory from a writable domain controller and restoring it via USB media to speed replication.

This demo shows how to demote a domain controller and remove the active directory service and DNS roles from a server, with credential prompts and reboot considerations.

Use directory service command line tools from an elevated command prompt to create, query, edit, move, and remove objects—such as users, computers, or groups—within directory services.

Groups collect users, computers, and nested groups to control access to files and shares across servers; security groups grant permissions, while mail-enabled security groups serve as distribution groups.

Learn to use ldifde to import and export Active Directory objects by defining change types, distinguished names, object classes, and attributes such as common name and email.

Deploy, manage, and maintain servers as a whole unit, learn to monitor real-time performance, view events and alerts, and troubleshoot to keep any hosted applications or roles running.

Plan and implement Windows deployment services for network-based installations by pulling full images across the network, using an NTFS partition and managing via Server Manager or PowerShell.

Discover how to deploy Windows images efficiently using WDS, EFI boot images, and IPv6 multicast, reducing deployment time across Windows Server 2008–2012.

Explore four image types for Windows deployment: pre installation environment, capture image, install images, and discover images, to boot, capture an installed OS with apps, and install on non-PXE devices.

Explore how to set up WDS install images and image groups, configure security permissions, and define client naming policies for Pixi boot deployments.

Configure the boot menu order for boot and install images with the WTS NMC snap-in by setting the image priority; the lowest value displays first.

Demonstrates creating a discover image in Windows Deployment Services, preparing boot media, and using the deployment tools environment to copy the image into a WIM for bootable media.

Master unattended installations by using two files for legacy and newer systems, including cist prepped INF and unattended sml Excel file, stored on the WTS server to automate UI prompts.

Copy your file to a subdirectory of the remote install folder; right-click the image to set its properties and enable unattended installation, then browse to the file you created.

Add driver packages to boot images using the WTS console or the WDSUTIL command line; specify the image, type, architecture, and the driver package or package ID, with verbose mode.

Explore tools to create and service images, including the WTS snap-in, server manager, WDS, Windows EDK, and netsh, for managing image and answer files offline or online.

Learn how WSUS optimizes patch management by centralizing updates, preventing all clients from downloading updates at 3 a.m., and enabling the server to approve and distribute only approved updates.

Configure clients to use a WSUS server via group policy for automatic updates, set update frequency and restart behavior, and organize computers with organizational units, sites, and domains.

Install and configure the Windows Server Update Services role, set up the WSUS database and data path, synchronize with Microsoft Update, and manage updates, groups, and automatic approvals.

Demonstrate how to create data collector sets in performance monitor to collect baseline server data, focusing on processor, memory paging, disk queue length, and network activity.

Discover insights from event logs by filtering with custom views to spotlight unsuccessful logons, then configure event subscriptions to forward logs to a central collector.

Demo shows how to use event viewer to inspect application, security, and system logs, filter by level and source, and create custom views.

Monitor your network infrastructure with performance monitor to track DNS and DHCP traffic, packet loss, and responses, and drill down into infrastructure services for deeper performance insights.

Explore DNS zones and Active Directory–integrated zones on Windows Server, troubleshoot DNS replication and zone transfers, and manage primary, secondary, and stub zones with name server configurations.

Navigate dns zones and records in the dns manager to understand forward lookup zones, host and mx records, alias mappings, and primary and secondary zones.

Examine internal versus external namespaces and how internal DNS resolves domain resources, while external DNS handles internet resources like www and mail. Understand how A and MX records prevent conflicts.

Explore DNS scavenging options, adjust zone and record time to live, enable aging and scavenging, and configure non refresh and refresh intervals to manage stale host records.

Learn how DNS zone information is stored either in text files or in Active Directory. Experience how Active Directory integrated DNS replicates zone data across the domain.

Explore the network policy server infrastructure and how network access protection uses health validators, health policies, and nap enforcement to ensure vpn clients are cleared before network access.

Explore remote access methods to connect from outside the organization, including direct access, traditional VPN, site-to-site, routing remote access, and the web application proxy.

Install and manage the remote access role, choosing direct access or routing and remote access. Use remote access management tools and PowerShell commands for configuration.

Explain the properties of a vpn connection: encapsulation with a routing header and authentication at user or computer level via ipsec and ike with computer certificates, and data origin authentication.

Explore advanced routing and remote access configuration in the remote access management console, covering vpn setup, port configuration, ipv4 and ipv6 routing, and detailed logging.

Explore the properties of a network policy, including naming, enabling, access levels, and connection methods, along with dhcp server, vpn, dial-up, health registration authority criteria, and age cap server.

Explore the first deployment phase of direct access, focusing on configuring remote access infrastructure, including routing, firewalls, certificates, DNS, Active Directory, group policies, and network location service to validate deployment.

Identify internal resources as infrastructure, enabling direct access for IP version 6 applications with NAT 64 and DNS 64 support for apps, and Forefront Unified Access Gateway for backward compatibility.

Explore the name resolution policy table (NRPT) and its DNS namespace; client rules route queries until a match, else route to local DNS servers.

Explain the name resolution policy table and the resolution order—local cache, hosts file, policy table, then DNS servers—plus DNS search suffixes and handling single label versus fully qualified names.

Discover how direct access clients resolve FQDNs, obtain certificates, verify revocation via CRL, switch to domain firewall profiles, and route DNS through the domain after logon.

Direct access lets external clients reach internal resources by resolving fully qualified domain name through name resolution policy table and IPsec over an IP tunnel to the direct access server.

Learn to set logging levels—errors, errors and warnings, or all events—then enable tracing with net shell and registry settings to diagnose Windows Server issues.

Explore network policy and access services to enforce health policies, verify clients before network access, and centralize policy management using radius for wireless access.

Define radius clients as the devices attaching to the radius server rather than workstations, forwarding VPN, dial-up, and wireless access point requests via authentication switches and remote access servers.

Explore how certificates serve as digital identities trusted by sources such as your domain administrator or Verisign, enabling internal or external authentication through EAP-TLS, PEAP over TLS, and MS-CHAPv2.

Monitor NPS by enabling event logging to record user authentication, accounting requests, and connection statistics. Set logging levels, capacity, maximum log size, and enable radius class attribute and sequel logging.

Configure and manage Active Directory by deploying domain controllers, enabling universal group membership caching, transferring FSMO roles, using read-only domain controllers and cloning, and backing up and optimizing the database.

Discover the ad ds forest structure, where multiple domains share one schema, with the forest root domain at the top and enterprise administrator groups.

Explore how the Active Directory schema defines object classes and attributes, including unique object types like computer and reusable attributes such as description for users, guiding the forest's directory structure.

Explore default containers in Active Directory: domain container for users and groups, computers container for new accounts, and the domain controllers OU for domain controller computer accounts.

Explore virtualized domain controllers using Hyper-V, enabling safe snapshots and cloning for rapid deployment and testing. Learn why modern virtualization supports domain controller resilience and easy provisioning.

Perform safe backup and restore of domain controllers using VM snapshots on Server 2012, synchronizing data and replicating Active Directory changes, restoring controllers at a time to avoid replication loss.

Explore active directory directory services as the domain's core structure, detailing domain controllers, global catalog servers, read-only domain controllers, partitions, schema, domain trees, forest, sites, replication, and organizational units.

Learn how managed service accounts automate password management, stored as MSDS objects in Active Directory, with simplified service principal name management across a domain.

Ensure a service account runs on a recent Windows Server with Active Directory forest schema of 2008, and manually configure the service principal name for the managed service account.

Learn how service principal names (SPNs) uniquely identify each service instance in a forest, using the service class/host/port/name format with Exchange and DNS examples.

Enforce a domain-wide password policy through the default domain policy with complex passwords, and use password settings objects to tailor rules for groups such as administrators or helpdesk when needed.

Explore how to create and manage account policies and password settings, including lockout thresholds, password age, and complexity, and assign user rights that control who can modify the operating system.

Explore how domain controllers host server FSMO roles, including schema master, domain naming master, RID master, PDC emulator, and infrastructure master, and how these roles govern forest and domain operations.

Learn to identify and manage the operations master roles across domain controllers, covering forest root domain, infrastructure, naming, schema, and PDC masters, with transfer or seize options.

Maintain Active Directory like a database with regular backups, offline maintenance, and a restartable service; clean metadata, enable snapshots and the recycle bin, and perform authoritative restores across domain controllers.

Enable the Active Directory recycle bin to preserve object attributes and enable restoration, avoiding attribute re-entry; it requires forest replication, cannot be disabled, and uses MSDS deleted object lifetime.

Demonstrates how to restore a deleted Active Directory object using authoritative restore across domain controllers, with attention to replication and deleted objects.

Configure Active Directory and universal group membership caching, and learn how to maintain it, including backing up the Active Directory partition, offline management, and applying strong security.

Apply group policies by refreshing and downloading them from the domain controller, cache them in the local store, and apply changes to the computer and user in synchronous mode.

Learn how to assign group policy scripts to computers at startup, shutdown, logon, or logoff, manage computer versus user settings, and control script timeout and execution order.

Explore how the default domain policy manages logon behavior, software deployment, and password policies for all users and computers, while the default domain controllers policy secures and audits domain controllers.

Learn how a group policy comprises a container in Active Directory and a shared template stored under system root, with versioned settings inside.

master slow link processing in Group Policy deployments; define slow links under 500 K, identify modifiable and non-modifiable settings, and emphasize keeping security-related policies on.

Learn how loopback processing applies server computer and user policies with replace or merge modes, enabling predictable environments on servers and preventing undesired user policy overrides.

Explore how administrative templates extend group policy by configuring lockdowns for control panel, system and personalization settings, with import/export and template management.

Explore local policies via the group policy management console and design domain-wide and OU-specific policies. Learn to configure auditing, user rights, interactive logon, and domain controller settings.

Learn to create and manage group policy objects, link and scope them, apply WMI filters, disable unused settings, back up and restore policies, and model or verify results.

Explore configuring group policy preferences to set starter settings, such as drive mappings, environment variables, files and registry values, across user and computer configurations for remote management.

Maintain GPOs by backing up, restoring, and importing settings, using migration tables, and delegating administration with testing, WMI filters, and security filtering.