MCSA: Installation, Storage and Compute with Windows Server

Explore Windows Server history and its Standard and Data Center editions. Review installation options, Server Manager for role management, the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, upgrade paths, patching, and backup.

Trace the history of Windows Server from NT 3.1 to the 64-bit NT kernel, and explore Server Core, remote management, and Windows Server 2016 in cloud contexts.

Learn about Windows Server 2016 SKUs, including Essentials, Standard, and Data Center, and how per-core licensing, minimums, and VM rights affect virtualization and storage features.

Explore Windows Server 2016 installation modes: server with desktop experience, server core, nano server; headless remote management; containers; current branch for business; long term servicing branch.

Learn to deploy Windows Server 2016 from media or USB, configure BIOS or UEFI targets, use diskpart to prepare partitions, and install standard or data center edition before updating.

Learn to use server manager to centrally manage Windows Server roles, features, and multiple servers, with remote administration, dashboards, and group management for services, performance, and Hyper-V storage.

Use server manager to add roles and features and understand role-based versus feature-based installations. Explore options like dependencies, management tools, restarts, exporting configurations, and PowerShell alternatives for multi-server deployments.

Learn to manage Windows server roles and features with PowerShell: list, install, and remove features using Get-WindowsFeature and Install-WindowsFeature, including remote targets, subfeatures, and configuration export.

Learn to use dism to manage online and offline images, and perform discovery with the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit to assess current Windows Server instances for deployment planning.

Upgrade to Windows Server 2016 is best done with a fresh install and workload migration, as in-place upgrades are limited and mainly from 2012 or 2012 R2.

Upgrade a mixed-mode Windows Server cluster to 2016 by patching nodes, evicting, reinstalling, and rejoining, using PowerShell to update the cluster functional level and storage pools if present.

Master offline image maintenance with the DSM tool and DISM, mounting and modifying Windows images, and monitor Windows Server performance using Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Performance Monitor.

Learn how Windows Server uses a monthly cumulative update model with Windows Defender and security patches, and manage patches via WSUS, Configuration Manager, and Azure gateway tools.

Install and configure Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to host an on-premises catalog and synchronize with Microsoft Update. Configure languages, products, classifications, and group policies to tailor deployment and approvals.

Learn to manage WSUS on Windows Server by configuring group policy, approving and deploying patches, monitoring synchronization, and generating detailed reports.

Learn how Windows Defender on Windows Server 2016 auto-updates via Microsoft Update or WSUS and integrates with Group Policy, Configuration Manager, and Azure Backup for on-site and off-site protection.

Explore activation options for Windows Server 2016, including a Key Management Service server, Active Directory-based activation, and automatic virtual machine activation. Also examine the basic multiple activation key option.

Explore Windows Server 2016 activation options, including the 30 day grace period, mac key activations, telephone activation, and tracking via Volume Licensing Service Center and VAMT.

Learn to deploy a key management service server for on-premises activation of Windows clients and servers using an organization-specific CMS host key, with 180-day cycles, DNS publishing, and 25-client/5-server thresholds.

Activate Windows and Office automatically with Active Directory based activation and a CMS host key. Auto-activate compatible guest OSes on Hyper-V data center hosts; nano server uses a different method.

Compare activation methods for Windows Server and clients—CMS, Active Directory based activation, and automatic VM activation for Hyper-V—and choose the best option per environment.

Explore PowerShell fundamentals, its evolution, and practical use in Windows Server environments, including remote management, common tasks, maintenance of operating system images, and desired state configuration.

Learn how PowerShell enables administrators to work with Windows by piping objects through a pipeline, using a consistent verb-noun syntax built on the .NET CLR, with IntelliSense and scripting capabilities.

Discover PowerShell versions, including 5.1 on Windows Server 2016 and Nano Server core, checkable with Get-Host and $PSVersionTable, plus auto loading of modules since v3 and 64-bit vs 32-bit.

Learn how to configure and use the integrated scripting environment for PowerShell, access it with elevated privileges, leverage IntelliSense, aliases, and tab completion, and navigate drives, providers, and environments.

Learn to use PowerShell help effectively by getting examples, updating help with elevated privileges, and viewing online or in-window documentation for commands like Get-Process.

Learn to perform remote management with PowerShell, running commands on single or multiple remote machines via invoke-command and sessions, and access security and other event logs.

Learn to create and run PowerShell scripts, understand execution policy options, sign requirements, and dot sourcing to retain variables, while using loops and WMI to gather system data.

Explore image management with PowerShell using the Dism module to mount images, add drivers and updates, apply packages, and work with VHDs and Windows images for server deployments.

Master PowerShell desired state configuration to declaratively specify end state, use push or pull models, and apply DSC resources to enforce Windows features, services, and registry settings for compliance.

Create a desired state configuration with a configuration block and node entries, use a file provider to sync source to target, then compile and push dsc to the target.

Explore the Nano Server overview and capabilities, and learn to create a Nano Server image with PowerShell and the Nano System Image Builder, and patch and manage Nano Server deployments.

Explore Nano Server, the thin, headless option introduced in Windows Server 2016 for cloud infrastructure and Hyper-V deployments, featuring remote management, .NET Core support, and a minimal footprint.

Explain the difference between CBB and LTSB for nano server, its current branch updates, and core roles such as Hyper-V, file server, DNS, container host, and shielded VMs.

Create a custom nano server image from Windows Server 2016 media by building a VHD for a generation one Hyper-V VM and applying a cumulative update.

Learn to patch nano server by applying the latest Windows Server 2016 cumulative update, pre-patching images, and patching offline or running instances via PowerShell.

Explore nano server management options, including creation and patching, with PowerShell-based remote management and Azure-based tools for monitoring updates, services, and roles.

Explore storage in Windows Server 2016, including types of storage services and using virtual hard drives, and leverage SMB, NFS, and iSCSI while examining backup and recovery considerations.

Explore Windows Server 2016 storage and file services, including storage spaces, VHD and VHDX, NTFS and ReFS, data deduplication, encryption, and access via iSCSI, NFS, and SMB3.

Compare ntfs and refs, highlighting ReFS advantages for storage space direct and archival volumes with mixed and parity resiliency, self-heal, and metadata-based acceleration for VHD creation in Windows Server 2016.

Explore managing file system permissions via the graphical user interface and PowerShell, focusing on security tab and group-based access. Apply inheritance principles and use NTFS security module for easier management.

Explore virtual hard disk formats, comparing VHD and VHDX, with dynamic and fixed sizes, up to 64 terabytes, noting Azure compatibility and how to create, mount, and manage disks.

Resize vhd and vhdx files on running virtual machines, edit and compact disks, and perform PowerShell resizing. Explore SMB 3.0 for enterprise storage, active-active failover, multi-channel, and share management.

Configure and manage NFS shares and iSCSI targets on Windows Server, including authentication options, UID/GID mapping, permissions, quotas, and multi-path I/O (MPIO) for redundant storage paths.

Explore data deduplication on Windows Server volumes, reducing disk space via block-level single-instancing, and plan backups and recovery with replication, RPO, and System Center Data Protection Manager for granular restores.

Examine the advancements of Windows Server 2016, overview of replica and its usage, and explore Storage Spaces Direct and their integration. Note these features require the Data Center edition.

Explore storage replica, a block-level, SMB 3-based disaster recovery solution for standalone or clustered servers with synchronous or asynchronous replication, including support for storage spaces direct.

This lesson demonstrates deploying storage replica between two non-clustered Windows servers using PowerShell, running topology tests, creating a synchronous partnership, and switching primary to validate live replication and failover.

Explore storage spaces direct on Windows Server 2016, aggregating direct attached storage across cluster nodes to form a resilient cluster shared volume with raid-free design, mirroring, parity, and tiered caching.

Learn to use storage replica with storage spaces direct across locations by creating separate clusters, replicating content between them for failover with PowerShell or Azure Site Recovery.

Explore virtualization with Hyper-V, covering installation and management, resources such as CPU, memory, disk, and network, and features like checkpoints, import export, mobility, migration, and replication.

Learn how virtualization turns a physical server into multiple isolated virtual machines with dedicated CPU, memory, storage, and network, covering generation 1 and 2 VMs, secure boot, and NUMA.

Explore Hyper-V as the Windows Server virtualization solution, contrast type-1 and type-2 hypervisors, and learn how boot integration and the parent partition enable near bare-metal performance and scalability.

Learn to install Hyper-V by verifying hardware, memory, CPU, storage, and I/O for virtual machines, then use Core Info and Server Manager to configure private, external switches and live migration.

Learn to deploy a virtual machine after configuring Hyper-V, using templates and PowerShell to create VMs, tune memory and processors, and enable nested virtualization to run Hyper-V inside a VM.

Compare generation one and generation two virtual machines, highlighting BIOS versus EFI and legacy hardware. Use generation two for modern 64-bit operating systems with EFI and streamlined startup.

Upgrade VMs to hardware version eight for Windows Server 2012, converting XML configurations to VMCX format via upgrade or PowerShell; enable secure boot on generation two VMs for EFI protection.

Learn how dynamic memory adjusts a virtual machine's memory from its working set, with starting, minimum, maximum values, a 20% buffer, and balloon-driven reclamation.

Explore Hyper-V virtual switches: external, private, and host virtual NICs with VLANs. Configure generation two VM NICs via PowerShell, add or remove adapters, and apply VLANs, QoS, and bandwidth controls.

Learn how VMQ, vRSS, and VMMQ distribute network traffic across multiple queues and cores on a Hyper-V host, boosting bandwidth and performance with virtual switches and VM NICs.

Explore vm network resiliency and virtual fibre channel in Hyper-V clusters, including protected networks, live migration, and shared storage via VHD sets.

Explore Hyper-V checkpoints and production checkpoints, including creating, applying, exporting, and importing VMs and checkpoints, with disk differences handling and application-consistent backups.

Configure storage and network quality of service to manage IOPS and bandwidth for virtual machines. Explore live migration and storage migration with Hyper-V and centralized QoS for scale-out file servers.

Learn how Hyper-V replica delivers asynchronous storage replication between primary and secondary sites, with recovery points, application-consistent snapshots, test failovers, planned and unplanned failovers, and cross-site networking.

Enable Hyper-V replica on a standalone host, choose authentication (Kerberos or certificate with https), set replica storage, and configure cluster broker for failover and recovery.

Learn how to replicate Hyper-V workloads to Azure with Azure Site Recovery for disaster recovery, plan failover, and use nic teaming on hosts or VMs for resiliency and load balancing.

Configure switch embedded teaming to enable load balancing across multiple adapters in a single virtual switch, and apply discrete device assignment to pass PCIe devices directly to virtual machines.

Master Hyper-V management with PowerShell to automate VM creation, networking, and storage tasks. Use PowerShell direct for VM access without network connectivity and perform parallel migrations.

Explore containers in Windows Server 2016, including installation, managing images and container instances, types of containers, networking basics, and an introduction to Docker.

Containers provide isolated sandbox environments on a shared host OS, enabling fast, consistent deployments using Docker images and a Dockerfile on Windows Server 2016.

Install and manage Docker on Windows Server via an elevated PowerShell session, pull images from the registry, and create a Dockerfile to customize an IIS-based container.

Create a container from an image or Dockerfile, run it interactively, map ports to its web service, and explore NAT-based container networking.

Explore Hyper-V containers, which run each container inside its own Hyper-V VM for kernel isolation and multitenant security, using server core or nano server base images with no Dockerfile changes.

Learn to use Docker Hub to upload, tag, and push images, create private repositories, manage visibility, and understand pull and on premises private options.

Explore high availability concepts with failover clustering, cluster shared volumes, and options for high availability of file services, and learn how network load balancing enhances Windows Server availability.

Learn how high availability uses failover clustering to keep services running across multiple nodes, and how quorum and dynamic witness options ensure a single partition stays active during failures.

Explore quorum concepts and witness types (disk, file share, and cloud witnesses) in single and multi-site Windows Server clusters, and learn to configure them via PowerShell or the cluster manager.

Explore site awareness and node fairness in Windows Server, enabling geo clustering with multiple cluster IPs and OR dependency, and balance virtual machines by CPU and memory with configurable rebalancing.

Install failover clustering on identical nodes, validate with PowerShell or the cluster manager, create the cluster and roles, then drain roles to perform maintenance and resume.

Explore cluster shared volumes that let all cluster nodes access a single lun, with a coordinator node handling metadata to prevent corruption and enable redirected access.

Explore scale-out file server with SMB 3.0, enabling active-active configurations and transparent failover. See how enterprise workloads like Hyper-V and SQL Server use SMB connections on cluster shared volumes.

Configure a scale-out file server with continuous availability, create shares on a cluster shared volume, and use VHD sets for guest clustering and Hyper-V replica.

Explore storage and compute resiliency in Windows Server 2016, including node isolation, cluster shared volumes, and quarantine settings that minimize downtime during network or storage blips.

Deploy network load balancing across multiple service instances to achieve scale and resiliency with a frontend cluster IP and stateful five-tuple stickiness. Configure unicast or multicast mode and manage members.