Microsoft 70-688 - Supporting Windows 8.1

Master maintaining and managing Windows 8 in your environment through theory and hands-on demos. Learn networking, security, authentication, and features like direct access, Windows to go, and Windows in tune.

Create a practical lab with Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2 to run multiple virtual machines, including Windows 7, 8, and 2012, connected by a shared domain and virtual switch.

Set up domain controller and servers, manage Windows updates with WSUS, and use predownloaded tools such as MDOP, ACT, USMT, and Windows Easy Transfer for Windows 8 enterprise labs.

Develop a Windows 8 installation strategy by assessing organization size, deployment options, requirements, and limitations, then choose between upgrade, migration, or a clean install, with tool demonstrations.

Explore Windows 8 editions—standard, pro (domain and security features), enterprise, and Arti—with features like boot to VHD, bit locker, and Windows store. Assess 32-bit versus 64-bit architectures and compatibility.

Explore Windows 8 hardware requirements, including a gigahertz or faster processor, a gig of ram, 2 gigs if you're running 64-bit, and 16–20 gb disk space with TPM/uefi bios considerations.

Explore upgrade and migration challenges in mixed environments, comparing side-by-side and wipe-and-load approaches while preserving user data, applications, and profiles during Windows 8.1 transitions.

Explore Windows 8 clean installation options, including DVD, USB, and network deployments, using images and deployment tools like MDT, WDS, and System Center Configuration Manager.

Explore Windows 8 deployment strategies, including image formats, boot options, Windows To Go, BYOD, virtualization, VDI, and management with System Center.

Explore the assessment and deployment toolkit to migrate apps from Vista and Windows 7 to Windows 8, work with imagex and Wim images, and build boot files with Windows SIM.

Demonstrate System Image Manager to generate an unattended answer file for a Windows 8 enterprise evaluation image. Configure language, UI behavior, and disk settings in pass one for deployment.

Create and modify partitions, set a primary partition, and adjust sizes. Install from metadata by selecting an OS image or data image, specify disk partition, and accept the EULA.

Configure system images with the system image manager to tailor the out-of-box experience, enabling step seven options, skipping the machine and user, and saving the answer file and sim xml.

Learn Windows 8 activation options, from retail keys for single devices to volume activation and kms-based licensing for larger deployments, and leverage unattended install and answer file tools.

Review Windows 8 architecture, minimum installation requirements, and migration options for VM and hardware setups, plus activation tools and licensing strategies.

Explore Windows 8 installation strategies, from choosing deployment images to using tools that automate disk partitions, cloning, and VHDL for scalable automated deployment across many machines.

Explore physical media versus network-based image deployment for Windows 8.1, and learn to automate installations using deployment services, MDT, WDS, and System Center Configuration Manager for light-touch to zero-touch deployments.

Build and deploy Windows images with the Wim format, enabling hardware-independent, multi-image sets and single-instancing to share files efficiently.

Learn to use the Windows assessment and deployment kit tools to mount, modify, and capture wim images, and prepare bland reference images with sysprep for deployment.

Explore image tools for Windows deployment, including diskpart, Windows Deployment Services, deployment shares, vhd and vhdx formats, and MDT tool kit for LTI and ZT deployments with System Center integration.

Learn how to use dism to mount a Windows image (wim), copy and prepare install test.wim, place mounts at c:\mount, and apply edits while checking logs for switch errors.

Learn how to manage Windows 8.1 images with DISM in this session, including mounting images, using command-line switches, and enabling features like telnet client.

Learn to use dism to mount a Windows image, add msu updates via a package path, specify architecture, and read dism logs to troubleshoot failures.

Learn how to modify a Windows image with dism by mounting, editing features or packages, saving changes, and unmounting with proper logging and error handling.

Explore DISM image management and disk image servicing and manipulation. Practice with the tool to understand its functions and how it fits into the exam context.

Explore disk management in Windows 8.1, using the disk manager GUI locally or remotely to adjust partitions and volumes, and use PowerShell for disk scripting tasks.

Explore virtual hard disks (VHD), attach and boot them in Windows and server environments, and manage capacity up to 64 terabytes across Windows 7/8 and Server 2008/2012.

Explore system cloning by using a master, fully configured Windows image, erase unique identifiers with cist prep, then capture the generalized image for deployment with dimsum.

Demonstrate image-based deployment for Windows 8 and Server 2012, using MDT and System Center Configuration Manager to modify and size images for automated deployments.

Explore alternate installation methods for Windows 8, including virtualization, remote desktop services, client Hyper-V, VDI, Windows To Go, dual boot, and boot to the hard drive.

Explore installation alternatives for Windows 8.1, including virtual desktop infrastructure, remote desktop services, Hyper-V, VDI, dual boot, and Windows to go from USB drives.

Explore remote desktop services (RDS) architecture and deployment options, including session-based and VDI, with connection brokers, licensing, gateways, and remote apps delivered via web access.

Enable client Hyper-V on Windows 8 to run multiple operating systems as virtual machines locally for testing. Understand its desktop limitations, memory and storage needs, and key features like snapshots.

Explore the concepts of VDI using virtual desktops and Hyper-V, comparing pooled and dedicated desktops for temporary and persistent user experiences.

Explore Windows to go, a Windows 8 enterprise feature that boots from a USB stick, delivering a consistent enterprise environment with familiar apps for BYOD and hot desking.

Set up and manage dual boot and multi-boot configurations to run multiple Windows versions on one machine, using different partitions, volumes, or VHDL.

Boot to a virtual hard drive (vhd/vhdx) by running an image in a window, selecting Windows 8 and Windows Server images. Explore multiboot setup, BIOS driver needs, and size constraints.

Configure boot to a vhd by using diskpart to create and attach a virtual disk, create a primary ntfs partition, and assign drive letter v.

Configure boot to a VHD by attaching a new hard drive, applying the install image, and booting Windows 8 from the new volume.

Test and explore installation options, including client Hyper-V and VDI via terminal server or remote desktop, dual boot, and Windows to go on USB sticks, noting migration installation considerations.

Explore migration and upgrade in Windows 8 installation, focusing on user state information and profile handling. Identify key steps, limitations, and tools for transferring user data with Microsoft migration solutions.

Learn the basics of migration, comparing migration, upgrade, and clean install from Windows 7 Professional to Windows 8 enterprise, and how to transfer data and settings while avoiding upgrade pitfalls.

Discover upgrade and migration options for Windows 8.1, including side-by-side, OS refresh, and in-place upgrades, and learn to migrate user data, settings, and profiles across devices.

Outline practical upgrade and migration steps, including backing up, testing, and preserving applications and data during in-place Windows 8.1 upgrades, plus automation tips for large deployments and anytime upgrade options.

Explore user and machine profiles—including local, public, mandatory, and service accounts—and how they capture desktop, screensaver, and background settings and migrate data across OS transitions.

Explore Windows installation migration with profile options using Windows Easy Transfer and the User State Migration Tool, describing source and destination setups, data storage, and automating deployment on multiple machines.

Learn how to use Windows Easy Transfer to migrate user data between old and new PCs, selecting transfer methods (cable, network, external drive) and securing the transfer with optional encryption.

Learn Windows easy transfer part 2, using customize and advanced options to selectively migrate documents, music, and user settings from an old PC to a new one, with reports.

Use USMT 5.0 to scan the source computer, store user state data, and load it onto a destination machine via the command-line workflow. Migrate user settings, documents, and applications with hardlink migration, improved detection, and enhanced logging for scalable deployments from small offices to large enterprises.

Demonstrate using scanstate and loadstate to migrate app and user settings from an old machine to a new one, mapping a migration store drive and running domain controller commands.

Demonstrate using USMT 5.0 to scan and load user profiles and system state in Windows 8.1, migrate applications and user settings from one client to another, completing the end-to-end transition.

Explore migration strategies for Windows 8.1, including upgrades and user state migration with tools like Windows Easy Transfer and USMT to preserve data and settings through an OS reinstall.

Explore Microsoft tools for Windows 8 installation, management, and monitoring, from legacy to new solutions. See how server, deployment, diagnostic, remoting, GPO, and scripting tools aid administration and enterprise management.

Explore monitoring tools in Windows 8.1, from Task Manager's new live view to Event Viewer logs, and deepen insights with resource, reliability, and performance monitors.

Explore administrative tools like computer management, printer management, and msconfig; review disk defragmentation, Disk Cleanup, security policies, Windows Firewall, memory diagnostics, and task scheduling, plus iSCSI, ODBC, and PowerShell.

Manage servers remotely from a Windows desktop using remote server administration tools, server manager, and services like dhcp, dns, gpo, dfs, and wsus.

Explore deployment tools in Windows 8.1, including App-V bubble environments for application virtualization, user virtualization for settings, MED-V enterprise desktop virtualization, AGPM, Group Policy, and BitLocker administration and management.

Explore how a bootable recovery image powers diagnostic tools to boot a failing machine from a dvd or usb stick, running crash analyzers, file restore, and registry editors.

Discover remoting tools in Windows 8.1, from remote desktop and remote assistance to RPC and WinRM, with a focus on port 5985 and PowerShell remoting for cross-machine control.

Learn how group policy objects control desktop configurations by enabling, disabling, or not configuring settings, and how GPOs linked to local, site, and domain apply during boot and logon.

Explore PowerShell as an approachable scripting tool blending command-line ease with an integrated scripting environment. Use cmdlets, pipes, and intellisense to automate tasks across file system, registry, memory, environmental variables.

Explore enterprise management with System Center and Intune, centralizing endpoint protection, deployment, updates, inventory, and license tracking across Windows, mobile devices, and non-Windows machines via cloud-based tools.

Explore how to use task manager and resource monitor to view running applications, processes, memory, disk and network activity, and tie them to services, ports, and performance.

Explore the computer management tool to access event viewer, task scheduler, performance monitor, resource monitor, and disk management, and set up subscriptions to monitor system logs.

Explore advanced Windows performance tools, including Performance Monitor, Event Viewer, Resource Monitor, and data collector sets, to generate status reports and analyze software, hardware, memory, and disk activity.

Explore reliability monitor and reliability history in Windows 8, drill into days and weeks, view events like informational, warnings, and failures, and analyze driver changes for network adapters.

Explore Windows PowerShell in an administrator session, learn to use get-help and get-service, and inspect network configuration with get-net and IP config style commands (IPv4 and IPv6).

Explore PowerShell ISE basics by running as administrator, using IntelliSense, viewing and setting execution policy, opening and editing scripts, and managing remote machines from the command line.

Survey essential IT administrator tools for Windows 8, including monitoring and administrative tools, deployment kit, app virtualization, remoting, and automation with PowerShell, System Center Configuration Manager, and Intune.

Explore the basics of networking in Windows 8, cover key network protocols, and compare wired and wireless networks to understand how Windows 8 operates with a server system.

Explore how two or more computers connect to share resources, from printers and file servers to LANs, WANs, and MANs, using routers, switches, and firewalls.

Discover how home and office networks connect desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones through wireless and wired links, with IP addressing, DHCP-like address provisioning, and routers and switches.

Explore how networks assign IP addresses, from static and dynamic allocations to public versus private addresses behind a single public IP, using CIDR /24 and 255.255.255.0 subnetting.

explain how dhcp leases ip addresses from a 254-address pool to devices, enabling communication on a common network and noting private ip addresses and static assignments.

Learn how DNS maps human-friendly names to IP addresses, supports internal and external domains, and resolves reverse lookups, with caching, flushing, and DHCP-based address assignment.

Explain how wired and wireless networks share core components like dhcp, dns, switches, and routers, and how wireless uses access points, nat, ssids, and security protocols.

Explore how network access protection (nap) enforces access through pre-access health checks, remediation networks, and enforcement points based on device health, OS, antivirus, and updates.

Open the run box and command prompt to view ipconfig /all, learn about DHCP lease, gateway, DNS, and MAC address, and use PowerShell's get-netadapter to explore IP addresses.

Demonstrates locating a MAC address, configuring a Windows Server 2012 DHCP scope with IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, and creating reservations (such as for a time clock) to fix IP assignments.

Release and renew IP addresses from the command line and explore how Windows 7 and 8 diagnose network issues, use DHCP reservations, and rely on APIPA addresses when needed.

Review networking basics for Windows 8 devices, highlight DHCP and DNS, and explain how wireless and wired networks with switches, routers, and hubs provide connectivity as IP addresses are explored.

Explore the basics of networking in Windows 8, focusing on IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, subnetting, and how the network adapter relates to IP addressing.

Explore the basics of IPv4 and the transition to IPv6, covering addressing, dual-stack operation, DHCP and DNS roles, and how diverse devices connect and communicate on networks.

Explain how IPv4 addresses pinpoint a machine and route data like a street address. Show how private and public addresses, NAT, and classful dotted decimal formats guide home networks.

Describe how IPv4 uses 32-bit dotted-decimal addresses, with octets and binary bits, and explain class A/B/C ranges, public vs private, and dynamic vs static addressing including loopback 127.0.0.1.

Learn how to move parts of the address between host and network ids to resize subnets, using vlsm and slash notation to create smaller or larger address pools.

Configure the network adapter to obtain addresses from different dynamic pools across office, home, and public networks, and bind the NIC to internal and external DNS with ISP fallback.

Explore how IP addresses are structured, including host and network distinctions, and convert between dotted decimal and binary forms. See free online subnet calculators demonstrate class, subnet mask, and notation.

Explore how subnet calculators use cyder notation to calculate class C masks, hosts, and network ranges, then adjust slash values to optimize DHCP scopes.

Learn to use ip subnet calculators to determine class a /8, class b /16, and class c /24 addressing, and calculate hosts, network and broadcast addresses.

Review how subnet calculators streamline IPv4 addressing, subnetting, and address groupings. Understand how addresses are assigned to a network adapter and how classful IPv4 concepts appear.

Explore IPv4 vs IPv6 differences, IPv6 addressing and subnetting basics, and how Windows 8.1 network adapters coexist with both protocols.

Explain the migration from IPv4 to IPv6 driven by address exhaustion, and highlight how everyday devices from laptops to smart TVs and cars now require IP addresses.

Explore IPv6 basics, including a 128-bit hexadecimal address, dhcpv6, and stateful versus stateless routing, global public addresses, geographic locations, and private addressing.

Explore IPv6 addressing in Windows 8, including dual stacking with IPv4, DNS role, and zero compression, then identify unicast, multicast, and anycast address types such as global and link-local.

Demonstrates ip tools like pings, trace routes, and the path paying; explores dual stack ipv4/ipv6, ipv6 over ipv4 tunnels, and three key transitioning technologies such as isatap, 6to4, and teredo.

Explore IPv6 and IPv4 dual stack settings in the network control panel, review MAC address formats, link-local IPv6 fe80 addresses, and DNS and gateway configuration.

Explore ipv6 network settings through ipconfig /all, identify the link-local address fe80:: and the roles of dhcpv6 and isatap tunnel adapters in Windows 8.1.

Explore the IPv6 subnet calculator and a suite of IPv6 tools, including ping, trace route, and port scanner, to analyze addresses, routes, and connectivity.

Explore IPv6 basics, address schemes, and the IPv4-to-IPv6 transition in Windows 8 networking. DNS plays a larger role as addresses grow, helping you spot IPv6 on networks.