Explore the Windows Server 2019 minimum hardware requirements, including 64-bit processors, RAM, storage, and networking, plus firmware features like UEFI, Secure Boot, and TPM.

Discover Windows Server 2019's key updates, including system insights analytics, storage and storage migration improvements, container and application platform enhancements, and Windows Admin Center management.

Explore Windows Server 2019 licensing options—essentials, standard, and datacenter—with core-based licensing, 16-core minimums, and user or device client access licenses.

Learn how to download Windows Server 2019 by searching with Google, locating the ISO on Microsoft, registering, and saving two feature-on-demand ISOs for the installation lab.

Decide if this section fits your setup by exploring server and network virtualization, downloading Windows Server 2019, and creating virtual machines and networks with VirtualBox or other hypervisors.

Download and install Oracle VM VirtualBox on Windows. Select Windows host, run the installer with default options, and approve network and UAC prompts to enable virtual machines and networks.

Create a NAT network in VirtualBox, rename it server 2019 lab, and turn off DHCP. Attach your virtual machines to this network to enable inter-VM communication and Internet access.

Mount the Windows Server 2019 ISO to a virtual machine, choose desktop experience, and perform a clean custom installation with partition management and initial desktop boot.

Install the Oracle VirtualBox guest additions on Windows Server 2019 Desktop Experience to enable copy/paste, dynamic resolution, and smoother VM-host usability.

Configure Windows server 2019 core edition via PowerShell: set a static IP with interface index, configure gateway and DNS servers, and rename the computer.

Learn to install and remove Windows roles and features on a server core using PowerShell, installing DNS server with management tools and subfeatures, and using install and uninstall commands.

Explore Windows Server 2019 upgrade paths from older servers and 32-bit limitations. Follow a practical pre-upgrade checklist covering hardware, updates, backups, software compatibility, licensing, and change-management considerations.

Define Active Directory domain services terms such as schema, domain controllers, and organizational units. Describe sites, partitions, replication, read-only domain controllers, application partitions, and trusts for managing resources and access.

Verify network connectivity and DNS resolution, then join a server core to the Windows domain using PowerShell Add-Computer, with guidance on Update-Help and troubleshooting.

Learn to join a server core to a Windows domain with PowerShell, using add-computer and domain credentials, then restart and verify the computer appears in Active Directory users and computers.