Category Archives: Certification

Jun 27

Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-412) Configure Network Services – Study Guide

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Prepare yourself for the Microsoft MCSA 70-412 exam. This course explores how to implement an advanced DHCP solution, implement an advanced DNS solution, and deploy and manage IP Address Management.

 

These notes are my personal notes from the FREE training on Pluralsight. You can get your FREE signup through technet/MSDN or Dreamspark. The title of this course is exactly the title of this post. These notes are from this specific course only. I use these as a refresher Study Guide. POWERSHELL topics and2012GregShieldscmdlets are in purple. I have a few notes with the “DEMO” each time the training included a DEMO just so you can see how many demos there were which were really helpful. Thanks to Greg Shields @ConcentratdGreg, the trainer, contact info at the end.

All, or nearly all, sections include DEMOS so I’m not notating that separately.

 

  1. Implement an Advanced DHCP Solution
    1. Create and configure superscopes and multicast scopes
      1. superscopes – combine multiple DHCP scopes to have broader range of addresses
      2. initial subnet didn’t have enough addresses
      3. when you run out of addresses;
        1. define by geographical location; floor, building, city, etc.
        2. assign multiple network IPs to router (downside is network admin involvement)
        3. DHCP RELAY – we’ve been there…allows DHCP traffic to cross router
        4. DEMO
          1. In DHCP, create superscope, then add multiple scopes to it
          2. Multicast scope –
            1. create Multicast scope, pick start/end IP, set TTL
            2. unlikely would be allowed on most modern networks
            3. most common use is WDS or other desktop deployments
    2. Configure DHCP filters and policies
      1. nodes in DHCP mmc
        1. filters; allow or deny by MAC
        2. then have to “enable” by checkbox
        3. can set exemptions
        4. Policies; what options will the managed machines get
          1. vendor class
          2. MAC
          3. FQDN
        5. Then set what treatment those hosts that fit the policy actually get
    3. Implement DHCPv6
      1. Not a lot of real world use yet
      2. NOT very simple
      3. built into IPv6 can auto assign anyhow. Don’t believe it read this article…IPv6 address autoconfiguration
      4. This would be used for anything beyond what the protocol can do.
      5. CANNOT assign a default gateway
      6. CAN assign most other options
      7. NOT really needed for auto assignment, more used for address control
      8. DEMO
        1. click on IPv6, right click “new scope”
        2. etc. pretty much like IPv4
        3. beware of test questions about WHY you would use it.
    4. HA for DHCP – failover and split scopes
      1. split scopes (the old way)
        1. 80% / 20% is the most common (I’m sure I’ve seen test questions that said that was wrong though).  Well the 80/20 split scope is Microsoft best practice see here.
        2. Can be messy recovering from a server outage; the DHCP databases don’t know anything about what the other one is doing.
      2. DHCP Failover
        1. one DB
        2. can use 100% of scope
      3. DEMO
        1. split scopes (split scope configuration wizard)
        2. DHCP Failover
          1. per scope
          2. “Configure Failover”
          3. set load balance or hot standby and some other settings
          4. you can enable message authentication via shared secret
          5. Configure DNS registration, can discard as well
    5. DHCP Name Protection2012DHCPNameProtection
      1. mainly for non-windows computers (screenshot)
      2. prevents non-windows from registering a name that is already in use.
    6. DNS Registration
        1. Configure DNS registration, can discard as well
  2. Implement an Advanced DNS Solution
    1. Configure Security for DNS, including DNSSEC, DNS Socket Pool, and Cache Locking
      1. DNSSEC does not necessarily require certs.
      2. To enable you “sign” the zone.
      3. Key Master is the authoritative DNS server that generates and manages the key for the zone.
      4. when you create the new key, then you have all kinds of options
      5. Needs to be AD integrated zone
      6. KSK – Key Signing Key and ZSK – Zone Signing Key
      7. Trust Anchor (for authenticating non-authoritative server
      8. Then GP is used to tell clients to ask for the DNS key
      9. “name resolution policy”, checkbox for enable DNSSEC
      10. create rules to determine who it applies to
      11. DNS Socket Pool (in response to Kaminsky attack DNS vulnerability)
        1. randomizes the SOURCE PORT to not be using TCP/53 and UDP/53
        2. enabled by default, but you tweak settings like number of ports
        3. DnsCmd /config /socketpoolsize 100000
        4. DnsCme /info /socketpoolsize
      12. Cache Locking
        1. Locks cache after update in cache.
        2. cannot be overwritting by a percentage of TTL
        3. default is 100% of TTL
        4. DnsCmd /config /cachelockingpercent 50
    2. Configure DNS Logging
      1. two places it can be configured depending on what you want
      2. event logging (1)  goes into event logs
      3. debug logging (2) goes into file
    3. Configure Delegated Administration
      1. under “security” tab
      2. for you to delegate activities, you MUST have AD integrated zone (test question?)
    4. Configure recursion
      1. disabled by default
      2. servicing servers outside your network
      3. should be ON on external server to prevent DNS attacks
    5. Configure Netmask ordering
      1. common use – WSUS
      2. essentially allows DNS server give a client an address that corresponds to the subnet that they are in. For traveling users.
      3. First response goes to server with same subnet
    6. Configure Global Names Zone
      1. for needs that used to be handled by WINS
      2. short name resolution
      3. create a zone called “GlobalNames”
      4. will contain short names
      5. you have to explicitly enable on all DNS servers
      6. dnscmd servername /config /enableglobalnamessupport 1
    7. Analyze Zone level statistics
      1. Get-DNSServerStatistics -zonename company.local
      2. DNSLint
        1. graphical display of internal/external on .htm file
        2. dnslint 
  3. Deploy and Manage IP Address Management – IPAM
    1. Provision IPAM via manual or GP
    2. IMPORTANT NOTE: to change  the IPAM provisioning method (like from manual to automatic) you must UNINSTALL and REINSTALL!
      1. install FEATURE
      2. configure from Server Manager
      3. choose database (internal or SQL)
      4. GPO Name prefix (manual configuration of IPAM is tedious and not recommended)
      5. run PS command Invoke-IpamGpoProvisioning -Domain ….creates the Group Policies and links them.
      6. Run IPAM server discovery
      7. Choose the ones you want and set them to managed.
        1. managed servers need to show up in “security filtering’ box on the GPO
        2. machine has to receive and apply the GP before it shows as “unblocked” and “managed”
        3. IPAM is more of a “push” instead of pulling in existing IP use
        4. IP Address block
          1. 1 or more IP ranges
        5. Add address range (block of IPs or open range that IPAM can use)
        6. can add reservations and VIPs
        7. along with normal DNS, gateway and other information
    3. Configure server discovery
    4. create and manage IP blocks and ranges
    5. migrate to IPAM
      1. tasks / import IP addresses (imports from .csv). certain mandatory columns for IPAM imports – IPAddress,IPAddressState,AssignmentType,ManagedByService,ServiceInstance,AssetTag
    6. monitor utilization of IP address space
      1. lirrlw pie chart by each range, can be adjusted for the entire server
    7. delegate IPAM administration
      1. there is an “ACCESS CONTROL” link on the very bottom left to set up roles and access.
      2. several default roles but you can create your own customized roles and set the policy settings
    8. Manage IPAM collections
      1. request new addresses (fine and allocate) “find next”
      2. RECLAIM ip addresses that are no longer used, delete resource records and DHCP reservations if exist.
      3. EVENT CATALOG – log viewer of IPAM events
      4. ADDRESS RANGE GROUPS – group by custom fields you defined during IP creation
    9. configure IPAM database storage
      1. PS Move-IPAMDatabase (moved internal IPAM DB to SQL if you want)
      2. lots of IPAM powershell commands (automation possibilities)
Jun 24

Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-412) Configure High Availability – Study Guide

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These notes are my personal notes from the FREE training on Pluralsight. You can get your FREE signup through technet/MSDN or Dreamspark. The title of this course is exactly the title of this post. These notes are from this specific course only. I use these as a refresher Study Guide. POWERSHELL topics and2012GregShieldscmdlets are in purple. I have a few notes with the “DEMO” each time the training included a DEMO just so you can see how many demos there were which were really helpful. Thanks to Greg Shields @ConcentratdGreg, the trainer, contact info at the end.

All, or nearly all, sections include DEMOS so I’m not notating that separately.

  1. Configure Network Load Balancing
    1. most commonly used with IIS
    2. stateless (doesn’t matter what node user connects with)
    3. Configure NLB Prerequisites
      1. install Feature
      2. Unicast, Multicast, IGMP Multicast
      3. Unicast
        1. always works
        2. 1:1
        3. requires a second NIC on each server
        4. causes subnet flooding; all traffic to all hosts goes to all hosts
      4. Multicast
        1. no second NIC
        2. network configurations
        3. does not solve subnet flooding
      5. IGMP Multicast – best practice
        1. no second nic
        2. network requirements
        3. solve subnet flooding problem
    4. Install NLB Nodes
    5. Configure Cluster Operation Mode
    6. Configure Port Rules and Affinity
    7. Upgrade an NLB Cluster
  2. Configure Failover Clustering (read prior post here)
    1. Cluster Storage
      1. shared storage is not built in Windows; it’s a foreign concept
      2. proper configuration of storage is critical
      3. iSCSI, FC, Storage Spaces (in our previous FS training)
      4. we’re using iSCSI here in this demo
    2. Configure Cluster networking
      1. best practice to separate cluster private network and storage network
      2. Failover Cluster Manager – console for cluster management
      3. Cluster Validation wizard (lots of experience with this 😉
      4. In this Demo, Cluster Private network, Storage network, and Management / Production
      5. Check the networks in Failover Cluster Manager
    3. Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) used by Hyper-V virtual machines
      1. Quorum (chosen by smallest size)
      2. Available Storage LUNs (if containing a VM, they all would have to fail over at the same time (or each have dedicated LUN)
      3. CSV, each VM can fail over individually
      4. you can define a disk as a CSV, and you can revert also.
      5. More here on Using CSV for Failover Cluster
        1. CSV cache size configuration; (Get-Cluster).BlockCacheSize = 512 for Server 2012 R2, for more read the link above.
      6. Quorum configuration
        1. Quorum is only to identify if enough of a cluster remains to still operate as a quorum.
        2. Quorum Models (dependent on number of nodes)
          1. Node majority (used for ODD number of nodes)
          2. Node and Disk Majority (even number of nodes)
          3. “split brain” when cluster breaks into two separate groups of nodes who each think they are quorum
          4. No Majority Disk Only (old, not used any more)
          5. Node and File Server Majority (special considerations) even nodes, multi site. The separate vote goes to a disk file share somewhere.
        3. Configure quorum model in Failover Cluster Manager
          1. MS automatically manages cluster quorum setting now. “use default quorum configuration”
          2. Or, you can go to advanced features and dance with the complexity on your own.
      7. Clusters without network names (detached cluster) Deploy an Active Directory-Detached Cluster
        1. SQL server outside your firewall
        2. not supported for several additional roles
        3. no bitlocker
        4. no CAU (Cluster Aware Updating)
        5. read the link
        6. cannot use FOCM
        7. PS – (Get-Cluster).AdministrativeAccessPoint
          1. read the link for more
      8. CAU (Cluster Aware Updating)
        1. “update cluster” item in Server Manager
        2. allows cluster to manage resource movement to update nodes/hosts.
        3. configure self-updating options wizard
        4. add the ROLE on the cluster
        5. choose schedule (normal WSUS stuff)
        6. reboot timeouts, max retries, pre or post scripts, recommended / important
        7. All the above is for Windows updates, not WSUS
        8. “Analyze cluster updating readiness”
        9. PS
          1. Cluster-Aware Updating Cmdlets in Windows PowerShell
      9. Restoring single node of cluster
        1. Evict = kicking node out
        2. restore configuration from backup (make sure you have system state)
      10. Upgrading a cluster
        1. not recommended to directly upgrade a cluster
        2. this is a cut and move
        3. “copy cluster roles” from a wizard from the TARGET cluster, connect to OLD cluster to get configs.
  3. Manage Failover Clustering Roles
    1. remember MSCS is a “general purpose” clustering solution
    2. role-specific settings
      1. DFS, SHCP, DTC, FIle Server, iSCSI target, etc., etc..
      2. Generic application, script, or service
      3. DEMO – clustered NOTEPAD via Generic Application
      4. cluster is a SINGLE instance of the app that fails from node to node, moving the resources (including created drives) as needed
      5. Continuously available file server
        1. General Use, or SOFS (Scale Out File Server) (used for Hyper-V and SQL)
      6. Configure Virtual Machines
        1. do not put SOFS and VMs on same CSV
    3. fail-over and preferences
      1. ROLES (shared app, file server, VM, etc.)
      2. move, stop, change startup priority
      3. no autostart
      4. add resources or storage
      5. “show dependency” report
        1. graphical representation of dependencies
      6. “preferred owner” unchecked can be used, just not preferred
      7. failover max
      8. failback now/yes, set hours it can happen
      9. cluster handles DNS records for cluster required records
      10. you can manually add dependencies
    4. possible and preferred owners
      1. possible owners (cannot be on any node that is not checked)
      2. preferred owner (can use unchecked nodes, they’re just not preferred)
    5. guest clustering
      1. another layer of abstraction
      2. simply means clustering VMs that are on the MSCS cluster
      3. shared .VHDX2012EnableVirtualHardDiskSharing
      4. new feature (like RDMs) in VMware
      5. advanced features “enable virtual hard disk sharing”
  4. Manage VM Movement
    1. Migration – Live, Quick, Storage
      1. Quick
        1. the old fashioned, with a quick period of loss of service
      2. Live
        1. no loss of service
      3. Storage
        1. moving the .vhdx, the data
      4. Quick is technically faster, and uses less bandwidth than Live
      5. Live – procs need to be same manufacturer and similar family
      6. virtual switches needs to be named the same
      7. physical devices must be disconnected
      8. DEMO
        1. constrained delegation has to be configured to the hosts that you want to migrate to/from
        2. CredSSP alternative to Kerbos/constrained delegation but CredSSP requires you to log onto the machine to start the migration
    2. Import, Export, Copy
      1. have to export/import if you can’t do quick/live migration
    3. Configure VM Health Protection
      1. move to locations without proper networks, or something similar
      2. VMHP is under Network Adapter / advanced features
      3. it will move it back to prior location if it ends up isolated
      4. ENABLED by default
    4. Configure Drain on Shutdown
      1. drain a node on shutdown
      2. ENABLED by default
    5. Configure VM Monitoring
      1. “resources” tab on bottome of Failover Cluster Manager
      2. checkbox to enable automatic recovery for application health monitoring
      3. if/when enabled, you can select services via checkbox that you want to include for application monitoring.
Jun 16

Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-412) Configure Active Directory – Study Guide

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These notes are my personal notes from the FREE training on Pluralsight. You can get your FREE signup through technet/MSDN or Dreamspark. The title of this course is exactly the title of this post. These notes are from this specific course only. I use these as a refresher Study Guide. POWERSHELL topics and2012GregShieldscmdlets are in purple. I have a few notes with the “DEMO” each time the training included a DEMO just so you can see how many demos there were which were really helpful. Thanks to Greg Shields @ConcentratdGreg, the trainer, contact info at the end.

  1. Introduction
    1. Not about the basics, this is 412 training so the basics should be in place
    2. Multiple Forests, multiple domains
    3. Configure a Forest or Domain
    4. Configure Trusts
    5. Configure Sites (remember from an era when WAN connectivity and site replication was expensive)
    6. Manage Active Directory and SYSVOL Replication
      1. RODC
  1. Configure a Forest or Domain
    1. implement multi domain and multi forest AD, with interoperability with previous versions of AD.
    2. Upgrading existing domains and forests, including preparation and functional levels
    3. Configure multiple UPN suffixes
    4. Used to require contiguous namespace; contoso.com, denver.contoso.com, paris.contoso.com.
      1. now we can use DISJOINTED namespaces. can have a forest with the following domains;
        1. contoso.com
        2. denver.contoso.com
        3. widget.com
        4. This is called a TREE DOMAIN (as in “forest”, “trees” I suppose….) vs. the old
          2012TreeDomain

          TREE (disjointed) domain

          CHILD DOMAIN

    5. When would you want to use a multi domain structure (desired state now is to minimize)?
      1. habit essentially
      2. political or organizational
      3. Autonomy (separation)
      4. Data isolation
      5. Segregation for replication /authentication /authorization
      6. SECURITY is not one of the reasons as part of the same forest.
    6. Multi Forest structure
      1. when two forests merge (purchase a company, etc.)
      2. two forests connected by a TRUST of some sort.
      3. Trusts require MANUAL creation
      4. Different requirements for AD Schema can dictate multiple Forests
      5. Exchange Organizations (In Exchange, only allowed one, so if your Exchange needs require more, then you are multi forest)
    7. Permissions required for creation
      1. To build a new forest, Local Admin on first DC (there is no AD yet)
      2. To build a new domain tree or child domain, you must be Enterprise Admin
      3. To add additional DCs, you must be a Domain Admin
    8. Upgrade Process for Domain or Forest (know this process)
      1. get healthy (make sure everything is working right)
      2. extend the schema (essentially adding columns to AD database, or new characteristics or fields) (ADPREP)
      3. upgrade DCs to new OS (all DCs need to be upgraded prior to raising functional level). Hopefully you don’t have hundreds of DCs.
      4. relocate FMSO roles if needed
      5. raise domain/forest functional level
    9. DEMO – extend schema
      1. adprep (link above)2012_adprep_cmd
      2. uses the stack of .ldf files where adprep resides
      3. remember you can view these attributes in the ad database using ADSI Edit.
      4. adprep
        1. first use /forestprep
        2. then /domain prep
        3. optionally /gpprep, and /rodcprep
      5. now raise the functional level
        1. ad domains and trusts
        2. cannot go backwords, this is a one way road.
      6. What’s new in the functional levels
      7. Creating new UPN suffix
        1. AD Domains and Trusts, UPN suffixes
        2. add what you want in AD D and T
        3. then in ADUC you can use them in the user account tab
  2. Configure Trusts
    1. Configure External, Forest, Shortcut, Realm
    2. Configure trust authentication
      1. Forest wide, or “selective”
    3. Configure SID filtering
      1. Get-ADUser  -filter * | select SAMAccountName,sid (returns SIDS for users)
      2. SID filtering is on my default in external trusts.
      3. used in domain object migrations (from domain to another)
      4. has to be turned OFF to migrate (only time you would do this)
      5. SID history has to be ENABLED to migrate objects, which requires turning off SID filtering. Example; move a user to different domain, if you don’t do this properly a new SID is created and they lose access to printers they used prior. With SID history ENABLED, user object retains a history of both SIDs
      6. Detailed explanation and example of disabling SID filtering, enabling SID history here.
    4. Configure Name Suffix Routing
      1. determine what name suffixes get passed / routed to other side of trust
    5. Fundamentals
      1. trusts have direction – trusting, vs. trusted
      2. the direction is opposite of the direction of access
      3. remember by “wing it” is ‘eng -> ‘ed.   From trustING to trustED.
      4. most are bi-directional
      5. can be transitive (if A trusts B, and B trusts C, then A trusts C)
      6. different types
        1. External from one domain in one forest to domain in a different forest
        2. Shortcut – literally a shortcut to another domain in same complex forest. Not common as AD simplifies
        3. Forest – between two forest roots; everything in forest is trusted. Transitive. Most common type of trust. Acquisitions. Always transitive. Can configure rules of authentication.
          1. Need name resolution to set up. Can be done by consolidating nameservices. In larger environment, conditional forwarders.
          2. create from AD Domains and Trusts
          3. can create both halves of trust from one side (one server)
        4. Realm trust – to non-AD Kerberos realm / Linux
  3. Configure Sites
    1. Created for AD replication across geographical locations
    2. Associated with subnets (VYOS router for lab)
    3. KCC (knowledge consistency checker)
    4. Configure Sites and Subnets
      1. rename “Default-First-Site-Name”, use it and create additional as needed
      2. create subnets and associate to sites
    5. Create and Configure Site Links
      1. Inter-Site transports
      2. most of the time is IP, NOT SMTP
      3. all sites are added to IP default site link
      4. absolute value of the cost is meaningless, only the RELATIVE value (compared to other links) has meaning
      5. A lot of this had more meaning when network connectivity was expensive and low capacity
    6. Manage Site Coverage
      1. you need a DC in each site
      2. are the DCs Global Catalogs (old times was limited due to processing power, bandwidth)
      3. now best practices are simply make every DC a GC
      4. if multiple DCs in a site, define a preferred BridgeHead server. Or leave this alone and leave it to KCC.
      5. best practice is leave it to KCC
    7. Manage Registration of SRV Records
      1. determines what DC site computers use
      2. ipconfig -registerdns make the DC set srv records
    8. Move DCs Between Sites
  4. Manage AD Replication and SYSVOL replication
    1. Upgrade SYSVOL replication to DFS-R (Distributed File System Replication)
      1. If you have an old, upgraded, AD, you might not be on DFS-R and still on the old FRS (File Replication Service)
      2. upgrading to DFSR
        1. three steps after get healthy, migrate to prepared state, migrate to redirected state, migrate to eliminated state
        2.  dfsrmig /?  (powershell for DFSR migration)
        3. dfsrmig /getglobalstate
        4. results will be “prepared”, “redirected”, or “eliminated”
        5. only do one step at a time then WAIT
        6. Some health check commands
          1. gwmi – class win32_logicaldisk – ComputerName yourcomputername (shows drive space)
          2.   repadmin /syncall /force /aped (forces domain sync and ignore all schedules)
          3. update-DfsrConfigurationFromAD
    2. Configure replication to RODCs
      1. single use case; unsecure branch location. only contains passwords and content for that branch
      2. never log onto RODC with privileged  account
      3. delegated RODC administrator (the selected group can administer the RODC (“managed by” tab)
    3. Configure password policy replication for RODCs
      1. set policy for which PWs you want to cache on RODC (password replication TAB)
      2. you can see what users/computers are replicated to RODC on “advanced” tab.
    4. Monitor and manage replication
      1. sites and services – right click and “replicate now” from AD Sites and Services
      2. repadmin /replicate server1 server2
      3. repadmin /showrepl
      4. repadmin /kcc
      5. repadmin /prp view servername reveal (shows RODC replication)
      6. in GPMC, look at a domain, you can see replication status
      7. dfsdiag
      8. nltest (tests if you can locate a DC)
      9. AD Change Notification (replicates to all sites instantly)
        1. ADSI edit
        2. sites
        3. “options”, from blank to “1”, now replicates across sites at same replication as intrasite replication.

 

 

Jun 14

Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-412) MCSA and the 70-412 Exam – Study Guide

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These notes are my personal notes from the FREE training on Pluralsight. You can get your FREE signup through technet/MSDN or Dreamspark. The title of this course is exactly the title of this post. These notes are from this specific course only. I use these as a refresher Study Guide. POWERSHELL topics and 2012GregShieldscmdlets are in purple. I have a few notes with the “DEMO” each time the training included a DEMO just so you can see how many demos there were which were really helpful. Thanks to Greg Shields @ConcentratdGreg, the trainer, contact info at the end.

After doing the Advanced Features training, I’m expanding into the rest on Pluralsight and will go through as many as I can before my test date. This content should also apply to the 70-417. The 417 is the one I’m taking is a combination of 410, 411, and 412 all in one. It breaks down the score for each section. You have to pass all three sections. I have passed two of them (410 and 411) but not the 412, so if you fail one of them, you fail the entire test.

  1. An Introduction to the MCSA’s Final Exam2012Exams
    1. bunch of stuff about exam, objectives, strategy
    2. 417 is a combination of 410, 411 and 412
    3. Intended audience; ok.
    4. Without taking a bunch of notes, let’s just say review the exam objectives, just scroll down on the appropriate page for the specific exam you’re looking at;
      1. https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-410.aspx
      2. https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-411.aspx
      3. https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-412.aspx
      4. https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-417.aspx
    5. R2 specific information has  been included since January 2014.  So, while I don’t think you’ll have a lot of questions about the differences from 2012 and Server 2012 R2, I WOULD expect to know the new Server 2012 R2 features.
    6. Link on what is NEW in Server 2012 R2
  2. The next section is titled Building Your 70-412 R2 Environment 
    1. I’m going to put the next section in a new post focused on how to build a lab.
Jun 14

Windows Server 2012 R2 New Features Study Guide

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Windows Server 2012 R2 New Features (test 70-412 or 70-417)

These notes are my personal notes from the FREE training on Pluralsight. You can get your FREE signup through technet/MSDN or Dreamspark. The title of this course is exactly the title of this post. These notes are from this specific course only. I use these as a refresher Study Guide. POWERSHELL topics and cmdlets are in purple. I have a few notes with the “DEMO” each time the training included a DEMO just so you can see how many demos there were which were really helpful. Thanks to Orin Thomas, the trainer, contact info at the end.

  1. Web Application Proxy
    1. Replaces AD FS Proxy role
      1. AD FS offers CLAIMS BASED Authentication (based on other atributes from user or computer accounts). For example based on employee type, location, title, etc.
      2. AD FS can work between organizations with different OS (Windows / Linux)
      3. Allows SSO for premise and cloud (like Office 365)
      4. Reverse proxy for web apps (prior might have used TMG / Threat Management Gateway)
    2. Web Application Proxy prerequisites
      1. supports pass through authentication
      2. AD FS preauthentication
      3. requries certs;
        1. cert that includes federation service name
        2. specifics for Workplace Join
        3. Certs for each web app, or wildcard cert
  2. Guest Clustering with Shared Virtual Hard Disks
    1. I think is the same as using VMware RDMs to sup MSCS clusters on Windows Server VMs. I’ve done a bunch of these at work with vShere 6.0 and Server 2012 R2
    2. Nodes can be on different hosts; AKA “Cluster Across Boxes” as opposed to “Cluster in a Box” which is both nodes on one physical host.
    3. Shared Virtual Hard Disks allow shared storage WITHOUT SAN.  What?
    4. More simple than iSCSI
    5. Needs to be highly available via
      1. scale out file server
      2. cluster shared volume
    6. shared storage needs to be .vhdx
    7. Gen1 or Gen2
    8. Only with 2012 and 2012R2 for OS
    9. DEMO
      1. build out clustered SOFS
      2. configure cluster file server
      3. add csv
      4. set up new share on SOFS using SMB-Applications
      5. Hyper-V hosts need to be able to access this location
    10. Then use Hyper-V console to attach the VHD to a SCSI controller
      1. has to be .vhdx
      2. fixed or dynamic
      3. ENABLE VHD sharing
      4. attach to SCSI controller
      5. bring disk online, iitialize, format volume
      6. can create multiple drives on same volume
    11. DEMO
      1. create VHD and create VM cluster
      2. enalble vhd sharing

        2012EnableVHDSharing

        enable VHD sharing

      3. after each VM (node) can see the storage then you can add the failover clustering FEATURE.
      4. then build the cluster
  3. Improving VHD Performance
    1. resizing VHDs
      1. used to have to be shut down, now can be running
      2. must be using .vhdx format
      3. must be connected to a SCSI controller (Gen1, or Gen2)
        1. Gen1 machines boot from IDE, so…
      4. resizing allows to set smaller size upfront, knowing expansion is simple.
      5. use Hyper-V console or Resize-VHD Powershell command
      6. DEMO of above steps
    2. Storage QoS
      1. set max/min IOPS

        2012SetIOPSonVHD

        set IOPS limits

    3. Storage Tiering
      1. via storage pools
      2. automatic; turn in and it moves based on activity
      3. CAN  manual settings
  4. Windows Server 2012 Clustering Improvements
    1. VM Drain on shutdown
      1. If you put a VM in maintenace mode, then VMs are moved to another host.
      2. HOWEVER, in 2012, if you shut down host WITHOUT maintenance mode, there is a disruption of service as VMs go into a saved state, are moved, then started. While they are in a saved state, they are non-functional.
      3. In R2, even if you shut down (without maintenance mode) they move to another host AUTOMATICALLY. This is new in R2
    2. Dynamic Quorum / Dynamic Witness
      1. DQ – 2012 and 2012 R2 automatically recalculate quorum if a node is shut down gracefully.
      2. if multiple nodes fail, 1) checks if it has a quorum then 2) recalculates quorum
      3. you can also configure certain nodes to be NON voting node.
      4. Dynamic Witness
        1. configure a witness that will or will not be used based on quorum
        2. if there is an odd number, then dynamic witness doesn’t vote
        3. if there is an even number, then dynamic witness will be active
        4. PURPOSE is to reduce the chance of cluster failure if a witness goes down.
        5. basically insures an odd number of votes
      5. Force Quorum Resiliency
        1. to avoid “split brain” or “partitioned cluster”; nodes are not aware of each other, most often due to network issue. Generally resolved by restarting cluster. Essentially, each set of nodes think they have quorum. Think nodes in two separate datacenters (Sydney and Melbourne)
        2. Force Quorum Resiliency is that when network is restored, the cluster quorum is restored automatically.
      6. Tiebreaker 50-50 Node Split
        1. clusters dynamically adjust a nodes vote (deprecated vote) to ensure odd number.
        2. you have to configure it.
        3. works WITH dynamic witness
        4. works if dynamic witness fails
        5. in multi site clusters, admin can set which site retains quorum
  5. Enhanced Session Mode and Improved VM Export
    1. Virtual Machine Connection via Hyper V Console
      1. doesn’t allow cut/paste, scripting, redirect sound, basically only KB and mouse
      2. if you want those features, you usually have to use RDP
      3. Requirements
        1. host on 2012 R2
        2. VMs running R2 or Windows 8.1
        3. Enabled in Hyper V settings on host
        4. account is a member of RDP users or Admins on VM
        5. (do not have to log into VM and enable RDP
    2. DEMO of Enhanced Session Mode2012EnhancedSessionMode
      1. allows to set resolution
      2. allows redirect audio
      3. allows record remote audio
      4. redirect printers
      5. redirect clipboard (like RDP)
      6. click “More” to get to map drives, PnP, etc.
      7. Essentially this is like the same thing in RDP but appears pretty robust and solid.
    3. Virtual Machine Export IMPROVEMENTS
      1. 2012 or prior, had to shut down machine.
      2. R2 lets you export RUNNING machine.
      3. the exported machine, when you import it, it will be running as well (with certain requirements)
      4. Example; testing; you want to copy a bunch of machines to test a software install.
    4. DEMO of Virtual Machine Live Export
      1. create checkpoint (snapshot)
      2. can export checkpoint or live machine
      3. if you do the live machine, it creates temporary checkpoint, then a live update at the last instant to finalize
      4. WILL create a new vm id upon import, if you want. there are three choices; 1) Register in place (use existing unique ID), 2) restore the virtual machine (use existing unique ID), and 3) copy the virtual machine (create a new unique ID). Explanations of these three options here.
      5. Also note the VM unique ID, is a unique Hyper-V GUID, but this is NOT the same as a SID. A SID is used for Active Directory, this is simply for Hyper-V see explanation here.
      6. CAN do multiple imports, like a template. That would usually be option # 3 above.
  6. Generation 2 Virtual Machines – NEW in R2
    1. Gen 1 machines WILL run in 2012 R2 no problem.
    2. Gen 1 machines emulate older hardware, which creates performance impact
      1. lots of P2V, but now we do a lot of straight to VM
    3. Gen 2
      1. supports secure VM boot
      2. don’t need to run on particular older hypervisor
      3. don’t need to support Remote FX
      4. boot volumes bigger than 2.2 Tb (developers will love this; we want all the storage you have….)
      5. there is a new step in VM creation wizard; 1 or 2.  Default is still Gen1 (see screenshot)
      6. Can’t really change this later. There is an unsupported script on MSDN and perhaps other places example here.
    4. DEMO of Generation 2 VM on Server 2012 R22012Gen2MachineDefaultGen1
      1. It states in the wizard that this cannot be changed, see the warning at the bottom.
      2. next few steps are the same as you’re familiar with.
      3. Gen2 only support new .vhdx format.
      4. Another new feature; no default virtual DVD! This is ONLY created if you specify install by .iso. (see screenshot)

        If you don't select the .iso, there will be NO default DVD drive created.

        If you don’t select the .iso, there will be NO default DVD drive created.

    5. Generation 2 Boot Order
      1. for booting to .ISO etc.Just like changing boot order in BIOS more less.
      2. Enable secure boot (default is ENABLED)
      3. only supported by Windows OS
      4. VM has to be turned off to change setting.
      5. currently (as of this training)
    6. DEMO of Gen2 Boot Order
      1. contained in VM “settings/firmware”
    7. NO IDE controller. (older versions HAD to boot off IDE
      1. Gen2 ONLY boot from SCSI
      2. allows hot add storage, or expand storage while running (R2)
    8. DEMO of hot add storage and expand
      1. we went over this in the prior post VNEXT First Look
    9. Drawbacks to Gen2
      1. no remote FX (so be aware if you are a VDI shop)
      2. no .vhd support for OS drive.
      3. no linux support
      4. no iSCSI reboot
      5. cannot replicate to Azure
  7. SMB and DFS Improvements
    1. manage bandwidth based on traffic type; default/Live Migration/Virtual Machine Traffic
    2. by default, no limits
    3. Bandwidth Limit is a FEATURE, only enabled/configured by POWERSHELL (no GUI install). Installed from Server Manager, enabled by PS
    4. SMB manage bandwidth Managed by Powershell, see here.
    5. Clone of the DFS database; Use Case; setting it up in a branch office without WAN replication to get initial replication set up.
    6. Preserved File Restoration
      1. ConflictAndDeleted and PreExisting can be managed by Powershell;
        1. Get-DfsrPreservedFiles and Restore-DfsrPeservedFiles
        2. can choose to overwrite, or copy to new location
      2. This is a Server 2012 R2 capability.
    7. DEMO DFS Export
      1. Get-DfsrCloneState
  8. Remote Desktop Services Improvements
    1. Session shadowing, Dynamic Display, RestrictedAdmin Mode, Online Data Deduplication
    2. Session shadowing allows admin to connect to Server 2012 R2 session and view mode, or “control mode” so you can interact and control just like the user.
      1. Can be configured to “require permission”
    3. DEMO of session shadowing.
      1. similar to what a lot of third party tools have been able to do; Citrix, Webex, LogMeIn123, VNC,  etc.
    4. Dynamic Display – supports “device rotation” for landscape mode for tablets etc. Multiple monitors, projectors, etc. Supports touch devices.
    5. RemoteFX virtualized GPU support DX 11.1
    6. compression bandwidth compression – claims of 50% less bandwidth when playing video across Server 2012 R2 RDS WAN link.
    7. RestrictedAdmin mode
      1. allows interactive logon without sending credentials
      2. only Windows 8.1
      3. requires /restrictedadmin mode in MSTSC command
      4. more info on RestrictedAdmin mode here.
    8. Online Data Deduplication
      1. deduplicates VHD while running
      2. requires Server 2012 R2 with Feature enabled
      3. when deployed on tiered storage, deduped data moved to higher tier
  9. Windows Server 2012 R2 WDS Improvements
    1. WDS with Powershell and VHDX deployment
    2. lots of new powershell to automate. System Center Orchestrator can call these cmdlets.
      1. New Powershell cmdlets;
        1. New-WdsInstallImageGroup
        2. Import-WdsBootImage
        3. Import-WdsInstallImage
        4. Import-WdsDriverPackage
    3. DEMO of Powershell cmdlets via ISE
    4. VHDX files Import and Deployment
      1. now can use a GUI to manage.
      2. create in Hyper V, sysprep, then shut down.
      3. no need to capture
      4. import the .vhdx into WDS
      5. make reference machine smaller than 120 Gb or WDS will error thinking it’s larger than the default 120 Gb drive
    5. DEMO
      1. demo of sysprep, shut down, etc.
      2. Import to WDS
  10. DHCP and DNS Improvements
    1. Implementing DNSSEC, Zone Level Statistics, and DHCP Registration Options
    2. DNSSEC allows records to be digitally signed so clients can verify authenticity
    3. most Server 2012 R2 improvements related to replication
    4. When DNSSEC is enabled, each record gets a matching RRSIG (Record Resource SIGnature) record, and a DNSKEY record and a NSEC/NSEC3. More on DNSSEC here.
    5. DNSSEC keys
      1. trust anchor
      2. KSK Key Signing Key
        1. first server with DNSSEC has the KSK
      3. Zone Signing Key
      4. NRPT can be configured after DNSSEC is confitured.
        1. configured with Group Policy
        2. allows you to configure IPSEC
    6. DEMO of DNSSEC
    7. Zone Level Statistics (improved)
      1. query, transfer, updates
    8. Demo of Zone Level Statistics
      1. Get-DnsServerStatistics
    9. DHCP registration and Name Protection
      1. DEMO of DHCP registration and Name Protection
      2. site or server level
      3. “enable name protection” checkbox. Does not allow duplicate named hosts.
  11. Upgrading to Windows Server 2012
    1. upgrading domain controllers, migrating DHCP servers, migrating file servers
      1. DC not a true upgrade, can’t do x86 to x64 version
      2. only some OS can do an OS upgrade
      3. Recommendation is to introduce a Server 2012 R2 DC to your 2003 functional level domain
      4. promote Server 2012 R2 to DC
      5. transfer FISMO roles to Server 2012 R2 DC
      6. then demote the old DCs (dcpromo)
    2. DEMO of upgrading the DCs
      1. netdom query FISMO  (shows FISMO roles)
    3. Migrating DHCP
      1. back it up using DHCP concsole
      2. install ROLE on Server 2012 R2
      3. then restore the backup
        1. netsh to back up DHCP
        2. 2003 netsh DHCP server export c:\somefilename.txt all (exports the file)
        3. 2003 netsh DHCP server import c:\somefilename.txt all (imports to Server 2012 R2 server)
        4. 2008 use the Server Manager
    4. DEMO of transferring DHCP
    5. Migrating File Server
      1. biggest issues are permissions, share permissions, and quotas
      2. install migration tools Feature on Server 2012 R2
      3. creates a package to install on source machine
      4. basic steps are;
        1. INSTALL migration tools on Server 2012 R2 target machine
        2. CREATE package for donor/source machine
        3. INSTALL migration tools from package to donor/source machine
        4. START Receive-SmigServerData on target/destination
        5. START Send-SmigServerData on donor/source
        6. More on SmigServerData here.
    6. DEMO of moving file server role
      1. install Feature from server manager or PS
        1. DO NEED .net framework 4
        2. create package (just a folder of a bunch of files)
        3. run smigdeploy to start it on the donor/source

This concludes the Pluralsight Windows Server 2012 R2 New Features Course

Thanks to Orin Thomas;

http://www.pluralsight.com/author/orin-thomas

http://orinthomas.com/

@orinthomas

Jun 11

Windows Server vNext First Look

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This is one of the FREE Pluralsight training classes.
Windows Server vNext First Look

UPDATE; I got some questions about VNEXT. I have not finished this Study Guide as I need to focus on my upcoming test. However, I did find a couple of additional posts on other sites that are helpful;

  1. 1) http://windowsitpro.com/windows-server/windows-server-vnext-giant-leap-rather-small-step
  2. 2) Tech Days Keynote by Jeffrey Snover and Rick Claus
  3. 3) there is a whole series of videos on MSDN CHANNEL 9
    1. There are two many to list right now but go to this URL; http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Ignite/2015/
    2. Then, add search criteria on the right; 1) add “vnext” or “nano” to the search box (one at a time)
    3. AND also down the list a bit select “level 300” and you should be getting a list of vNEXT and NANO videos from Ignite.

My notes (did not complete this, had to focus back on 2012 R2 for upcoming tests)

  • The next (unamed OS). This is a PREView, not even to Beta yet.
  • Some features are not even in the preview
  • RTM sometime 2015
  • Hyper-V
    • can rolling upgrade from 2012 R2 to vNEXT AND BACK
    • so you can move a VM from one to another
    • once all nodes are vNext, then you can upgrade cluster, and after that all VMs are version 6 instead of 2012R2 v5
    • VM configuration file improvements. Less editable, more resilient. Binary, not XML
      • .VMCX and .VMRS files
    • Production checkpoints (snapshots in 2012r2) weren’t really supported. Now are fully supported in all production workloads.
    • Still can do standard checkpoints, or production checkpoints
    • Linux Secure Boot;
      • Generation2 Linux VM
      • protects boot environment from malware
      • have to use MS UEFI certificate authority
    • Hot Add Memory and Hot Add NICs
      • increase, decrease even with static settings, Gen 1, Gen2
      • NICs, only Gen 2
    • Hyper-V Manager
      • information about versions and memory utilization
      • can use alternate credentials
      • downlevel server management; 2012 R2, Windows 8, different versions.
      • additional features; integration services through windows updates, connected standby, add storage to VMs that are set to replicate (prior had to recreate)
    • Demo
      • hyper-v console
      • hot add memory (VMware could do for years)
      • hot add NIC (VMware could do for years)
    • What’s new in Remote Desktop Services
      • Remote FX improvements (Remote FX simulates a powerful graphics adapter, in VDI environments or Remote Desktop)

 

May 19

70-417 and 70-412

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412

Here is a list of my free training from Pluralsight;

 

TO Do List

Skills measured

This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below. The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam. The higher the percentage, the more questions you are likely to see on that content area on the exam.

Please note that the questions may test on, but will not be limited to, the topics described in the bulleted text.

As of January 2014, this exam includes content covering Windows Server 2012 R2.

Hide all
Configure and manage high availability (15–20%)
  • Configure Network Load Balancing (NLB)
    • Install NLB nodes, configure NLB prerequisites, configure affinity, configure port rules, configure cluster operation mode, upgrade an NLB cluster
  • Configure failover clustering
    • Configure quorum, configure cluster networking, restore single node or cluster configuration, configure cluster storage, implement Cluster-Aware Updating, upgrade a cluster, configure and optimize clustered shared volumes, configure clusters without network names, configure storage spaces
  • Manage failover clustering roles
    • Configure role-specific settings, including continuously available shares; configure virtual machine (VM) monitoring; configure failover and preference settings; configure guest clustering
  • Manage VM movement
    • Perform live migration; perform quick migration; perform storage migration; import, export, and copy VMs; configure VM network health protection; configure drain on shutdown

Preparation resources

Configure file and storage solutions (15–20%)
  • Configure advanced file services
    • Configure Network File System (NFS) data store, configure BranchCache, configure File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) using File Server Resource Manager (FSRM), configure file access auditing
  • Implement Dynamic Access Control (DAC)
    • Configure user and device claim types, implement policy changes and staging, perform access-denied remediation, configure file classification, create and configure Central Access rules and policies, create and configure resource properties and lists
  • Configure and optimize storage
    • Configure iSCSI target and initiator, configure Internet Storage Name server (iSNS), implement thin provisioning and trim, manage server free space using Features on Demand, configure tiered storage

Preparation resources

Implement business continuity and disaster recovery (15–20%)
  • Configure and manage backups
    • Configure Windows Server backups, configure Microsoft Azure backups, configure role-specific backups, manage VSS settings using VSSAdmin
  • Recover servers
    • Restore from backups, perform a Bare Metal Restore (BMR), recover servers using Windows Recovery Environment (Win RE) and safe mode, configure the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store
  • Configure site-level fault tolerance
    • Configure Hyper-V Replica, including Hyper-V Replica Broker and VMs; configure multi-site clustering, including network settings, Quorum, and failover settings; configure Hyper-V Replica extended replication; configure Global Update Manager; recover a multi-site failover cluster

Preparation resources

Configure Network Services (15–20%)
  • Implement an advanced Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) solution
    • Create and configure superscopes and multicast scopes; implement DHCPv6; configure high availability for DHCP, including DHCP failover and split scopes; configure DHCP Name Protection; configure DNS registration
  • Implement an advanced DNS solution
    • Configure security for DNS, including Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), DNS Socket Pool, and cache locking; configure DNS logging; configure delegated administration; configure recursion; configure netmask ordering; configure a GlobalNames zone; analyze zone level statistics
  • Deploy and manage IP Address Management (IPAM)
    • Provision IPAM manually or by using Group Policy, configure server discovery, create and manage IP blocks and ranges, monitor utilization of IP address space, migrate to IPAM, delegate IPAM administration, manage IPAM collections, configure IPAM database storage

Preparation resources

Configure the Active Directory infrastructure (15–20%)
  • Configure a forest or a domain
    • Implement multi-domain and multi-forest Active Directory environments, including interoperability with previous versions of Active Directory; upgrade existing domains and forests, including environment preparation and functional levels; configure multiple user principal name (UPN) suffixes
  • Configure trusts
    • Configure external, forest, shortcut, and realm trusts; configure trust authentication; configure SID filtering; configure name suffix routing
  • Configure sites
    • Configure sites and subnets, create and configure site links, manage site coverage, manage registration of SRV records, move domain controllers between sites
  • Manage Active Directory and SYSVOL replication
    • Configure replication to Read-Only Domain Controllers (RODCs), configure Password Replication Policy (PRP) for RODC, monitor and manage replication, upgrade SYSVOL replication to Distributed File System Replication (DFSR)

Preparation resources

Configure Identity and Access Solutions (15–20%)
  • Implement Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)
    • Install AD FS; implement claims-based authentication, including Relying Party Trusts; configure authentication policies; configure Workplace Join; configure multi-factor authentication
  • Install and configure Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS)
    • Install an Enterprise Certificate Authority (CA), configure certificate revocation lists (CRL) distribution points, install and configure Online Responder, implement administrative role separation, configure CA backup and recovery
  • Manage certificates
    • Manage certificate templates; implement and manage certificate deployment, validation, and revocation; manage certificate renewal; manage certificate enrollment and renewal to computers and users using Group Policies; configure and manage key archival and recovery
  • Install and configure Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS)
    • Install a licensing or certificate AD RMS server, manage AD RMS Service Connection Point (SCP), manage RMS templates, configure Exclusion Policies, back up and restore AD RMS

Preparation resources

417

Exam 70-410

Hide all
Install and configure servers (25‒30%)
  • Install servers
    • Plan for a server installation, plan for server roles, plan for a server upgrade, install Server Core, optimize resource utilization by using Features on Demand, migrate roles from previous versions of Windows Server
  • Configure servers
    • Configure Server Core, delegate administration, add and remove features in offline images, deploy roles on remote servers, convert Server Core to/from full GUI, configure services, configure NIC teaming, install and configure Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC)
  • Configure local storage
    • Design storage spaces, configure basic and dynamic disks, configure Master Boot Record (MBR) and GUID Partition Table (GPT) disks, manage volumes, create and mount virtual hard disks (VHDs), configure storage pools and disk pools, create storage pools by using disk enclosures

Preparation resources

Configure server roles and features (20‒25%)
  • Configure servers for remote management
    • Configure WinRM, configure down-level server management, configure servers for day-to-day management tasks, configure multi-server management, configure Server Core, configure Windows Firewall, manage non-domain joined servers

Preparation resources

Configure Hyper-V (25‒30%)
  • Create and configure virtual machine (VM) settings
    • Configure dynamic memory, configure smart paging, configure Resource Metering, configure guest integration services, create and configure Generation 1 and 2 VMs, configure and use enhanced session mode, configure RemoteFX
  • Create and configure virtual machine storage
    • Create VHDs and VHDX, configure differencing drives, modify VHDs, configure pass-through disks, manage checkpoints, implement a virtual Fibre Channel adapter, configure storage Quality of Service
  • Create and configure virtual networks
    • Configure Hyper-V virtual switches, optimize network performance, configure MAC addresses, configure network isolation, configure synthetic and legacy virtual network adapters, configure NIC teaming in VMs

Preparation resources

Install and administer Active Directory (25‒30%)
  • Install domain controllers
    • Add or remove a domain controller from a domain, upgrade a domain controller, install Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) on a Server Core installation, install a domain controller from install from media (IFM), resolve Domain Name System (DNS) SRV record registration issues, configure a global catalog server, deploy Active Directory infrastructure as a service (IaaS) in Microsoft Azure

Preparation resources

Exam 70-411

Hide all
Deploy, manage, and maintain servers (20‒25%)
  • Monitor servers
    • Configure Data Collector Sets (DCS), configure alerts, monitor real-time performance, monitor VMs, monitor events, configure event subscriptions, configure network monitoring, schedule performance monitoring

Preparation resources

Configure network services and access (20‒25%)
  • Configure DirectAccess
    • Implement server requirements, implement client configuration, configure DNS for DirectAccess, configure certificates for DirectAccess

Preparation resources

Configure a network policy server infrastructure (15‒20%)
  • Configure Network Access Protection (NAP)
    • Configure System Health Validators (SHVs), configure health policies, configure NAP enforcement using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and VPN, configure isolation and remediation of non-compliant computers using DHCP and VPN, configure NAP client settings

Preparation resources

Configure and manage Active Directory (20‒25%)
  • Configure domain controllers
    • Transfer and seize operations master roles, install and configure a read-only domain controller (RODC), configure domain controller cloning
  • Maintain Active Directory
    • Back up Active Directory and SYSVOL, manage Active Directory offline, optimize an Active Directory database, clean up metadata, configure Active Directory snapshots, perform object- and container-level recovery, perform Active Directory restore, configure and restore objects by using the Active Directory Recycle Bin

Preparation resources

Configure and manage Group Policy (20‒25%)
  • Configure Group Policy processing
    • Configure processing order and precedence, configure blocking of inheritance, configure enforced policies, configure security filtering and WMI filtering, configure loopback processing, configure and manage slow-link processing and Group Policy caching, configure client-side extension (CSE) behavior, force Group Policy Update

Preparation resources

ToDo

Cluster CSV

DISK2VHD

NETSH

DAC

VSSADMIN

 

 

Apr 01

VMware vSphere: Fast Track [V5.5] Now Available

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VMwareEducationServicesVMware vSphere: Fast Track [V5.5] Now Available

VMware vSphere: Fast Track [V5.5] combines the content of the Install, Configure, Manage course with advanced tasks and skills for configuring a highly available and scalable virtual infrastructure.  It is a 5-day, intensive, extended-hours training course for those willing to work hard to achieve superior vSphere skills with minimal time away from the office.   Choose Classroom or Live Online where you can attend remotely from anywhere!     Elaine Sherwood Education Services, Online Marketing Manager

Apr 01

Microsoft Certification Challenge – 180 days to Certification

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New Microsoft option to get started with certification.

http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/goodstuff/p/certchallenge.aspx

I know, sometimes there are so many different options, programs, websites, it seems hard to keep track of it all. However, this new one seems like a good deal, expecially for someone new to Microsoft Microsoft180DayChallengeCertifiations. Essentially, you create an online profile where you get recommendations, training, tips and exam discounts.

This was actually announced a few months ago, so we can’t give Satya Nadella credit for this one!

DISCOUNTS include;

20% off SQL Server exams + Second Shot
20% off Windows Server and Client exams + Second Shot
20% off MTA exams + Second Shot
3-for-1 Developer exams + Second Shot

Feb 20

Passed VMware VCA-Cloud

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I took and passed the VMware VCA-Cloud certification this week. It was new in 2013 and VMware offered discount vouchers and I had one so why not take the test. It is an online test that you can take at home. It is 50 questions in 75 minutes, I think it was. You do not have a bunch of spare time. It is a base cert, mainly around product knowledge on the cloud offerings. You can download the exam blueprint and get more information here; VMware VCA-Cloud.

VMware VCA-Cloud

VMware VCA-Cloud

The questions were as expected. The exam is a full blown, complete exam that will take the full time mentioned. Questions were multiple choice. 95% of the questions had one answer (radio buttons) and a few had multiple answers (checkboxes).

This certification (VCA-Cloud) is kind of unique. One of the most burdensome requirements of VMware certification is the mandatory training, which generally will cost you (or your employer) about $3,000 – $4,000 per week. This test, however, has the training provided online for FREE. True, this is not a “Professional” level cert, it’s only an “Associate” certification but that still could be considered a way to get started for minimal cost, and something you can control without employer involvement. To get started here would be the steps required;

  • set up a VMware “mylearn” account at https://mylearn.vmware.com. This is NOT your “myvmware” account. MyLearn = training, certification. MyVMware = support, licensing, communities.
  • Log into your MyLearn account and go to this VCA-Cloud training link. It states it takes three hours, but I think that might be per module, and there are three modules.
  • After you compltete this training, you can use it as the requirement to schedule the test at Pearson VUE.
  • Remember, the test scheduling process is a bit clumsy. You have to go into MyLearn, then, well nevermind. It’s so clunky they made a FAQ about how to schedule a VMware certification test. Actually, they are just making it a requirement that you have completed the training. If you don’t have the code from the training, you can’t schedule the test.
  • Originally, this test was FREE with vouchers, but now it’s $120.00 which is still much cheaper than the VCP series tests.
  • The VCA-Cloud is a NON-proctored test. I.E., you can take it online from anywhere, including your home. The VCP tests are proctored, onsite only.
  • As always, the VMware exam BLUEPRINT is critical; download it and be familiar with all topics in it.

 

The next steps on my training now are;

This is the next test I need to take for Server 2012 http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam-70-417.aspx

The second shot (20% off, free second test if fail) is back, until May 31, 2014 http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/second-shot.aspx

70-417 links

This is the test I have the free voucher for; http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/exam.aspx?id=74-409

I think I could also pass the ITIL Foundations exam, so that’s in the mix somewhere.