Microsoft AZ-801 – Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services

Module 1: Windows Server security

This module discusses how to protect an Active Directory environment by securing user accounts to least privilege and placing them in the Protected Users group. The module covers how to limit authentication scope and remediate potentially insecure accounts. The module also describes how to harden the security configuration of a Windows Server operating system environment. In addition, the module discusses the use of Windows Server Update Services to deploy operating system updates to computers on the network. Finally, the module covers how to secure Windows Server DNS to help protect the network name resolution infrastructure.

 

Module 2: Implementing security solutions in hybrid scenarios

This module describes how to secure on-premises Windows Server resources and Azure IaaS workloads. The module covers how to improve the network security for Windows Server infrastructure as a service (IaaS) VMs and how to diagnose network security issues with those VMs. In addition, the module introduces Azure Security Center and explains how to onboard Windows Server computers to Security Center. The module also describes how to enable Azure Update Management, deploy updates, review an update assessment, and manage updates for Azure VMs. The module explains how Adaptive application controls and BitLocker disk encryption are used to protect Windows Server IaaS VMs. Finally, the module explains how to monitor Windows Server Azure IaaS VMs for changes in files and the registry, as well as monitoring modifications made to application software.

 

Module 3: Implementing high availability

This module describes technologies and options to create a highly available Windows Server environment. The module introduces Clustered Shared Volumes for shared storage access across multiple cluster nodes. The module also highlights failover clustering, stretch clusters, and cluster sets for implementing high availability of Windows Server workloads. The module then discusses high availability provisions for Hyper-V and Windows Server VMs, such as network load balancing, live migration, and storage migration. The module also covers high availability options for shares hosted on Windows Server file servers. Finally, the module describes how to implement scaling for virtual machine scale sets and load balanced VMs, and how to implement Azure Site Recovery.

 

Module 4: Disaster recovery in Windows Server

This module introduces Hyper-V Replica as a business continuity and disaster recovery solution for a virtual environment. The module discusses Hyper-V Replica scenarios and use cases, and prerequisites to use it. The module also discusses how to implement Azure Site Recovery in on-premises scenarios to recover from disasters.

 

Module 5: Implementing recovery services in hybrid scenarios

This module covers tools and technologies for implementing disaster recovery in hybrid scenarios, whereas the previous module focuses on BCDR solutions for on-premises scenarios. The module begins with Azure Backup as a service to protect files and folders before highlighting how to implement Recovery Vaults and Azure Backup Policies. The module describes how to recover Windows IaaS virtual machines, perform backup and restore of on-premises workloads, and manage Azure VM backups. The module also covers how to provide disaster recovery for Azure infrastructure by managing and orchestrating replication, failover, and failback of Azure virtual machines with Azure Site Recovery.

 

Module 6: Upgrade and migrate in Windows Server

This module discusses approaches to migrating and updating Windows Server workloads running in earlier versions of Windows Server. The module covers the necessary strategies needed to move domain controllers to Windows Server 2022 and describes how the Active Directory Migration Tool can consolidate domains within a forest or migrate domains to a new AD DS forest. The module also discusses the use of Storage Migration Service to migrate files and files shares from existing file servers to new servers running Windows Server 2022. Finally, the module covers how to install and use the Windows Server Migration Tools cmdlets to migrate commonly used server roles from earlier versions of Windows Server.

 

Module 7: Implementing migration in hybrid scenarios

This module discusses approaches to migrating workloads running in Windows Server to an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) virtual machine. The module introduces using Azure Migrate to assess and migrate on-premises Windows Server instances to Microsoft Azure. The module also covers how migrate a workload running in Windows Server to an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) virtual machine (VM) and to Windows Server 2022 by using Windows Server migration tools or the Storage Migration Service. Finally, this module describes how to use the Azure Migrate App Containerization tool to containerize and migrate ASP.NET applications to Azure App Service.

 

Module 8: Server and performance monitoring in Windows Server

This module introduces a range of tools to monitor the operating system and applications on a Windows Server computer as well as describing how to configure a system to optimize efficiency and to troubleshoot problems. The module covers how Event Viewer provides a convenient and accessible location for observing events that occur, and how to interpret the data in the event log. The module also covers how to audit and diagnose a Windows Server environment for regulatory compliance, user activity, and troubleshooting. Finally, the module explains how to troubleshoot AD DS service failures or degraded performance, including recovery of deleted objects and the AD DS database, and how to troubleshoot hybrid authentication issues.

 

Module 9: Implementing operational monitoring in hybrid scenarios

This module covers using monitoring and troubleshooting tools, processes, and best practices to streamline app performance and availability of Windows Server IaaS VMs and hybrid instances. The module describes how to implement Azure Monitor for IaaS VMs in Azure, implement Azure Monitor in on-premises environments, and use dependency maps. The module then explains how to enable diagnostics to get data about a VM, view VM metrics in Azure Metrics Explorer, and create a metric alert to monitor VM performance. The module then covers how to monitor VM performance by using Azure Monitor VM Insights. The module then describes various aspects of troubleshooting on premises and hybrid network connectivity, including how to diagnose common issues with DHCP, name resolution, IP configuration, and routing. Finally, the module examines how to troubleshoot configuration issues that impact connectivity to Azure-hosted Windows Server virtual machines (VMs), as well as approaches to resolve issues with VM startup, extensions, performance, storage, and encryption.