Overview of IT Administration and Windows Server 2012

Database Administrator (DBA)

Manages databases, ensures data integrity and reliability.

Network Administrator

Manages network equipment and ensures smooth connectivity.

Security Administrator

Handles security devices like firewalls and advises on security measures.

Web Administrator

Maintains web servers, manages security, and oversees website updates.

Technical Support Staff

Assists users with computer system issues and provides training.

System Administrator Duties

System inspections every morning.

Data Backups

Performing data backups to prevent data loss.

Operating System Updates

Updating the operating system and applying security patches.

Hardware/Software Installation

Installing and configuring new hardware/software.

User Account Management

Adding, Deleting Users, Password Resets

Technical Support

Support for software and hardware issues.

Network Stability

Ensuring network stability and monitoring performance.

System Documentation

Documenting system setup for future reference.

Windows Server 2012 Study Guide

This Microsoft Press book is a study guide for configuring Windows Server 2012.

Server Editions

Choose Server Edition: Datacenter, Standard, Essentials, Foundation.

Installation Options

Full GUI, Minimal Server Interface, Server Core.

Hardware Requirements

64-bit processor, 512 MB RAM (minimum), 32 GB disk space, Super VGA monitor.

Upgrade Paths

Can upgrade from Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2. Cannot upgrade from Windows Server 2003 or 32-bit editions.

Server Core

Command-line only, uses fewer resources.

Full GUI

Standard Windows interface.

Minimal Server Interface

Hybrid with limited GUI elements.

Post-Installation Tasks

Set static IP address, rename server, join domain, enable Remote Desktop.

PowerShell Administration

Use PowerShell for faster administration.

NIC Teaming

Combines multiple network adapters for fault tolerance and high availability.

Switch Independent Mode

Works with any switch.

Switch Dependent Mode

Requires compatible switch support.

Server Manager

Add roles/features remotely, monitor server health, manage multiple servers centrally.

MBR (Master Boot Record): Up to 2 TB disk support. GPT (GUID Partition Table): Supports larger disks (>2 TB).

Disk Partitioning

Storage Spaces

Creates virtual storage pools using multiple drives.

Virtual Hard Disks (VHDs)

Used in Hyper-V virtualization.

Server Roles

Roles define a server's purpose (e.g., File Server, DNS, DHCP).

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)

Centralized authentication system.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

Assigns IP addresses automatically.

DNS (Domain Name System)

Resolves domain names to IP addresses.

Hyper-V

Microsoft's virtualization platform to create multiple virtual machines (VMs).

Adding Roles via Server Manager

Uses the Add Roles and Features Wizard. Can deploy roles remotely.

Feature Installation

Features provide extra functionality (e.g., .NET Framework, Telnet).

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server

PowerShell command to install the Web Server feature.

Offline Installation

Install roles/features to virtual machines (VHDs) while they are offline.

Hyper-V Configuration

Install via Server Manager or PowerShell.

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V

PowerShell command to install Hyper-V.

Virtual Machines (VMs)

Configure CPU, memory, and storage. Use snapshots for backups.

Live Migration

Move running VMs without downtime.

AD DS Components

Includes Users and Groups, Organizational Units (OUs), Group Policy Objects (GPOs).

Joining a Server to a Domain

Use PowerShell command: Add-Computer -DomainName 'example.com' -Credential Administrator.

Understanding Group Policy

Enforces security settings, software installations, and system configurations.

Applies to Group Policy

Local machine, Domains, OUs (Organizational Units).

Common Configurations for GPOs

Security settings (password policies, firewall rules), Startup scripts.

Group Policy Management Tools

Includes Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) and PowerShell commands (Get-GPO, Set-GPO, New-GPO).

Common Troubleshooting Steps

Check Power & Connections, Restart Devices, Check Error Messages, Use Built-in Tools, Check Logs.

ping

Test network connectivity.

ipconfig /all

View network settings.

taskmgr

Check running processes.

Hardware vs. Software Issue?

Try using a different device.

Windows Server 2012

Supports Server Core, Full GUI, and Minimal Interface.

DNS and DHCP

Which of the following roles implement what can be classified as infrastructure services?

You can upgrade Windows Server 2008 Standard to Windows Server 2012 Standard.

Which of the following is a valid upgrade path to Windows Server 2012?

Installing the Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure Module—- and only that module— on a Server Core installation results in the Minimal Server interface.

Which feature must you add to a Windows Server 2012 Server Core installation to convert it to the Minimal Server Interface?

Windows stores all of the operating system installation modules in the WinSxS directory.

What is the name of the directory where Windows stores all of the operating system modules it might need to install it at a later time?

It is possible to convert a computer running Windows Server 2012 between the Server Core and the Full GUI interface as needed.

The PowerShell 3.0 interface in Windows Server 2012 has many more cmdlets than PowerShell 2.0.

Server Manager incorporates a server selection interface into many of its wizards.

Which of the following are valid reasons why administrations might want to install their Windows Server 2012 servers using the Server Core Option?

Removing the Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure feature is required to convert to a Server Core installation.

Server Graphical Shell provides support for MMC, Server Manager, and part of Control Panel. You must remove it to convert to a Server Core installation.

Which features must you remove from a full GUI installation of Windows Server 2012 to convert it to ta Server Core installation?

In Switch Independent Mode, the NICs in the team are connected to different switches, providing alternate paths through the network.

Which of the following NIC teaming modes provides fault tolerance and bandwidth aggregation?

Netdom.exe is a network shell program that you can use to configure the network interface, but it cannot join a computer to a domain.

Which of the following command-line tools do you use to join a computer to a domain?

Server Manager cannot deploy roles to multiple servers at the same time.

Which of the following statements about Server Management is not true?

You cannot disable a service using Server Manager.

You cannot configure a service to start when the computer starts using Server Manager.

Which of the following operations can you not perform on a service using Server Manager?

Striping provides improved performance because each disk drive in the array has time to seek the location of its next stripe while the other drives are writing.

If a single physical disk in the striped volume fails, all of the data in the entire volume is lost.

Which of the following statements are true of striped volumes?

When extending a simple volume, you can use only the available space on the same disk. If you extend the volume to another disk, it is no longer simple.

You can extend a simple volume across additional disks if it is not a system volume or a boot volume.

Which of the following requirements for extending a volume on a dynamic disk?

A storage area network (SAN) is a separate network dedicated solely to storage devices. SANs use a high-speed networking technology, such as SCSi, iSCSI, or Fibre Channel to enable them to transmit large amounts of file data very quickly.

Which of the following are not true about differences between network attached storage (NAS) devices and storage area network (SAN) devices?

A mirrored volume writes duplicate copies of all data to two or more disks, thereby providing fault tolerance.

A RAID-5 volume writes data and parity information on multiple disks, providing fault-tolerance.

Which of the following volume types supported by Windows Server 2012 do not provide fault tolerance?

An alternative to a RAID array that treats each disk as an independent volume.

A JBOD drive array is an alternative to which of the following?