Managing Resources, Security, and Networking in Windows 2025 Course

Lesson 1 • Monitoring and Event Logging Basics

Introduces Event Viewer, Performance Monitor, and basic health checks. Establishes observability habits required throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Installation and Initial Configuration

Guides through clean install, upgrade paths, and post-install settings. Ensures a properly configured baseline before roles are added.

Lesson 3 • Roles, Features, and Role Services

Explains the role/feature model and how services are added or removed. Prepares students to deploy targeted server functions in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • Server Manager and Management Tools

Introduces built-in management consoles and remote management capabilities. Connects tool proficiency to efficient day-to-day administration.

Lesson 1 • Deploying and Promoting Domain Controllers

Covers dcpromo replacement workflows, DNS integration, and replication topology. Connects deployment decisions to long-term directory health.

Lesson 2 • Authentication Protocols and Account Policies

Covers Kerberos, NTLM, fine-grained password policies, and account lockout. Builds the authentication foundation required for the security chapters.

Lesson 3 • Managing Users, Groups, and Computers

Teaches object creation, group scopes, and bulk management techniques. Directly supports resource access control covered in the next chapter.

Lesson 4 • Group Policy Fundamentals

Introduces GPO creation, linking, inheritance, and filtering. Establishes policy enforcement skills used in security and resource chapters.

Lesson 1 • Storage Spaces and Tiering

Deploys Storage Spaces pools, virtual disks, and storage tiers. Provides resilient storage architecture skills for enterprise environments.

Lesson 2 • Disk and Volume Management

Covers MBR vs. GPT, basic and dynamic disks, and volume types. Prepares students to provision storage before applying permissions.

Lesson 3 • Shared Folders and SMB Configuration

Configures SMB shares, share permissions, and access-based enumeration. Connects file system permissions to network-accessible resource delivery.

Lesson 4 • NTFS and ReFS File System Fundamentals

Compares NTFS and ReFS features, journaling, and integrity streams. Provides the file system knowledge required for permission and quota tasks.

Lesson 1 • TCP/IP Addressing and Subnetting

Reviews IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, subnetting, and interface configuration. Establishes the IP knowledge required for all network service deployments.

Lesson 2 • IP Address Management with IPAM

Introduces IPAM provisioning, address space tracking, and DNS/DHCP integration. Centralizes IP management for large or multi-site environments.

Lesson 3 • DNS Server Deployment and Management

Covers zone types, record management, forwarders, and DNSSEC. DNS is the foundational name resolution service for AD DS and all network services.

Lesson 4 • DHCP Server Configuration

Deploys DHCP scopes, reservations, options, and failover. Automates IP address management across the domain environment.

Lesson 1 • Certificate Use Cases and Troubleshooting

Applies certificates to smart card logon, TLS, and code signing scenarios. Builds practical troubleshooting skills for common PKI failures.

Lesson 2 • PKI Concepts and Certificate Fundamentals

Explains X.509 certificates, trust chains, and cryptographic key pairs. Provides the conceptual foundation before any CA infrastructure is deployed.

Lesson 3 • Certificate Revocation and OCSP

Configures CRL publishing schedules and deploys an Online Responder for real-time revocation. Ensures relying parties can validate certificate status efficiently.

Lesson 4 • Deploying a Two-Tier CA Hierarchy

Installs an offline root CA and an enterprise subordinate CA following best practices. Establishes a secure, scalable PKI hierarchy for the organization.

Lesson 1 • DirectAccess Configuration

Deploys DirectAccess for seamless always-on remote access without user-initiated VPN. Connects to AD DS and PKI infrastructure from earlier chapters.

Lesson 2 • VPN Protocols and Deployment

Covers PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, SSTP, and IKEv2 VPN protocols and their trade-offs. Students configure site-to-site and client VPN connections.

Lesson 3 • Remote Access Role and Routing

Installs the Remote Access role and configures LAN routing and NAT. Establishes the routing foundation before VPN and DirectAccess are layered on.

Lesson 4 • Web Application Proxy Deployment

Publishes internal applications securely through Web Application Proxy with pre-authentication. Extends remote access to web-based resources without full VPN.

Lesson 1 • Security Baselines and Attack Surface Reduction

Applies Microsoft Security Baselines and disables unnecessary services and features. Reduces the exploitable attack surface before adding compensating controls.

Lesson 2 • Patch Management and Vulnerability Remediation

Deploys WSUS and integrates with update management platforms to maintain patch compliance. Closes known vulnerabilities systematically across the server fleet.

Lesson 3 • Windows Defender and Endpoint Protection

Configures Windows Defender Antivirus, Exploit Guard, and Attack Surface Reduction rules. Provides layered endpoint protection managed through Group Policy.

Lesson 4 • Auditing, Logging, and SIEM Integration

Configures advanced audit policies and Windows Event Forwarding for centralized log collection. Enables threat detection and forensic investigation capabilities.

Lesson 1 • Virtual Machine Configuration and Management

Creates and configures VMs, virtual disks, checkpoints, and resource controls. Provides hands-on VM lifecycle management skills for production environments.

Lesson 2 • Live Migration and Storage Migration

Configures Live Migration, Quick Migration, and Storage Migration for VM mobility. Enables zero-downtime maintenance and workload balancing across hosts.

Lesson 3 • Hyper-V Architecture and Installation

Explains the hypervisor architecture, hardware requirements, and role installation. Establishes the virtualization platform before VMs and networking are configured.

Lesson 4 • Failover Clustering for High Availability

Deploys Windows Server Failover Clustering with shared storage and quorum configuration. Delivers automatic workload recovery for critical virtualized services.