IT Infrastructure Management Course

Lesson 1 • Defining IT Infrastructure Scope

Establishes what IT infrastructure includes and excludes across hardware, software, and services. Provides the vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Infrastructure Stakeholders and Governance

Maps the roles—IT ops, architects, vendors, and business owners—that influence infrastructure decisions. Establishes governance as the management framework for all subsequent topics.

Lesson 3 • Operating Systems and Virtualization Basics

Introduces server operating systems and hypervisor-based virtualization as foundational abstractions. Prepares students for cloud and automation topics in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • Networking Fundamentals for Managers

Covers TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and routing concepts at the level needed for infrastructure decisions. Links network design to performance and security posture.

Lesson 1 • Power and Cooling Systems

Examines UPS, PDUs, generators, CRAC units, and free-cooling techniques. Ties power and cooling design to PUE metrics and operational cost.

Lesson 2 • Physical Infrastructure and Layout

Covers raised floors, hot/cold aisle containment, rack density, and cable management. Links physical layout decisions to cooling efficiency and maintenance access.

Lesson 3 • Data Center Tiers and Standards

Explains tiered availability classifications and industry design standards for data centers. Connects tier selection to uptime commitments and capital investment.

Lesson 4 • Data Center Capacity Management

Teaches methods for tracking space, power, and cooling capacity against current and projected demand. Enables proactive planning to prevent resource exhaustion.

Lesson 1 • Wireless and Remote Access Infrastructure

Addresses enterprise Wi-Fi design, VPN architectures, and secure remote access policies. Extends network management skills to mobile and distributed workforce scenarios.

Lesson 2 • Network Configuration and Management

Teaches VLAN configuration, QoS policies, and network device management practices. Links consistent configuration to reduced outages and easier troubleshooting.

Lesson 3 • Network Monitoring and Performance

Introduces SNMP, NetFlow, and synthetic monitoring for visibility into network health. Enables data-driven decisions about capacity and performance tuning.

Lesson 4 • Enterprise Network Architecture

Covers three-tier and spine-leaf architectures, WAN connectivity options, and segmentation strategies. Connects architecture choices to scalability and fault isolation.

Lesson 1 • Virtualization Platform Management

Teaches cluster management, resource pools, vMotion, and high-availability settings in hypervisor platforms. Connects virtualization management to compute efficiency and uptime.

Lesson 2 • Server Lifecycle and Decommissioning

Covers refresh cycles, end-of-life planning, data sanitization, and hardware disposal. Ensures responsible management from procurement through retirement.

Lesson 3 • Patch and Vulnerability Management

Defines patch lifecycle, testing procedures, and rollback strategies for servers. Reduces security exposure while maintaining system stability.

Lesson 4 • Server Provisioning and Configuration

Covers bare-metal provisioning, OS deployment automation, and baseline configuration standards. Establishes repeatable provisioning as the foundation for consistent environments.

Lesson 1 • RAID and Data Redundancy

Explains RAID levels, erasure coding, and replication as mechanisms for data redundancy. Connects redundancy choices to recovery time and storage overhead.

Lesson 2 • Data Lifecycle and Archiving

Defines data classification, retention schedules, archiving workflows, and secure deletion. Aligns storage management with regulatory retention requirements.

Lesson 3 • Storage Architecture and Technologies

Compares DAS, NAS, SAN, and object storage architectures and their appropriate use cases. Provides the technical foundation for storage design decisions.

Lesson 4 • Backup and Recovery Operations

Covers backup types, retention policies, offsite storage, and recovery testing procedures. Ensures students can design and validate a complete data protection strategy.

Lesson 1 • Cloud Cost Management and Optimization

Teaches reserved instances, rightsizing, tagging strategies, and FinOps practices for cloud spend control. Connects cost visibility to infrastructure governance and budget accountability.

Lesson 2 • Cloud Migration Planning

Covers the 6R migration strategies, dependency mapping, and cutover planning for moving workloads to cloud. Prepares students to lead structured migration projects.

Lesson 3 • Cloud Networking and Security

Addresses virtual networks, security groups, identity federation, and cloud-native security controls. Extends on-premises network security skills to cloud environments.

Lesson 4 • Cloud Service and Deployment Models

Distinguishes IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS responsibilities and compares public, private, and hybrid deployments. Establishes the cloud taxonomy used in architecture and procurement decisions.

Lesson 1 • Configuration and Asset Management

Teaches CMDB design, CI relationships, and asset lifecycle tracking as the data backbone of ITSM. Accurate configuration data improves every other ITSM process.

Lesson 2 • Incident and Problem Management

Defines incident classification, escalation paths, root cause analysis, and known error management. Links reactive processes to proactive problem elimination.

Lesson 3 • ITSM Frameworks and Service Catalog

Introduces ITSM framework principles, service catalog design, and SLA definition. Provides the process foundation for all operational management activities.

Lesson 4 • Service Level Monitoring and Reporting

Covers SLA compliance tracking, availability reporting, and continual service improvement cycles. Closes the loop between operational performance and business expectations.

Lesson 1 • Security Monitoring and Incident Response

Covers SIEM integration, log management, alert triage, and infrastructure-focused incident response playbooks. Enables rapid detection and containment of security events.

Lesson 2 • Endpoint and Server Hardening

Teaches CIS benchmark application, unnecessary service removal, and host-based firewall configuration. Reduces exploitable attack surface on every managed system.

Lesson 3 • Infrastructure Risk Assessment

Covers threat modeling, vulnerability scanning, and risk scoring for infrastructure assets. Establishes risk assessment as the driver of security investment decisions.

Lesson 4 • Identity and Access Management

Addresses privileged access management, role-based access control, MFA, and directory services. Reduces the attack surface by enforcing least-privilege principles.