Mitch Tulloch - Training Guide Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 (MCSA)

Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2

Mitch Tulloch

PUBLISHED BY
Microsoft Press
A Division of Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington 98052-6399

Copyright 2014 by Mitch Tulloch

All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014935078

ISBN: 978-0-7356-8433-1

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

First Printing

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This training guide is intended for information technology (IT) professionals who need to upgrade their skills to support Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 in their workplace. The primary focus of the book is on job-role training for system administrators and IT support staff in midsized to large environments. The book contains detailed technical information and hands-on practice exercises to help you prepare for deploying, managing, and maintaining servers running Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2. The book assumes that you have at least three years of experience administering previous versions of Windows Server, including experience with operating systems deployment, Active Directory administration, server virtualization using Hyper-V, network and storage management, file and print services, and Group Policy.

Because automation is an essential skill for administrators who manage the modern, virtualized data center, much of this book focuses on learning how to administer server roles and features using Windows PowerShell. Although it will be helpful if you have at least rudimentary knowledge of using Windows PowerShell to manage earlier versions of Windows Server, readers who have no prior familiarity with Windows PowerShell should be able to learn and perform most of the exercises in this book.

This book also covers some of the topics and skills that are the subject of the Microsoft certification exam 70-410. If you are using this book to complement your study materials, you might find this information useful. Note however that this book is specifically designed to help you in the job role; it therefore might not cover all exam topics. If you are preparing for the exam, you should use additional study materials to help bolster your real-world experience. For your reference, a mapping of the topics in this book to the exam objectives is included in the back of the book.

By using this training guide, you will learn how to

Assess the hardware and software in your current environment to plan for a migration to Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2.

Build customized reference images of Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 and deploy them using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit.

Perform remote server management and role installation using Server Manager and Windows PowerShell.

Deploy domain controllers using Server Manager and Windows PowerShell.

Administer Active Directory and enable advanced Active Directory features using the Active Directory Administrative Center and Windows PowerShell.

Ensure DHCP availability, implement DNSSEC, and perform network administration tasks using Windows PowerShell.

Deploy, configure, and manage Hyper-V hosts and virtual machines using Hyper-V Manager and Windows PowerShell.

Deploy Storage Spaces and provision and manage shared storage using Server Manager and Windows PowerShell.

Deploy and manage print servers using the Print Management console and Windows PowerShell.

Plan, configure, and manage Group Policy using the Group Policy Management console and Windows PowerShell.