Implement Windows Server IaaS VM network security

In this module, you'll focus on how to improve the network security for Windows Server infrastructure as a service (IaaS) virtual machines (VMs) and how to diagnose network security issues with those VMs.

• Implement network security groups and Windows IaaS VMs
• Implement Azure Firewall and Windows IaaS VMs
• Implement Windows Firewall with Windows Server IaaS VMs
• Choose the appropriate filtering solution
• Deploy and configure Azure firewall using the Azure portal
• Capture network traffic with network watcher
• Log network traffic to and from a VM using the Azure portal

Audit the security of Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machines

Learn about Microsoft Defender for Cloud and how to onboard Windows Server computers to Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Also learn about Microsoft Sentinel, security information and event management (SIEM), and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR).

• Describe Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud in hybrid environments
• Implement and assess security policies
• Protect your resources with Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• Implement Microsoft Sentinel

Manage Azure updates

You'll be able to enable Azure Update Management, deploy updates, review an update assessment, and manage updates for your Azure VMs.

• Describe update management
• Enable update management
• Deploy updates
• View update assessments
• Manage updates for your Azure Virtual Machines

Configure BitLocker disk encryption for Windows IaaS Virtual Machines

You're able to configure Azure Disk Encryption for Windows IaaS VMs and back up and recover encrypted data.

• Describe Azure Disk Encryption and server-side encryption
• Configure Key Vault for Azure Disk Encryption
• Encrypt Azure IaaS Virtual Machine hard disks
• Back up and recover data from encrypted disks
• Create and encrypt a Windows Virtual Machine

Implement change tracking and file integrity monitoring for Windows IaaS VMs

In this module, learn how to monitor Windows Server Azure IaaS VMs for changes in files and the registry, and other monitor modifications made to application software.

• Implement Change Tracking and Inventory
• Manage Change Tracking and Inventory
• Manage tracked files
• Implement File Integrity Monitoring
• Select and monitor entities
• Use File Integrity Monitoring

Secure Windows Server DNS

Learn how to secure Windows Server DNS to help protect your network name resolution infrastructure and also learn how to implement DNS policies.

• Implement split-horizon DNS
• Create DNS policies
• Implement DNS policies
• Secure Windows Server DNS
• Implement DNSSEC

Secure Windows Server user accounts

Protect your Active Directory environment by securing user accounts to least privilege and placing them in the Protected Users group. Learn how to limit authentication scope and remediate potentially insecure accounts.

• Configure user account rights
• Protect user accounts with the Protected Users group
• Describe Windows Defender Credential Guard
• Block NTLM authentication
• Locate problematic accounts

Hardening Windows Server

Learn how to harden the security configuration of your Windows Server operating system environment. Secure administrative access to Privileged Access Workstations (PAWs), apply security baselines, and secure domain controllers and SMB traffic.

• Describe Local Password Administrator Solution
• Configure Privileged Access Workstations
• Secure domain controllers
• Analyze security configuration with Security Compliance Toolkit
• Secure SMB traffic

Windows Server update management

Learn how to use Windows Server Update Services to deploy operating system updates to computers on your network. Select the appropriate deployment option and combine WSUS with Microsoft Azure Update Management to manage server updates.

• Outline Windows Server Update Services server deployment options
• Define Windows Server Update Services update management process
• Describe the process of Update Management

Introduction to Cluster Shared Volumes

Learn about the core functionality, benefits, use cases, and implementation of Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) in Windows Server 2019.

• Determine the functionality of Cluster Shared Volumes
• Explore the architecture and components of Cluster Shared Volumes
• Implement Cluster Shared Volumes

Implement Windows Server failover clustering

Learn about the core functionality of Windows Server failover clustering, various configuration options for failover clustering, and the use of cluster sets.

• Define Windows Server failover clustering
• Plan Windows Server failover clustering
• Implement Windows Server failover clustering
• Manage Windows Server failover clustering
• Implement stretch clusters
• Define cluster sets

Implement high availability of Windows Server VMs

Learn about the core functionality, benefits, use cases, and implementation of highly available Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs) in Windows Server.

• Select high-availability options for Hyper-V
• Consider network load balancing for Hyper-V VMs
• Implement Hyper-V VM live migration
• Implement Hyper-V VMs storage migration

Implement Windows Server File Server high availability

Learn about the core functionality, benefits, use cases, and implementation of the highly available File Server role in Windows Server 2019.

• Explore the Windows Server File Server high-availability options
• Define Cluster Shared Volumes
• Implement Scale-Out File Server
• Implement Storage Replica

Implement scale and high availability with Windows Server VM

Learn how to implement scaling for virtual machine scale sets and load-balanced VMs. Also learn how to implement Azure Site Recovery.

• Describe virtual machine scale sets
• Implement scaling
• Implement load-balancing VMs
• Create a virtual machine scale set in the Azure portal
• Describe Azure Site Recovery
• Implement Azure Site Recovery

Implement Hyper-V Replica

Learn about Hyper-V Replica, scenarios for its use, and prerequisites to use it. Learn about Azure Site Recovery and the benefits of using it, focusing on implementing Site Recovery in on-premises scenarios.

• Define Hyper-V Replica
• Plan for Hyper-V Replica
• Configure and implement Hyper-V Replica
• Define extended replication
• Define Azure Site Recovery
• Implement Site Recovery from on-premises site to Azure
• Implement Site Recovery from on-premises site to on-premises site

Implement hybrid backup and recovery with Windows Server IaaS

Learn about Azure Backup before learning to implement Recovery Vaults and Azure Backup Policies. Learn to implement Windows IaaS VM recovery, perform backup and restore of on-premises workloads, and manage Azure VM backups.

• Describe Azure Backup
• Implement recovery vaults
• Implement Azure Backup policies
• Recover Windows IaaS Virtual Machines
• Perform file and folder recovery
• Perform backup and restore of on-premises workloads
• Manage Azure Virtual Machine backups with Azure Backup service

Protect your on-premises infrastructure from disasters with Azure Site Recovery

Learn how to provide disaster recovery for your on-premises infrastructure by using Azure Site Recovery to manage and orchestrate replication. Use Site Recovery to perform failover and failback of VMware virtual machines, Hyper-V virtual machines, and physical servers.

• Azure Site Recovery overview
• Workloads supported for protection with Azure Site Recovery
• Run a disaster recovery drill
• Failover and failback

Protect your virtual machines by using Azure Backup

Use Azure Backup to help protect on-premises servers, virtual machines, SQL Server, Azure file shares, and other workloads.

• Azure Backup features and scenarios
• Back up an Azure virtual machine by using Azure Backup
• Exercise - Back up an Azure virtual machine
• Restore virtual machine data
• Exercise - Restore Azure virtual machine data

Migrate on-premises Windows Server instances to Azure IaaS virtual machines

You're able to plan a migration and select appropriate server migration tools. You'll also learn how to use Azure Migrate, how to assess physical servers, and how to migrate those servers.

• Plan your migration
• Describe Azure Migrate
• Perform server assessment
• Assess physical servers with Azure Migrate
• Migrate Windows Server workloads by using Azure Migrate

Upgrade and migrate Windows Server IaaS virtual machines

Learn to migrate a workload running in Windows Server to an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) virtual machine (VM) and to Windows Server 2025 by using Windows Server migration tools or the Storage Migration Service.

• Describe Azure Migrate
• Migrate Windows Server workloads by using Azure Migrate
• Describe storage migration
• Migrate file servers by using Storage Migration Service

Active Directory Domain Services migration

Determine the best approach to moving domain controllers to Windows Server 2025.

• Examine upgrade vs. migration
• Upgrade a previous version of Active Directory Domain Services to Windows Server 2025
• Migrate to Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2025 from a previous version

Migrate file server workloads using Storage Migration Service

Learn to use Storage Migration Service to migrate files and files shares from existing file server to new servers running Windows Server. Configure storage migration for optimum performance of data migration.

• Storage Migration Service overview and usage scenarios
• Storage migration requirements
• Migrate a server with Storage migration
• Evaluate storage migration considerations

Migrate Windows Server roles

Learn how to install and use the Windows Server Migration Tools cmdlets to migrate commonly used server roles from earlier versions of Windows Server.

• Describe the Windows Server Migration Tools
• Install the Migration Tools
• Migrate roles using the Migration Tools

Monitor Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machines and hybrid instances

Learn to implement Azure Monitor for IaaS VMs in Azure, implement Azure Monitor in on-premises environments, and use dependency maps.

• Enable Azure Monitor for Virtual Machines
• Monitor an Azure Virtual Machine with Azure Monitor
• Enable Azure Monitor in hybrid scenarios
• Collect data from a Windows computer in a hybrid environment
• Integrate Azure Monitor with Microsoft Operations Manager

Monitor your Azure virtual machines with Azure Monitor

Learn how to monitor your Azure VMs by using Azure Monitor to collect and analyze VM host and client metrics and logs.

• Monitoring for Azure VMs
• Monitor VM host data
• Use Metrics Explorer to view detailed host metrics
• Collect client performance counters by using VM insights
• Collect VM client event logs

Monitor Windows Server performance

Learn to use a range of Windows Server tools to monitor the operating system and applications on a server computer. You'll also learn to configure your system to optimize efficiency and to troubleshoot problems.

• Use Performance Monitor to identify performance problems
• Use Resource Monitor to review current resource usage
• Review reliability with Reliability Monitor
• Implement a performance monitoring methodology
• Use Data Collector Sets to analyze server performance
• Monitor network infrastructure services
• Monitor virtual machines running Windows Server
• Monitor performance with Windows Admin Center
• Use System Insights to help predict future capacity issues
• Optimize the performance of Windows Server

Manage and monitor Windows Server event logs

Learn how Event Viewer provides a convenient and accessible location for you to observe events that occur. Access event information quickly and conveniently. Learn how to interpret the data in the event log.

• Describe Windows Server event logs
• Use Windows Admin Center to review logs
• Use Server Manager to review logs
• Use custom views
• Implement event log subscriptions
• Module assessment

Implement Windows Server auditing and diagnostics

Learn to audit and diagnose your Windows Server environment for regulatory compliance, user activity, and troubleshooting. Implement security best practices through regular audits of your network environment to gain early warning of potential malicious activity.

• Describe basic auditing categories
• Describe advanced categories
• Log user access
• Enable setup and boot event collection

Troubleshoot on-premises and hybrid networking

Learn to troubleshoot on-premises connectivity and hybrid network connectivity. Diagnose common issues with DHCP, name resolution, IP configuration, and routing that can cause reliability and connectivity problems in an on-premises and a hybrid environment.

• Diagnose DHCP problems
• Diagnose DNS problems
• Diagnose IP configuration issues
• Diagnose routing problems
• Use Packet Monitor to help diagnose network problems
• Use Azure Network Watcher to help diagnose network problems

Troubleshoot Windows Server Virtual Machines in Azure

Learn to troubleshoot configuration issues that affect connectivity to your Azure-hosted Windows Server virtual machines (VMs). Explore approaches to resolve issues with VM startup, extensions, performance, storage, and encryption.

• Troubleshoot VM deployment
• Troubleshoot VM startup
• Troubleshoot VM extensions
• Troubleshoot VM connectivity
• Troubleshoot VM performance
• Troubleshoot VM storage

Troubleshoot Active Directory

Learn how to troubleshoot AD DS service failures or degraded performance. Learn how to recover deleted security objects and the AD DS database, and how to troubleshoot hybrid authentication issues.

• Recover objects from the AD recycle bin
• Recover the AD DS database
• Recover SYSVOL
• Troubleshoot AD DS replication
• Troubleshoot hybrid authentication issues