Preface

Cloud computing is a technology commonly seen as a platform and mechanism to provide organizations with an enabler for digital transformation. However, the cloud computing journey need not be a binary decision; it need not be a broad sweeping decision to move all your workloads to the cloud and decommission everything on-premises.

While it may be appropriate and the best direction of travel for some, there are equally those that, for reasons such as data locality, compliance, control, performance, and so on, this will not be the case. There will be, for many, a need to remain with an appropriate amount of on-premises computing, storage networking, and other related resources to deliver the technology needs to their organizations. It is not for us to judge or rule on what is right or wrong for an organization but to provide options to meet and support all required outcomes that are mandated, or need to be delivered to an organization.

With that outlook and mindset on the changing face of cloud computing, we may look to extend the capabilities of cloud computing into our data centers to enhance and enrich the services operated from these facilities. It could be considered as much about managing from the cloud as it is about moving to the cloud.

We acknowledge that undeniably there are solid cases for digital transformation and, for many, being cloud native is the foremost approach; however, for many, the first step in the journey will be data center modernization through a hybrid cloud computing approach. Many a year’s life is left in data centers, and Windows Server is a computing and core infrastructure platform that should be enriched and enhanced through cloud computing capabilities.

The content of this book intends to provide complete coverage of the exam requirements to prepare you for the AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure Microsoft Certification exam.

The exam is intended for candidates with extensive experience working with the Windows Server operating system in hybrid environments and implementing and managing the core hybrid infrastructure technologies of computing, storage, networking, identity, and management.

In addition, this book’s added value is that it aims to go beyond the exam objectives, providing an extra depth of knowledge with practical hands-on skills to master, which will be of value in a day-to-day hybrid Windows Server environment role.

This book closes with exam preparation tests.

Who is this book for

This book is for those in technical implementation and administration roles looking to pass the AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure exam.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Implementing and Managing Active Directory Domain Services, includes content on creating and managing Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 2, Implementing and Managing Azure Active Directory Domain Services, includes content on creating and managing Azure Active Directory Domain Services (AAD DS).

Chapter 3, Managing Users and Computers with Group Policy, includes content on implementing and managing group policy in AD DS and AAD DS.

Chapter 4, Implementing and Managing Hybrid Identities, includes content on implementing and managing hybrid identities using Azure AD Connect and Azure AD cloud sync.

Chapter 5, Implementing and Managing On-Premises Network Infrastructure, includes content on implementing and managing on-premises network infrastructure in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 6, Implementing and Managing Azure Network Infrastructure, includes content on implementing and managing Azure network infrastructure in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 7, Implementing Windows Server Storage Services, includes content on implementing Windows Server storage services in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 8, Implementing a Hybrid File Server Infrastructure, includes content on implementing Azure storage services in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 9, Implementing and Managing Hyper-V on Windows Server, includes content on implementing and managing Hyper-V on Windows Server in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 10, Implementing and Managing Windows Server Containers, includes content on implementing and managing containers in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 11, Managing Windows Server Azure Virtual Machines, includes content on managing Azure virtual machines.

Chapter 12, Managing Windows Server in a Hybrid Environment, includes content on managing Windows Server in a hybrid environment.

Chapter 13, Managing Windows Servers Using Azure Services, includes content on managing Windows Servers and workloads by using Azure services.

Chapter 14, Exam Preparation Practice Tests, provides practice tests for each skill section for Exam AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure.

To get the most out of this book

For this book, the following are required:

• A device with a browser, such as Edge or Chrome, to access the Azure portal: https://portal.azure.com
• An Azure AD tenancy and Azure subscription; you can use an existing account or sign up for free: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free
• An Owner role for the Azure subscription

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://packt.link/Mc8to.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: “The primary server is set with the Delay configuration attribute in the Scope properties on the secondary server.”

A block of code is set as follows:

Install-WindowsFeature Web-Application-Proxy -IncludeManagementTools

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see on screen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: “Launch DNS Manager from Server Manager under the Tools menu.”

Tips or important notes

Appear like this.

Get in touch

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