Introduction

The 70-745 exam focuses on deploying and managing a Software-Defined Datacenter using the technologies in Windows Server and System Center 2016. While System Center Virtual Machine Manager is a core tenant of the exam, there are questions regarding configuration of items directly in the fabric, so it’s important to understand how to interact with these components directly. It covers the installation, configuration, and operation of System Center Virtual Machine Manager, the Software-Defined Networking stack of Windows Server 2016, Software-Defined Storage in Windows Server 2016, as well as securing and monitoring the fabric and guest workloads. Managing the Software-Defined Datacenter using System Center Operations Manager is also covered. While Azure is not the focus of this exam, there may be questions regarding connecting the on-premises environment to the cloud. Many questions focus on the new features in Windows Server 2016 including SDNv2, Storage Spaces Direct, Guarded Fabric and Shielded VM’s.

This book will help prepare IT pros with a background in the cloud to deploy and manage a Software-Defined Datacenter cloud environment using Microsoft technologies. It explains how to deploy a Windows Server 2016 infrastructure fabric including compute, network, and storage components, as well as the System Center 2016 management plane. The book covers in detail the configuration of Virtual Machine Manager to support the Software-Defined Datacenter concepts in Windows Server 2016, in addition to the automation of guest workloads hosted on the fabric.

This book covers every major topic area found on the exam, but it does not cover every exam question. Only the Microsoft exam team has access to the exam questions, and Microsoft regularly adds new questions to the exam, making it impossible to cover specific questions. You should consider this book a supplement to your relevant real-world experience and other study materials. If you encounter a topic in this book that you do not feel completely comfortable with, use the “Need more review?” links you’ll find in the text to find more information and take the time to research and study the topic. Great information is available on MSDN, TechNet, and in blogs and forums.

Organization of this book

This book is organized by the “Skills measured” list published for the exam. The “Skills measured” list is available for each exam on the Microsoft Learning website: https://aka.ms/examlist. Each chapter in this book corresponds to a major topic area in the list, and the technical tasks in each topic area determine a chapter’s organization. If an exam covers six major topic areas, for example, the book will contain six chapters.

Microsoft certifications

Microsoft certifications distinguish you by proving your command of a broad set of skills and experience with current Microsoft products and technologies. The exams and corresponding certifications are developed to validate your mastery of critical competencies as you design and develop, or implement and support, solutions with Microsoft products and technologies both on-premises and in the cloud. Certification brings a variety of benefits to the individual and to employers and organizations.

Acknowledgments

We’d like to thank the team at Pearson, including Trina MacDonald and Troy Mott, who have been extremely helpful and patient in guiding us through the process and ensuring the quality of this book. Thank you to our technical editor Andre Della Monica for keeping us honest.

Jeff Graves I’d like to thank my wife Kelly and my daughter Everly, who coincidently was born during the writing of this book. They’ve been incredibly supportive of my first attempt at being an author.

Joel Stidley Although I have been privileged to be part of a few other writing projects, this one was unique. I had a three-week home renovation project that started the same time as the book. Unfortunately, the fly-by-night contractor was unable to complete that three-week project and now seven months later the book is nearly done and my house is still in shambles. For a few months, I was without an office and was working off my Surface in my bedroom or wherever else I could find some quiet. Although these brief periods of quiet were often interrupted with phone calls trying to bring an end to the construction chaos. This all lead to my portion of the book to become more than overdue. I want to thank Trina MacDonald, Troy Mott, and the rest of the team at Pearson for hanging in there until the end. Also, Jeff Graves was there to bail me out several times to help get the project complete despite his own overwhelming workload. Since I have been married for over 22 years, I know that I must also thank my beautiful wife, Andi for her patience and support. As she likes to say, “Behind every successful husband, is a very tired wife.”

Microsoft Virtual Academy

Build your knowledge of Microsoft technologies with free expert-led online training from Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA). MVA offers a comprehensive library of videos, live events, and more to help you learn the latest technologies and prepare for certification exams. You’ll find what you need here:

https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com

Quick access to online references

Throughout this book are addresses to webpages that the author has recommended you visit for more information. Some of these addresses (also known as URLs) can be painstaking to type into a web browser, so we’ve compiled all of them into a single list that readers of the print edition can refer to while they read.

Download the list at https://aka.ms/exam745datacenter/downloads.

The URLs are organized by chapter and heading. Every time you come across a URL in the book, find the hyperlink in the list to go directly to the webpage.

Errata, updates, & book support

We’ve made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this book and its companion content. You can access updates to this book—in the form of a list of submitted errata and their related corrections—at:

https://aka.ms/exam745datacenter/errata

If you discover an error that is not already listed, please submit it to us at the same page.

If you need additional support, email Microsoft Press Book Support at
[email protected].

Please note that product support for Microsoft software and hardware is not offered through the previous addresses. For help with Microsoft software or hardware, go to
https://support.microsoft.com.

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