Introduction
This book is drawn from more than 20 years of IT experience. I have taken that experience and translated it into a Windows Server 2016 book that will help you not only prepare for the MCSA: Windows Server 2016 exams but also develop a clear understanding of how to install and configure Windows Server 2016 while avoiding all of the possible configuration pitfalls.
Many Microsoft books just explain the Windows operating system, but with MCSA: Windows Server 2016 Complete Study Guide, I go a step further by providing many in-depth, step-by-step procedures to support my explanations of how the operating system performs at its best.
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 is the newest version of Microsoft’s server operating system software. Microsoft has taken the best of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012 and combined them into the latest creation, Windows Server 2016.
Windows Server 2016 eliminates many of the problems that plagued the previous versions of Windows Server, and it includes a much faster boot time and shutdown. It is also easier to install and configure, and it barely stops to ask the user any questions during installation. In this book, I will show you what features are installed during the automated installation and where you can make changes if you need to be more in charge of your operating system and its features.
This book takes you through all the ins and outs of Windows Server 2016, including installation, configuration, Group Policy Objects, auditing, backups, and so much more.
Windows Server 2016 has improved on Microsoft’s desktop environment, made networking easier, enhanced searching capability, and improved performance—and that’s only scratching the surface.
When all is said and done, this is a technical book for IT professionals who want to take Windows Server 2016 to the next step and get certified. With this book, you will not only learn Windows Server 2016 and ideally pass the exams, but you will also become a Windows Server 2016 expert.
The Microsoft Certification Program
Since the inception of its certification program, Microsoft has certified more than 2 million people. As the computer network industry continues to increase in both size and complexity, this number is sure to grow—and the need for proven ability will also increase. Certifications can help companies verify the skills of prospective employees and contractors.
The Microsoft certification tracks for Windows Server 2016 include the following:
MCSA: Windows Server 2016 The MCSA is now the lowest-level certification you can achieve with Microsoft in relation to Windows Server 2016. It requires passing three exams: 70-740, 70-741, and 70-742.
MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure The MCSE certifications, in relation to Windows Server 2016, require that you become an MCSA first and then pass two additional exams. The additional exams will vary depending on which of the two MCSE tracks you choose. For more information, visit Microsoft’s website at www.microsoft.com/learning.
How Do You Become Certified on Windows Server 2016?
Attaining Microsoft certification has always been a challenge. In the past, students have been able to acquire detailed exam information—even most of the exam questions—from online “brain dumps” and third-party “cram” books or software products. For the new generation of exams, this is simply not the case.
Microsoft has taken strong steps to protect the security and integrity of its new certification tracks. Now prospective candidates must complete a course of study that develops detailed knowledge about a wide range of topics. It supplies them with the true skills needed, derived from working with the technology being tested.
The new generations of Microsoft certification programs are heavily weighted toward hands-on skills and experience. It is recommended that candidates have troubleshooting skills acquired through hands-on experience and working knowledge.
Fortunately, if you are willing to dedicate the time and effort to learn Windows Server 2016, you can prepare yourself well for the exam by using the proper tools. By working through this book, you can successfully meet the requirements to pass the Windows Server 2016 exams.
MCSA Exam Requirements
Candidates for MCSA certification on Windows Server 2016 must pass at least the following three Windows Server 2016 exams:
- 70-740: Installation, Storage, and computer with Windows Server 2016
- 70-741: Networking with Windows Server 2016
- 70-742: Identity with Windows Server 2016
Microsoft provides exam objectives to give you a general overview of possible areas of coverage on the Microsoft exams. Keep in mind, however, that exam objectives are subject to change at any time without prior notice and at Microsoft’s sole discretion. Visit the Microsoft Learning website (www.microsoft.com/learning) for the most current listing of exam objectives. The published objectives and how they map to this book are listed later in this introduction.
Tips for Taking the Windows Server 2016 Exams
Here are some general tips for achieving success on your certification exam:
- Arrive early at the exam center so that you can relax and review your study materials. During this final review, you can look over tables and lists of exam-related information.
- Read the questions carefully. Do not be tempted to jump to an early conclusion. Make sure you know exactly what the question is asking.
- Answer all questions. If you are unsure about a question, mark it for review and come back to it at a later time.
- On simulations, do not change settings that are not directly related to the question. Also, assume the default settings if the question does not specify or imply which settings are used.
- For questions about which you’re unsure, use a process of elimination to get rid of the obviously incorrect answers first. This improves your odds of selecting the correct answer when you need to make an educated guess.
Exam Registration
At the time this book was released, Microsoft exams are given using more than 1,000 Authorized VUE Testing Centers around the world. For the location of a testing center near you, go to VUE’s website at www.vue.com. If you are outside of the United States and Canada, contact your local VUE registration center.
Find out the number of the exam that you want to take and then register with the VUE registration center nearest to you. At this point, you will be asked for advance payment for the exam. The exams are $165 each, and you must take them within one year of payment. You can schedule exams up to six weeks in advance or as late as one working day prior to the date of the exam. You can cancel or reschedule your exam if you contact the center at least two working days prior to the exam. Same-day registration is available in some locations, subject to space availability. Where same-day registration is available, you must register a minimum of two hours before test time.
When you schedule the exam, you will be provided with instructions regarding appointment and cancellation procedures, ID requirements, and information about the testing center location. In addition, you will receive a registration and payment confirmation letter from VUE.
Microsoft requires certification candidates to accept the terms of a nondisclosure agreement before taking certification exams.
Who Should Read This Book?
This book is intended for individuals who want to earn their MCSA: Windows Server 2016 certification.
This book will not only help anyone who is looking to pass the Microsoft exams, it will also help anyone who wants to learn the real ins and outs of the Windows Server 2016 operating system.
What’s Inside?
Here is a glance at what’s in each chapter:
Chapter 1: Installing Windows Server 2016 In the first chapter, I explain the requirements and steps required to install and configure Windows Server 2016.
Chapter 2: Installing in the Enterprise This chapter shows you how to install Windows Server 2016 in an enterprise environment.
Chapter 3: Configuring Storage and Replication I take you through the advantages and benefits of Windows Server 2016 storage and replication configurations.
Chapter 4: Understanding Hyper-V This chapter will show you how to implement and configure Windows Server Hyper-V and virtual machines. You will learn about virtual networking, virtual hard disks, migration types, and Integration Services.
Chapter 5: Configuring High Availability This chapter takes you through the different ways to create and manage Network Load Balancing (NLB) and high availability.
Chapter 6: Understanding Clustering You will see the different ways that you can setup and configure clustering. I will explain how to setup clustering for applications or Hyper-V servers.
Chapter 7: Configuring Windows Containers In this chapter I will explain the advantages of using Microsoft Containers. I will also explain how containers and images are created and managed using Docker.
Chapter 8: Maintaining Windows Server This chapter shows you how to maintain your Windows Server 2016 system.
Chapter 9: Understanding Monitoring This chapter will show you how to implement and configure monitoring. Monitoring allows you to look at the different resources on a system and fine-tune those resources for best performance.
What’s Included with the Book
This book includes many helpful items intended to prepare you for the MCSA: Windows Server 2016 certification.
Assessment Test There is an assessment test at the conclusion of the introduction that can be used to evaluate quickly where you are with Windows Server 2016. This test should be taken prior to beginning your work in this book, and it should help you identify areas in which you are either strong or weak. Note that these questions are purposely more simple than the types of questions you may see on the exams.
Objective Map and Opening List of Objectives Later in this introduction, I include a detailed exam objective map showing you where each of the exam objectives is covered. Each chapter also includes a list of the exam objectives that are covered.
Helpful Exercises Throughout the book, I have included step-by-step exercises of some of the more important tasks that you should be able to perform. Some of these exercises have corresponding videos that can be downloaded from the book’s website. Also, in the following section I have a recommended home lab setup that will be helpful in completing these tasks.
Exam Essentials The end of each chapter also includes a listing of exam essentials. These are essentially repeats of the objectives, but remember that any objective on the exam blueprint could show up on the exam.
Chapter Review Questions Each chapter includes review questions. These are used to assess your understanding of the chapter and are taken directly from the chapter. These questions are based on the exam objectives, and they are similar in difficulty to items you might actually receive on the MCSA: Windows Server 2016 exams.
Sybex Test Engine Readers can access the Sybex Test Engine, which includes the assessment test and chapter review questions from the book in electronic format. In addition, it includes the following:
- Practice Exams There are a total of three practice exams included with the Sybex test engine: one each for Exams 70-740, 70-741, and 70-742.
- Electronic Flashcards Flashcards are included for quick reference. They are a great tool for learning important facts quickly. You may even consider these as additional simple practice questions, which is essentially what they are.
- PDF of Glossary of Terms There is a glossary included that covers the key terms used in this book.
Recommended Home Lab Setup
To get the most out of this book, you will want to make sure you complete the exercises throughout the chapters. To complete the exercises, you will need one of two setups. First, you can set up a machine with Windows Server 2016 and complete the labs using a regular Windows Server 2016 machine.
The second way to set up Windows Server 2016 (the way I set up Server 2016) is by using virtualization. I set up Windows Server 2016 as a virtual hard disk (VHD), and I did all the labs this way. The advantages of using virtualization are that you can always just wipe out the system and start over without losing a real server. Plus, you can set up multiple virtual servers and create a full lab environment on one machine.
I created a video for this book showing you how to set up a virtual machine and how to install Windows Server 2016 onto that virtual machine.
How to Contact Sybex/Author
Sybex strives to keep you supplied with the latest tools and information you need for your work. Please check the Sybex.com website at www.sybex.com/go/mcsawin2016, where I’ll post additional content and updates that supplement this book should the need arise.
You can contact me by going to my website at www.willpanek.com. You can also watch free videos on Microsoft networking at www.youtube.com/c/williampanek. If you would like to follow information about Windows Server 2016 from Will Panek, please visit Twitter @AuthorWillPanek.
Certification Objectives Maps
Table I.1 provides the objective mappings for the 70-740 exam. In addition to the book chapters, you will find coverage of exam objectives in the flashcards, practice exams, and videos on the book’s companion website:
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/ productCd-1119359341,miniSiteCd-SYBEX.html
TABLE I.1 70-740 exam objectives
| Objective | Chapter |
| Install Windows Servers in host and compute environments (10–15%) | |
| Install, upgrade, and migrate servers and workloads | 1 |
| Determine Windows Server 2016 installation requirements; determine appropriate Windows Server 2016 editions per workloads; install Windows Server 2016; install Windows Server 2016 features and roles; install and configure Windows Server Core; manage Windows Server Core installations using Windows PowerShell, command line, and remote management capabilities; implement Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) to install and maintain integrity of installed environments; perform upgrades and migrations of servers and core workloads from Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2016; determine the appropriate activation model for server installation, such as Automatic Virtual Machine Activation (AVMA), Key Management Service (KMS), and Active Directory-based Activation | 1 |
| Install and configure Nano Server | 1 |
| Determine appropriate usage scenarios and requirements for Nano Server, install Nano Server, implement Roles and Features on Nano Server, manage and configure Nano Server, manage Nano Server remotely using Windows PowerShell | 1 |
| Create, manage, and maintain images for deployment | 2 |
| Plan for Windows Server virtualization; plan for Linux and FreeBSD deployments; assess virtualization workloads using the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit; determine considerations for deploying workloads into virtualized environments; update images with patches, hotfixes, and drivers; install roles and features in offline images; manage and maintain Windows Server Core, Nano Server images, and VHDs using Windows PowerShell | 2 |
| Implement storage solutions (10–15%) | |
| Configure disks and volumes | 3 |
| Configure sector sizes appropriate for various workloads, configure GUID partition table (GPT) disks, create VHD and VHDX files using Server Manager or Windows PowerShell, mount virtual hard disks, determine when to use NTFS and ReFS file systems, configure NFS and SMB shares using Server Manager, configure SMB share and session settings using Windows PowerShell, configure SMB server and SMB client configuration settings using Windows PowerShell, configure file and folder permissions | 3 |
| Implement server storage | 3 |
| Configure storage pools; implement simple, mirror, and parity storage layout options for disks or enclosures; expand storage pools; configure Tiered Storage; configure iSCSI target and initiator; configure iSNS; configure Datacenter Bridging (DCB); configure Multi-Path IO (MPIO); determine usage scenarios for Storage Replica; implement Storage Replica for server-to-server, cluster-to-cluster, and stretch cluster scenarios | 3 |
| Implement data deduplication | 3 |
| Implement and configure deduplication, determine appropriate usage scenarios for deduplication, monitor deduplication, implement a backup and restore solution with deduplication | 3 |
| Implement Hyper-V (20–25%) | |
| Install and configure Hyper-V | 4 |
| Determine hardware and compatibility requirements for installing Hyper-V, install Hyper-V, install management tools, upgrade from existing versions of Hyper-V, delegate virtual machine management, perform remote management of Hyper-V hosts, configure virtual machines using Windows PowerShell Direct, implement nested virtualization | 4 |
| Configure virtual machine (VM) settings | 4 |
| Add or remove memory in running a VM, configure dynamic memory, configure Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) support, configure smart paging, configure Resource Metering, manage Integration Services, create and configure Generation 1 and 2 VMs and determine appropriate usage scenarios, implement enhanced session mode, create Linux and FreeBSD VMs, install and configure Linux Integration Services (LIS), install and configure FreeBSD Integration Services (BIS), implement Secure Boot for Windows and Linux environments, move and convert VMs from previous versions of Hyper-V to Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V, export and import VMs, implement Discrete Device Assignment (DDA) | 4 |
| Configure Hyper-V storage | 4 |
| Create VHDs and VHDX files using Hyper-V Manager, create shared VHDX files, configure differencing disks, modify virtual hard disks, configure pass-through disks, resize a virtual hard disk, manage checkpoints, implement production checkpoints, implement a virtual Fibre Channel adapter, configure storage Quality of Service (QoS) | 4 |
| Configure Hyper-V networking | 4 |
| Add and remove virtual network interface cards (vNICs), configure Hyper-V virtual switches, optimize network performance, configure MAC addresses, configure network isolation, configure synthetic and legacy virtual network adapters, configure NIC teaming in VMs, configure virtual machine queue (VMQ), enable Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) on network adapters bound to a Hyper-V virtual switch using Switch Embedded Teaming (SET), configure Bandwidth Management | 4 |
| Implement Windows containers (5–10%) | |
| Deploy Windows containers | 7 |
| Determine installation requirements and appropriate scenarios for Windows containers, install and configure Windows Server container host in physical or virtualized environments, install and configure Windows Server container host to Windows Server Core or Nano Server in a physical or virtualized environment, install Docker on Windows Server and Nano Server, configure Docker daemon start-up options, configure Windows PowerShell for use with containers, install a base operating system, tag an image, uninstall an operating system image, create Windows Server containers, create Hyper-V containers | 7 |
| Manage Windows containers | 7 |
| Manage Windows or Linux containers using the Docker daemon, manage Windows or Linux containers using Windows PowerShell, manage container networking, manage container data volumes, manage Resource Control, create new container images using Dockerfile, manage container images using DockerHub repository for public and private scenarios, manage container images using Microsoft Azure | 7 |
| Implement high availability (30–35%) | |
| Implement high availability and disaster recovery options in Hyper-V | 5 |
| Implement Hyper-V Replica, implement Live Migration, implement Shared Nothing Live Migration, configure CredSSP or Kerberos authentication protocol for Live Migration, implement storage migration | 5 |
| Implement failover clustering | 6 |
| Implement Workgroup, Single, and Multi Domain clusters; configure quorum; configure cluster networking; restore single node or cluster configuration; configure cluster storage; implement Cluster-Aware Updating; implement Cluster Operating System Rolling Upgrade; configure and optimize clustered shared volumes (CSVs); configure clusters without network names; implement Scale-Out File Server (SoFS); determine different scenarios for the use of SoFS versus clustered File Server; determine usage scenarios for implementing guest clustering; implement a Clustered Storage Spaces solution using Shared SAS storage enclosures; implement Storage Replica; implement Cloud Witness; implement VM resiliency; implement shared VHDX as a storage solution for guest clusters | 6 |
| Implement Storage Spaces Direct | 6 |
| Determine scenario requirements for implementing Storage Spaces Direct, enable Storage Spaces direct using Windows PowerShell, implement a disaggregated Storage Spaces Direct scenario in a cluster, implement a hyper-converged Storage Spaces Direct scenario in a cluster | 6 |
| Manage failover clustering | 6 |
| Configure role-specific settings, including continuously available shares; configure VM monitoring; configure failover and preference settings; implement stretch and site-aware failover clusters; enable and configure node fairness | 6 |
| Manage VM movement in clustered nodes | 5 |
| Perform a live migration; perform a quick migration; perform a storage migration; import, export, and copy VMs; configure VM network health protection; configure drain on shutdown | 5 |
| Implement Network Load Balancing (NLB) | 5 |
| Install NLB nodes, configure NLB prerequisites, configure affinity, configure port rules, configure cluster operation mode, upgrade an NLB cluster | 5 |
| Maintain and monitor server environments (10–15%) | |
| Maintain server installations | 8 |
| Implement Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) solutions; configure WSUS groups; manage patch management in mixed environments; implement an antimalware solution with Windows Defender; integrate Windows Defender with WSUS and Windows Update; perform backup and restore operations using Windows Server Backup; determine backup strategies for different Windows Server roles and workloads, including Hyper-V Host, Hyper-V Guests, Active Directory, File Servers, and Web Servers using Windows Server 2016 native tools and solutions | 8 |
| Monitor server installations | 9 |
| Monitor workloads using Performance Monitor; configure Data Collector Sets; determine appropriate CPU, memory, disk, and networking counters for storage and compute workloads; configure alerts; monitor workloads using Resource Monitor | 9 |