SYSTEMS MASTER ADVANTAGE

5-day classroom training course

Classroom training experience - free from distraction

Official CompTIA and Microsoft Courses

Official course-ware being the best course and takeaway material for professionals

Full course duration - courses with less time cut content

​Class size 1 – 12 delegates. Limiting class size ensures every delegate has a voice

Student computers with a second monitor for e-book and labs

Choice of e-book or printed book

Labs. Comprehensive student labs in-class and from home to allow students to master the technology. Additional training materials for use outside the classroom

​Course flash cards to aid personal study and retention. Additional training materials for use outside the classroom

​Practice exam tests as endorsed by CompTIA and Microsoft to rapidly develop advanced trouble shooting skills and become exam ready. Additional training materials for use outside the classroom

Student login 'submit a question' to the trainer. Additional training materials for use outside the classroom

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Everything a delegate needs to succeed!

MASTERCLASS

5-day classroom training course

FOR EXAM PREPARATION, ADVANCED ANALYSIS AND HELP-DESK TROUBLESHOOTING SKILLS

MORE TIME?

We can't give you more time, but together we can ring-fence a few days away from distraction for highly structured and focused exam prep and skills boost.

WHEN YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SUCCEED, INCLUDING WELL MANAGED TIME, SUCCESS COMES SOONER.

Beyond the comprehensive classroom training and Student Success Kit, we offer 5 additional days to prepare delegates for the exam and supper charge their technical abilities.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS COURSE IS ONLY SUITABLE FOR DELEGATES WHO HAVE ATTENDED OUR OFFICIAL COURSE OR THAT OF ANOTHER TRAINING PROVIDER OR WHO HAVE SUITABLY SELF-STUDIED THE RANGE OF SKILLS DEVELOPED FROM THE OFFICIAL COURSE.

Classroom training experience - free from distraction

5 day schedule for CompTIA and Microsoft Server courses

​Paced and focused for success

​Giving the time to achieve

Building on the technical foundation from the Official Course

​Rapid Q&A sessions with the students thinking on the fly leading to..

Troubleshooting analysis and into the labs to Identify and fix the problem.

Practice exams with individual result analysis and group discussion

Individual student progress assessments and mentoring

Group and individual homework assignments

Student portal to ask the trainer course related questions

We incorporate the additional training materials ​from the Systems Master Advantage course

Actual exam on the Friday morning / afternoon

​Results assessment and personal feedback

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Ideally this course should follow directly on from the Official Course

Masterclass training can be purchased independently for any of the course subjects we deliver, but ideally would be booked to run immediately following the official course for best effect.

WHEN YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SUCCEED, INCLUDING WELL MANAGED TIME, SUCCESS COMES SOONER.

About this course

This five-day course is designed primarily for IT professionals who have some experience with Windows Server. It is designed for professionals who will be responsible for managing storage and compute by using Windows Server 2016, and who need to understand the scenarios, requirements, and storage and compute options that are available and applicable to Windows Server 2016.

Audience profile
This course is intended for IT professionals who have some experience working with Windows Server, and who are looking for a single five-day course that covers storage and compute technologies in Windows Server 2016. This course will help them update their knowledge and skills related to storage and compute for Windows Server 2016.

Candidates suitable for this course would be:
•Windows Server administrators who are relatively new to Windows Server administration and related technologies, and who want to learn more about the storage and compute features in Windows Server 2016.
•IT professionals with general IT knowledge who are looking to gain knowledge about Windows Server especially around storage and compute technologies in Windows Server 2016.

The secondary audience for this course are IT professionals looking to take the Microsoft 70-740 certification exam, Installation, Storage and Compute with Windows Server 2016.

At course completion
After completing this course, students will be able to:

Prepare and install Nano Server, a Server Core installation, and plan a server upgrade and migration strategy.
Describe the various storage options, including partition table formats, basic and dynamic disks, file systems, virtual hard disks, and drive hardware, and explain how to manage disks and volumes.
Describe enterprise storage solutions, and select the appropriate solution for a given situation.
Implement and manage Storage Spaces and Data Deduplication.
Install and configure Microsoft Hyper-V, and configure virtual machines.
Deploy, configure, and manage Windows and Hyper-V containers.
Describe the high availability and disaster recovery technologies in Windows Server 2016.
Plan, create, and manage a failover cluster.
Implement failover clustering for Hyper-V virtual machines.
Configure a Network Load Balancing (NLB) cluster, and plan for an NLB implementation.
Create and manage deployment images.
Manage, monitor, and maintain virtual machine installations

Course Outline

Module 1: Installing, upgrading, and migrating servers and workloads
This module describes the new features of Windows Server 2016, and explains how to prepare for and install Nano Server and Server Core. This module also describes how to plan a server upgrade and migration strategy, and explains how to perform a migration of server roles and workloads within and across domains. Finally, this module explains how to choose an activation model based on your environment characteristics.

Lessons
Introducing Windows Server 2016
Preparing and installing Server Core
Preparing for upgrades and migrations
Migrating server roles and workloads
Windows Server activation models

Lab : Installing and configuring Server Core
Installing Server Core
Completing post-installation tasks on Windows Server 2016 Core
Performing remote management

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe the new features of Windows Server 2016.
Prepare for and install Server Core.
Plan a server upgrade and migration strategy.
Perform a migration of server roles and workloads within a domain and across domains.
Choose an appropriate activation model.


Module 2: Configuring local storage
This module explains how to manage disks and volumes in Windows Server 2016.
Lessons
Managing disks in Windows Server
Managing volumes in Windows Server
Lab : Configuring local storage
Creating and managing volumes
Resizing volumes
Managing virtual hard disks

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Manage disks in Windows Server.
Manage volumes in Windows Server.

Module 3: Implementing enterprise storage solutions
This module discusses direct-attached storage (DAS), network-attached storage (NAS), and storage area networks (SANs). It also explains the purpose of Microsoft Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) Server, data center bridging (DCB), and Multipath I/O (MPIO). Additionally, this module compares Fibre Channel, Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI), and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and describes how to configure sharing in Windows Server 2016.

Lessons
Overview of DAS, NAS, and SANs
Comparing Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet
Understanding iSNS, DCB, and MPIO
Configuring sharing in Windows Server 2016
Lab : Planning and configuring storage technologies and components
Planning storage requirements
Configuring iSCSI storage
Configuring and managing the share infrastructure

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe DAS, NAS, and SANs.
Compare Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and FCoE.
Explain the use of iSNS, DCB, and MPIO.
Configure sharing in Windows Server.

Module 4: Implementing Storage Spaces and Data Deduplication
This module explains how to implement and manage Storage Spaces. This module also explains how to implement Data Deduplication.

Lessons
Implementing Storage Spaces
Managing Storage Spaces
Implementing Data Deduplication
Lab : Implementing Storage Spaces
Creating a Storage Space
Lab : Implementing Data Deduplication
Installing Data Deduplication
Configuring Data Deduplication

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe and implement the Storage Spaces feature in the context of enterprise storage needs.
Manage and maintain Storage Spaces.
Describe and implement Data Deduplication.

Module 5: Installing and configuring Hyper-V and virtual machines
This module provides an overview of Hyper-V and virtualization. It explains how to install Hyper-V, and how to configure storage and networking on Hyper-V host servers. Additionally, it explains how to configure and manage Hyper-V virtual machines.

Lessons
Overview of Hyper-V
Installing Hyper-V
Configuring storage on Hyper-V host servers
Configuring networking on Hyper-V host servers
Configuring Hyper-V virtual machines
Managing virtual machines
Lab : Installing and configuring Hyper-V
Verify installation of the Hyper-V server role
Configuring Hyper-V networks
Creating and configuring virtual machines
Enable nested virtualization for a virtual machine

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe Hyper-V and virtualization.
Install Hyper-V.
Configure storage on Hyper-V host servers.
Configure networking on Hyper-V host servers.
Configure Hyper-V virtual machines.
Manage Hyper-V virtual machines.

Module 6: Deploying and managing Windows and Hyper-V containers
This module provides an overview of containers in Windows Server 2016. Additionally, this module explains how to deploy Windows Server and Hyper-V containers. It also explains how to install, configure, and manage containers by using Docker.

Lessons
Overview of containers in Windows Server 2016
Deploying Windows Server and Hyper-V containers
Installing, configuring, and managing containers by using Docker
Lab : Installing and configuring containers
Installing and configuring Windows Server containers by using Windows PowerShell
Installing and configuring Windows Server containers by using Docker

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe containers in Windows Server 2016.
Explain how to deploy containers.
Explain how to install, configure, and manage containers using Docker.

Module 7: Overview of high availability and disaster recovery
This module provides an overview of high availability and high availability with failover clustering in Windows Server 2016. It further explains how to plan high availability and disaster recovery solutions with Hyper-V virtual machines. Additionally, this module explains how to back up and restore the Windows Server 2016 operating system and data by using Windows Server Backup.

Lessons
Defining levels of availability
Planning high availability and disaster recovery solutions with Hyper-V virtual machines
Backing up and restoring by using Windows Server Backup
High availability with failover clustering in Windows Server 2016
Lab : Planning and implementing a high availability and disaster recovery solution
Determining the appropriate high availability and disaster recovery solution
Implementing storage migration
Configuring Hyper-V replicas

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Define levels of availability.
Plan high availability and disaster recovery solutions with Hyper-V virtual machines.
Back up and restore data by using Windows Server Backup.
Describe high availability with failover clustering in Windows Server 2016.

Module 8: Implementing failover clustering
This module explains how to plan for failover clustering. It also explains how to create, manage, and troubleshoot a failover cluster.

Lessons
Planning a failover cluster
Creating and configuring a new failover cluster
Maintaining a failover cluster
Troubleshooting a failover cluster
Implementing site high availability with stretch clustering
Lab : Implementing failover clustering
Creating a failover cluster
Verifying quorum settings and adding a node
Lab : Managing a failover cluster
Evicting a node and verifying quorum settings
Changing the quorum from disk witness to file-share witness, and defining node voting
Verifying high availability

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Plan for a failover-clustering implementation.
Create and configure a failover cluster.
Maintain a failover cluster.
Troubleshoot a failover cluster.
Implement high availability and stretch clustering for a site.

Module 9: Implementing failover clustering with Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V
This module describes how Hyper-V integrates with failover clustering. It also explains how to implement Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs) in failover clusters.

Lessons
Overview of the integration of Hyper-V Server 2016 with failover clustering
Implementing Hyper-V VMs on failover clusters
Key features for VMs in a clustered environment
Lab : Implementing failover clustering with Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V
Configure iSCSI storage
Configuring a failover cluster for Hyper-V
Configuring a highly available VM

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe how Hyper-V integrates with failover clustering.
Implement Hyper-V VMs on failover clusters.
Describe the key features for VMs in a clustered environment.

Module 10: Implementing Network Load Balancing
This module provides an overview of NLB clusters. It also explains how to plan and configure an NLB cluster implementation.

Lessons
Overview of NLB
Configuring an NLB cluster
Planning an NLB implementation
Lab : Implementing NLB
Implementing a Network Load Balancing (NLB) cluster
Configuring and managing the NLB cluster
Validating high availability for the NLB cluster

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe NLB.
Configure an NLB cluster.
Explain how to plan an NLB implementation.

Module 11: Creating and managing deployment images
This module provides an overview of the Windows Server 2016 image deployment process. It also explains how to create and manage deployment images by using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT). Additionally, it describes different workloads in the virtual machine environment.

Lessons
Introduction to deployment images
Creating and managing deployment images by using MDT
Virtual machine environments for different workloads
Lab : Using MDT to deploy Windows Server 2016
Configuring MDT
Creating and deploying an image

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe the Windows Server 2016 image deployment process.
Create and manage deployment images by using MDT.
Describe the different workloads in the virtual machine environment.

Module 12: Managing, monitoring, and maintaining virtual machine installations
This module provides an overview on Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and the requirements to implement WSUS. It explains how to manage the update process with WSUS. Additionally, this module provides an overview of Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) and Windows Server 2016 monitoring tools. Finally, this module describes how to use Performance Monitor, and how to manage event logs.

Lessons
WSUS overview and deployment options
Update management process with WSUS
Overview of Windows PowerShell DSC
Overview of Windows Server 2016 monitoring tools
Using Performance Monitor
Monitoring event logs
Lab : Implementing WSUS and deploying updates
Implementing WSUS
Configuring update settings
Approving and deploying an update by using WSUS
Lab : Monitoring and troubleshooting Windows Server 2016
Establishing a performance baseline
Identifying the source of a performance problem
Viewing and configuring centralized event logs

After completing this module, students will be able to:
Describe the purpose of WSUS and the requirements to implement WSUS.
Manage the update process with WSUS.
Describe the purpose and benefits of Windows PowerShell DSC.
Describe the monitoring tools available in Windows Server 2016.
Use Performance Monitor.
Manage event logs.

Before attending this course, students must have:

A basic understanding of networking fundamentals.
An awareness and understanding of security best practices.
An understanding of basic AD DS concepts.
Basic knowledge of server hardware.
Experience supporting and configuring Windows client operating systems such as Windows 8 or Windows 10.

Additionally, students would benefit from having some previous Windows Server operating system experience, such as experience as a Windows Server systems administrator.