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My preparations for the exam AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure!
Dear Microsoft Azure Friends,
When I read from Microsoft Learn that there was again a Windows Server exam along with Microsoft Azure, I was excited. The new certification is called: Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate! This certification consists of two exams: AZ-800 and AZ-801. If you successfully pass both exams you will receive the certification. This article is all about the AZ-800 exam.
I quickly asked myself, does this help my knowledge from MCSA Windows Server 2016? Yes and no ;-).
After reading the skills measured carefully, it became clear to me that some knowledge is still available, other knowledge must be refreshed. Or would you have known that it takes an Enterprise Administrator to authorize a DHCP server in Active Directory? That it needs an Admin was clear to me, but an Enterprise Admin...back to the roots ;-).
Now let me show you how my preparation for the exam was:
1. First of all, I looked at the Exam Topics to get a first impression of the scope of topics.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-800
Please take a close look at the skills assessed:
https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWKI0r
2. So that I can prepare for an exam I need an Azure test environment (this is indispensable for me). You can sign up for a free trial here.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/
I have also set up a small local test environment with a couple of Windows Server 2022. You can get the operating systems directly from Microsoft:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2022
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-11-enterprise
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-admin-center
3. Now it goes to the Microsoft Learning paths content. Work through the learning paths at your leisure. They are really super helpful to prepare for the exam. At this point, many thanks to Microsoft Learn ( SandraMarin ) for the great learning content:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/deploy-manage-identity-infrastructure/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/manage-windows-servers-workloads-hybrid-environment/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/manage-virtualization-containers-hybrid-environment/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/implement-operate-premises-hybrid/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/configure-storage-file-services/
4. Register for the exam early. This creates some pressure and you stay motivated.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/exams/az-800
5. Please also have a look at thomasmaurer's website this is also very helpful!
6. I have created a repository on GitHub for the two exams AZ-800 and AZ-801. There are links, scripts and a lot of content in it, please have a look:
https://github.com/tomwechsler/Microsoft_Certified_Windows_Server_Hybrid_Administrator_Associate
7. I started (in german) with a YouTube playlist (it's still early days) to become a Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi0MTIjZai_xLvMSMgOxnk-0QFSxjSEe5
8. More helpful information directly from Microsoft, divided into the functional groups (Skills measured)!
Deploy and manage Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in on-premises and cloud environments:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory-domain-services/tutorial-create-forest-trust
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/reference-architectures/identity/azure-ad
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/hybrid/whatis-azure-ad-connect
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/hybrid/choose-ad-authn
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory-domain-services/password-policy
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory-domain-services/manage-group-policy
Manage Windows Servers and workloads in a hybrid environment:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/manage/windows-admin-center/azure/manage-vm
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/servers/onboard-windows-admin-center
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/servers/learn/tutorial-assign-policy-portal
https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/azure/azure-arc/servers/learn/tutorial-enable-vm-insights
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/update-management/overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/agents/log-analytics-agent#network-requirements
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/hybrid/hybrid-security-monitoring
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/maintenance-and-updates
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/hybrid/azure-automation-hybrid
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/automation-runbook-execution
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/extensions/dsc-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/extensions/dsc-windows
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/extensions/features-windows
Manage virtual machines and containers:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/user-guide/nested-virtualization
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/manage/set-up-hyper-v-replica
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/quick-start/connect-to-network
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/concepts/host-network-requirements
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/container-networking/architecture
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/wac-tooling/wac-containers
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/attach-managed-disk-portal
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/resize-vm?tabs=portal
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/solution-ideas/articles/cicd-for-azure-vms
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/connect-logon
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/winrm
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/network-overview
Implement and manage an on-premises and hybrid networking infrastructure:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dns/private-dns-scenarios
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/ipam/ipam-top
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/hybrid/azure-network-adapter
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-relay/relay-what-is-it
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/vpn-gateway/tutorial-site-to-site-portal
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/vpn-gateway/point-to-site-about
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-wan/virtual-wan-about
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/app-proxy/what-is-application-proxy
Manage storage and file services:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/file-sync/file-sync-deployment-guide
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/file-sync/file-sync-modify-sync-topology
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-how-to-create-file-share
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/file-sync/file-sync-server-registration
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/file-sync/file-sync-server-endpoint-create
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/file-sync/file-sync-how-to-manage-tiered-files
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/file-sync/file-sync-monitoring
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/files-manage-namespaces?tabs=azure-portal
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/fsrm/file-screening-management
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/fsrm/quota-management
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/branchcache/branchcache
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/dfs-namespaces/dfs-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/dfs-replication/dfsr-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/manage-disks
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/disk-management/manage-basic-volumes
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-spaces/overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-replica/storage-replica-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/data-deduplication/overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/smb-direct
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-qos/storage-qos-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/storage-qos/storage-qos-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/refs/refs-overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/ntfs-overview
As is so often the case, success and failure are very close. All the more the details are very important. When you are at the test pay attention to the various hidden details. What exactly do I mean by that? A server with three different hard drives, two formatted with NTFS and one with ReFS. Which drives support compression? Other example, many onpremises servers are to be connected in Azure Arc, what is the first step...exactly a service principal, but what role in Azure does this service principal need, exactly this detail matters!
One final tip: When you have learned something new, try to explain what you have learned to another person (whether or not they know your subject). If you can explain it in your own words, you understand the subject. That is exactly how I do it, except that I do not explain it to another person, but record a video for YouTube!
I hope this information helps you and that you successfully pass the exam. I wish you success!
Kind regards, Tom Wechsler
P.S. All scripts (#PowerShell, Azure CLI, #Terraform, #ARM) that I use can be found on github! https://github.com/tomwechsler
