AZ-800 Study Guide: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure

Updated – 06/07/2023 – The exam study guide below includes a new Free practice assessment for the AZ-800 certification.

Are you preparing for the AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure exam? This study guide will share with you how to prepare and pass the AZ-800: Microsoft Certified Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate successfully (with links to exam objectives).

Introduction

Microsoft is keeping evolving its learning programs to help you and your career keep pace with today’s demanding IT environments. The new updated role-based certifications will help you to keep pace with today’s business requirements. Microsoft Learning is constantly evolving its learning program to better offer what you need to skill up, prove your expertise to employers and peers, and get the recognition—and opportunities you’ve earned.

At Windows Server Summit 2021, Microsoft announced a new Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate certification. To obtain the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate certification you need to pass two exams: AZ 800 (Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure – this study guide), and AZ 801 (Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services).

Exam Preparation

While preparing to take this exam myself, I would like to share with you how to prepare and pass the AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure exam successfully. To prepare for this exam, I usually use a couple of online resources, mainly Microsoft Docs, Microsoft Learn, and Training Labs, which I am going to share with you in the next section.

The exam will be available starting mid of December 2021 in the Beta phase at the time of this writing. Beta exams are not scored immediately because Microsoft is gathering data on the quality of the questions and the exam. As of March 2022, the AZ-800 exam is out of the Beta phase now and it’s Public. I will update this article as soon as I get the exam results from Microsoft.

Updated on 11/03/2022 – In this exam (public and not beta), I got 57 questions in total with 2 case studies, and 2 sections with Yes/No answers, no lab questions but this might change in the future. The total time for this exam is 100 minutes (~1.66 hours). The exam is very long, you need to manage your time and prepare very well. The questions do pretty much match the list of skills measured below.

I am so happy and grateful now that I received the final report for the AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure with a passing score as shown in the report below! I want to mention that I did not prepare well when I sat for this exam, but since I work with Windows Server and Microsoft Azure on daily basis, I managed to answer most of the questions within 1.40 hours.

Exam Target Audience

The candidates for the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate certification should have subject matter expertise in configuring and managing Windows Server on-premises, hybrid, and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform workloads.

Responsibilities for this role include integrating Windows Server environments with Azure services and managing Windows Server in on-premises networks. This role manages and maintains Windows Server IaaS workloads in Azure, in addition to migrating and deploying
workloads to Azure.

As a Windows Server Engineer, you work and collaborate with Azure administrators, enterprise architects, Microsoft 365 administrators, and network engineers.

The candidates for this exam administer core Windows Server workloads using on-premises, hybrid, and cloud technologies. These IT professionals should have expertise in implementing and managing on-premises and hybrid solutions, such as identity, management, compute, networking, and storage. They use administrative tools and technologies, such as Windows Admin Center, PowerShell, Azure Arc, and IaaS virtual machine administration.

To prepare for this exam, you should have extensive experience working with Windows Server operating systems.

Prerequisites

Successful Windows Server Engineers start this role with experience in Windows Server OS, on-premises or cloud infrastructure, and hybrid cloud technologies. As a prerequisite for this exam, you should be familiar with the following topics:

• Windows Server roles and features.
• Active Directory Domain Sevices (AD DS).
• Domain Name System (DNS).
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
• File Services.
• Storage (Storage Spaces Direct and Azure Stack HCI)
• Compute (Hyper-V).
• Understanding security, high availability, disaster recovery, and monitoring.
• Troubleshooting Windows Server.

Skills measured on this exam

This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical topics listed below based on the latest update from Microsoft Learning.

I have also included the direct link to the Microsoft documentation so you can read more about each objective.

Deploy and manage Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in on-premises and cloud environments (30–35%)

Deploy and manage AD DS domain controllers

 Deploy and manage domain controllers on-premises

• Install Active Directory Domain Services (Level 100)
• Install a New Windows Server 2012 Active Directory Forest (Level 200)
• What’s New in Active Directory Domain Services Installation and Removal

 Deploy and manage domain controllers in Azure

• Deploy AD DS in an Azure virtual network

 Deploy Read-Only Domain Controllers (RODCs)

• Install a Windows Server 2012 Active Directory Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC) (Level 200)

 Troubleshoot flexible single master operations (FSMO) roles

• Active Directory FSMO roles in Windows

Configure and manage multi-site, multi-domain, and multi-forest environments

 Configure and manage forest and domain trusts

• Tutorial: Create an outbound forest trust to an on-premises domain in Azure Active Directory Domain Services
• Managing Trusts

 Configure and manage AD DS sites

• Understanding Active Directory Site Topology

 Configure and manage AD DS replication

• Active Directory Replication Concepts

Create and manage AD DS security principals

 Create and manage AD DS users and groups

• Managing Users
• Managing Groups

 Manage users and groups in multi-domain and multi-forest scenarios

• Understanding Group Accounts

 Implement group managed service accounts (gMSAs)

• Group Managed Service Accounts Overview

 Join Windows Servers to AD DS, Azure AD DS, and Azure AD

• Join a Computer to a Domain
• Tutorial: Join a Windows Server virtual machine to an Azure Active Directory Domain Services managed domain

Implement and manage hybrid identities

 Implement Azure AD Connect

• Introduction to Azure AD Connect V2.0

 Manage Azure AD Connect Synchronization

• Azure AD Connect sync: Understanding the architecture

 Implement Azure AD Connect cloud sync

• What is Azure AD Connect cloud sync?

 Integrate Azure AD, AD DS, and Azure AD DS

• Integrate on-premises AD domains with Azure AD

 Manage Azure AD DS

• Tutorial: Create and configure an Azure Active Directory Domain Services managed domain

 Manage Azure AD Connect Health

• What is Azure AD Connect?

 Manage authentication in on-premises and hybrid environments

• Choose the right authentication method for your Azure Active Directory hybrid identity solution

 Configure and manage AD DS passwords

• Password and account lockout policies on Azure Active Directory Domain Services managed domains

Manage Windows Server by using domain-based Group Policies

 Implement Group Policy in AD DS

• Group Policy Overview

 Implement Group Policy Preferences in AD DS

• About Group Policy Preferences

 Implement Group Policy in Azure AD DS

• Administer Group Policy in an Azure Active Directory Domain Services managed domain

Manage Windows Servers and workloads in a hybrid environment (10–15%)

Manage Windows Servers in a hybrid environment

 Deploy a Windows Admin Center gateway server

• Manually deploy Windows Admin Center in Azure for managing multiple servers

 Configure a target machine for Windows Admin Center

• Use Windows Admin Center in the Azure portal to manage a Windows Server VM

 Configure PowerShell Remoting

• Running Remote Commands
• PowerShell Remoting FAQ

 Configure CredSSP or Kerberos delegation for second hop remoting

• Making the second hop in PowerShell Remoting

 Configure JEA for PowerShell Remoting

• Just Enough Administration

Manage Windows Servers and workloads by using Azure services

 Manage Windows Servers by using Azure Arc

• Connect hybrid machines to Azure from Windows Admin Center

 Assign Azure Policy Guest Configuration

• Tutorial: Create a policy assignment to identify non-compliant resources

 Deploy Azure services using Azure Virtual Machine extensions on non-Azure machines

• Tutorial: Monitor a hybrid machine with VM insights

 Manage updates for Windows machines

• Update Management overview

 Integrate Windows Servers with Log Analytics

• Log Analytics agent – Network requirements

 Integrate Windows Servers with Azure Security Center

• Hybrid Security Monitoring using Azure Security Center and Azure Sentinel

 Manage IaaS virtual machines (VMs) in Azure that run Windows Server

• Maintenance for virtual machines in Azure

 Implement Azure Automation for hybrid workloads

• Azure Automation in a hybrid environment

 Create runbooks to automate tasks on target VMs

• Runbook execution in Azure Automation

 Implement DSC to prevent configuration drift in IaaS machines

• Introduction to the Azure Desired State Configuration extension handler
• PowerShell DSC Extension
• Virtual machine extensions and features for Windows

Manage virtual machines and containers (15–20%)

Manage Hyper-V and guest virtual machines

 Enable VM enhanced session mode

• Use local resources on Hyper-V virtual machine with VMConnect

 Manage VM using PowerShell Remoting, PowerShell Direct, and HVC.exe

• Manage Windows virtual machines with PowerShell Direct
• Manage Hyper-V VMs using PowerShell Direct

 Configure nested virtualization

• Run Hyper-V in a Virtual Machine with Nested Virtualization

 Configure VM memory

• Hyper-V Dynamic Memory Overview

 Configure Integration Services

• Manage Hyper-V Integration Services

 Configure Discrete Device Assignment

• Deploy graphics devices using Discrete Device Assignment
• Plan for Deploying Devices using Discrete Device Assignment
• Deploy NVMe Storage Devices using Discrete Device Assignment

 Configure VM Resource Groups

• Hyper-V Host CPU Resource Management

 Configure VM CPU Groups

• Virtual Machine Resource Controls

 Configure hypervisor scheduling types

• Managing Hyper-V hypervisor scheduler types
• About Hyper-V hypervisor scheduler type selection

 Manage VM Checkpoints

• Choose between standard or production checkpoints in Hyper-V
• Enable or disable checkpoints in Hyper-V

 Implement high availability for virtual machines

• Set up Hyper-V Replica
• Clustering for Hyper-V

 Manage VHD and VHDX files

• Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disk Format Overview

 Configure Hyper-V network adapter

• Create a virtual network
• Host network requirements for Azure Stack HCI

 Configure NIC teaming

• NIC Teaming

 Configure Hyper-V switch

• Hyper-V Virtual Switch

Create and manage containers

 Create Windows Server container images

• Container Base Images

 Manage Windows Server container images

• Update Windows Server containers

 Configure Container networking

• Windows container networking

 Manage container instances

• Run new containers using Windows Admin Center

Manage Azure Virtual Machines that run Windows Server

 Manage data disks

• Attach a managed data disk to a Windows VM by using the Azure portal

 Resize Azure Virtual Machines

• Change the size of a virtual machine

 Configure continuous delivery for Azure Virtual Machines

• CI/CD for Azure VMs

 Configure connections to VMs

• How to connect and sign on to an Azure virtual machine running Windows
• Setting up WinRM access for Virtual Machines in Azure Resource Manager

 Manage Azure Virtual Machines network configuration

• Virtual networks and virtual machines in Azure

Implement and manage an on-premises and hybrid networking infrastructure (15–20%)

Implement on-premises and hybrid name resolution

 Integrate DNS with AD DS

• Active Directory-Integrated DNS Zones

 Create and manage zones and records

• Managing a Forward Lookup Zone
• Adding a Resource Record to a Forward Lookup Zone

 Configure DNS forwarding/conditional forwarding

• Configure a DNS Server to Use Forwarders
• Assign a Conditional Forwarder for a Domain Name

 Integrate Windows Server DNS with Azure DNS private zones

• Azure DNS private zones scenarios

 Implement DNSSEC

• Overview of DNSSEC

Manage IP addressing in on-premises and hybrid scenarios

 Implement and manage IPAM

• IP Address Management (IPAM)

 Implement and configure the DHCP server role (on-premises only)

• Administering DHCP Server

 Resolve IP address issues in hybrid environments

• Fix duplicate IP address conflicts on a DHCP network

 Create and manage scopes

• Managing DHCP Server Scopes

 Create and manage IP reservations

• Managing Reservations and Reserved Clients

 Implement DHCP high availability

• Understand and Deploy DHCP Failover

Implement on-premises and hybrid network connectivity

 Implement and manage the Remote Access role

• Remote Access Overview

 Implement and manage Azure Network Adapter

• Connect standalone servers by using Azure Network Adapter

 Implement and manage Azure Extended Network

• Extend your on-premises subnets into Azure using Azure Extended Network

 Implement and manage Network Policy Server role

• Network Policy and Access Services Overview

 Implement Web Application Proxy

• Web Application Proxy

 Implement Azure Relay

• What is Azure Relay?

 Implement site-to-site virtual private network (VPN)

• Tutorial: Create a Site-to-Site connection in the Azure portal
• About Point-to-Site VPN

 Implement Azure Virtual WAN

• What is Azure Virtual WAN?

 Implement Azure AD Application Proxy

• Using Azure AD Application Proxy to publish on-premises apps for remote users

Manage storage and file services (15–20%)

Configure and manage Azure File Sync

 Create Azure File Sync service

• Deploy Azure File Sync

 Create sync groups

• Modify your Azure File Sync topology

 Create cloud endpoints

• Create an Azure file share

 Register servers

• Manage registered servers with Azure File Sync

 Create server endpoints

• Create an Azure File Sync server endpoint

 Configure cloud tiering

• How to manage tiered files

 Monitor File Sync

• Monitor Azure File Sync

 Migrate DFS to Azure File Sync

• How to use DFS Namespaces with Azure Files

Configure and manage Windows Server file shares

 Configure Windows Server file share access

• Share permissions

 Configure file screens

• File Screening Management

 Configure File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) quotas

• Quota Management

 Configure BranchCache

• BranchCache

 Implement and configure Distributed File System (DFS)

• DFS Namespaces overview
• DFS Replication overview

Configure Windows Server storage

 Configure disks and volumes

• Manage disks
• Manage basic volumes

 Configure and manage Storage Spaces

• Storage Spaces overview

 Configure and manage Storage Replica

• Storage Replica overview

 Configure Data Deduplication

• Data Deduplication Overview

 Configure SMB direct

• SMB Direct

 Configure Storage Quality of Service (QoS)

• Storage Quality of Service

 Configure file systems

• Resilient File System (ReFS) overview
• NTFS overview

Microsoft Learn – Study Resources

To prepare for this exam, I use the new Microsoft Learn, a great resource that provides self-paced skills training on a variety of Windows Server hybrid topics. I highly recommend checking the following modules:

1) Deploy and manage Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in on-premises and cloud environments

• Introduction to AD DS
• Manage AD DS domain controllers and FSMO roles
• Implement Group Policy Objects
• Manage advanced features of AD DS
• Implement hybrid identity with Windows Server
• Deploy and manage Azure IaaS Active Directory domain controllers in Azure

2) Manage Windows Servers and workloads in a hybrid environment

• Perform Windows Server secure administration
• Describe Windows Server administration tools
• Perform post-installation configuration of Windows Server
• Administer and manage Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machine remotely
• Manage hybrid workloads with Azure Arc

3) Manage virtual machines and containers

• Configure and manage Hyper-V
• Configure and manage Hyper-V virtual machines
• Secure Hyper-V workloads
• Plan and deploy Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machines
• Customize Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machine images
• Automate the configuration of Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machines
• Run containers on Windows Server
• Orchestrate containers on Windows Server using Kubernetes

4) Implement and manage an on-premises and hybrid networking infrastructure

• Implement DNS for Windows Server IaaS VMs
• Deploy and manage DHCP
• Implement Windows Server DNS
• Implement IP Address Management
• Implement remote access
• Implement hybrid network infrastructure
• Implement Windows Server IaaS VM IP addressing and routing

5) Manage storage and file services

• Manage Windows Server file servers
• Implement Storage Spaces and Storage Spaces Direct
• Implement Windows Server Data Deduplication
• Implement Windows Server iSCSI
• Implement Windows Server Storage Replica
• Implement a hybrid file server infrastructure

Training Labs

Check the following step-by-step hands-on labs that will help you to gain more practical experience with configuring Windows Server hybrid services. At the time of this writing, these labs are still new and they will evolve:

1) LAB 1 – Implementing identity services and Group Policy.
2) LAB 2 – Implementing integration between AD DS and Azure AD.
3) LAB 3 – Managing Windows Server.
4) LAB 4 – Using Windows Admin Center in hybrid scenarios.
5) LAB 5 – Implementing and configuring virtualization in Windows Server.
6) LAB 6 – Deploying and configuring Windows Server on Azure VMs.
7) LAB 7 – Implementing and configuring network infrastructure services in Windows Server.
8) LAB 8 – Implementing hybrid networking infrastructure.
9) LAB 9 – Implementing storage solutions in Windows Server.
10) LAB 10 – Implementing Azure File Sync.

Instructor-led virtual training

Last but certainly not least, if you prefer instructor-led training, Microsoft released the AZ-800T00 4 days course. This course teaches IT Professionals how to manage core Windows Server workloads and services using on-premises, hybrid, and cloud technologies. The course teaches IT Professionals how to implement and manage on-premises and hybrid solutions such as identity, management, compute, networking, and storage in a Windows Server hybrid environment.

If you prefer to get prepare for this exam with Microsoft MCT instructor-led virtual training, you can get in contact with me here.

Books

At the time of this writing, there is only one book that you can use to prepare for this exam.

This Exam Ref is the official study guide for the new Microsoft AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure certification exam.

Exam Ref AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure offers professional-level preparation that helps candidates maximize their exam performance and sharpen their skills on the job. It focuses on helping modern IT professionals demonstrate real-world mastery of helping design, implement, and manage Windows Server core infrastructure in a hybrid cloud environment.

With this Exam Reference book on your side, you’ll learn how to:

• Deploy and manage AD DS in on-premises and cloud environments.
• Manage Windows Servers and workloads in a hybrid environment.
• Manage virtual machines and containers.
• Implement and manage an on-premises and hybrid networking infrastructure.
• Manage storage and file services.

Microsoft Exam Ref publications stand apart from third-party study guides because they provide guidance from Microsoft, the creator of Microsoft certification exams.

Videos

If  you are interested to prepare for the AZ-800 exam using video training, then I highly recommend checking the following course:

> Pluralsight: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure (AZ-800).

AZ-800 Free Practice Assessment

Are you preparing for the AZ-800 certification exam? Microsoft just announced Practice Assessments on Microsoft Learn, the newest free exam preparation resource that allows you to assess your knowledge and fill knowledge gaps so that you are better prepared the take the AZ-800 certification exam.

The following assessment provides you with an overview of the style, wording, and difficulty of the questions you’re likely to experience on the exam. Through this assessment, you’re able to assess your readiness, determine where additional preparation is needed, and fill knowledge gaps bringing you one step closer to the likelihood of passing your AZ-800 exam.

> Take now Exam AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure Practice Assessment (50 questions).

Prepare for your certification exam by assessing your knowledge through Practice Assessments, which are free and can be attempted multiple times. These assessments are created and regularly updated by the same team that develops the official certification exams.

You can access practice assessments on Microsoft Learn by signing in or creating an account. The score report for each question includes the answer, rationale, and links to additional information.

Schedule AZ-800 Exam

At the time of this writing, the AZ-800 exam will be available in December 2021 in the beta phase first. Beta exams are not scored immediately because Microsoft is gathering data on the quality of the questions and the exam.

Updated – 07/12/2021 – At the time of this writing, Microsoft launched the AZ-800 exam in beta mode, if you would like to take the beta exam and receive the 80% discount*, use the code below when prompted for payment. Please note that the seats are offered for the first 300 people who take the exam on or before January 10, 2022 (first-come, first-served basis).

This exam is out of the Beta phase now and it’s Public. The beta code below is not available anymore.

AZ800WOOSTER

Once you are ready, click Schedule exam here and take it online from the comfort of your home/office with proctor supervision.

Other Microsoft Azure Exam Study Guides

Are you interested in another Azure certification exam? I highly encourage you to check out the following Azure exam study guides:

• Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-140: Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-303: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-304: Microsoft Azure Architect Design Certification Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-600: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack Hub Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-700: Microsoft Azure Network Engineer Associate Study Guide
• Exam AZ-720: Troubleshooting Microsoft Azure Connectivity Study Guide
• Exam SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Exam Study Guide
• Exam SC-200: Microsoft Security Operations Analyst Exam Study Guide
• Exam SC-300: Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator Exam Study Guide
• Exam SC-400: Microsoft Information Protection Administrator Exam Study Guide
• Exam MS-500: Microsoft 365 Security Administrator Exam Study Guide
• Exam AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions Study Guide
• Exam AZ-801: Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services Study Guide

If you are planning to take the AZ-800 exam… I wish you all the best and Happy Studying!!!

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Thank you for reading my blog.

If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment.

-Charbel Nemnom-