Windows Server Active Directory Study Notes

AD FS and Federation Basics

How Active Directory Federation Services issues claims-based security tokens to enable single sign-on with partner organizations and claims-aware applications.

Backup and Disaster Recovery for AD

Understand how to protect Active Directory with system state backups, the AD Recycle Bin, and a tested forest recovery plan.

Common GPO Settings

A tour of the most frequently configured Group Policy settings for security baselines, password policy, software restriction, and administrative templates.

DHCP Scopes and Reservations

Go deeper into configuring DHCP scopes, exclusions, reservations, and options so devices get consistent, conflict-free addressing.

DHCP Server Role

Learn how the Windows Server DHCP role automates IP address assignment and the core lease process every client relies on.

DNS Fundamentals on Windows Server

Learn how the Windows Server DNS role resolves names to IP addresses and why DNS is the backbone that Active Directory depends on.

DNS Zones and Records

Understand how Windows Server DNS organizes namespace data into zones and the record types administrators configure most often.

Domains, Trees, and Forests

How Active Directory organizes multiple domains into trees and forests to model organizational and trust boundaries.

Fine-Grained Password Policies

How Password Settings Objects (PSOs) let administrators apply different password and lockout rules to different groups of users within a single Active Director…

GPO Scope and Inheritance

How GPO scope is controlled through linking, security filtering, WMI filtering, Block Inheritance, and Enforced links, and how conflicts are resolved.

GPO Troubleshooting with gpresult and RSoP

How to diagnose Group Policy application problems using gpresult, the Resultant Set of Policy snap-in, gpupdate, and Group Policy event logs.

Group Policy Objects Explained

An introduction to Group Policy Objects (GPOs), how they store settings, and how they get applied to users and computers in Active Directory.

Group Policy Preferences

How Group Policy Preferences differ from Group Policy Policies, common preference extensions like drive maps and scheduled tasks, and item-level targeting.

Hybrid Identity with Microsoft Entra Connect

How Microsoft Entra Connect synchronizes on-premises Active Directory identities to Microsoft Entra ID, and the authentication methods and safeguards that make…

Installing AD DS and Promoting a Domain Controller

A walkthrough of installing the AD DS server role on Windows Server and promoting it into a new or existing domain controller.

Installing and Configuring a Server

A walkthrough of installing Windows Server and performing the essential post-install configuration steps before it joins production.

Integrating DNS with Active Directory

Understand how Active Directory depends on DNS for service discovery, dynamic updates, and site-aware logon, and how to configure that integration correctly.

Kerberos Authentication

How Active Directory's ticket-based Kerberos protocol authenticates users and services without repeatedly transmitting passwords, and how to diagnose its most…

Monitoring and Event Logs

Learn how Windows Event Logs, Event Viewer, and key security event IDs help administrators detect AD problems and security incidents.

Organizational Units (OUs)

How OUs let administrators organize AD objects for delegated administration and targeted Group Policy application.

PowerShell for AD Administration

Learn how to manage users, groups, and organizational units in Active Directory using the ActiveDirectory PowerShell module, bulk pipelines, and remoting.

Securing Privileged Accounts (Tiered Admin Model)

How Microsoft's tiered administration model, Privileged Access Workstations, and LAPS together prevent a single compromised low-trust machine from escalating i…

Server Core vs Desktop Experience

Compare Windows Server's two installation options — the minimal Server Core and the full Desktop Experience — and when to choose each.

Server Manager and Remote Management

Learn how Server Manager and remote administration tools let a single administrator manage many Windows Servers, including headless Server Core machines, from…