AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure Questions and Answers

One possible solution to configure SRV1 as a DNS server that can resolve names from the contoso.com domain by using DC1 and all other names by using the root hint servers is to use conditional forwarding. Conditional forwarding allows a DNS server to forward queries for a specific domain name to another DNS server, while using the normal forwarding or root hint servers for other queries. Here are the steps to configure conditional forwarding on SRV1:

On SRV1, open DNS Manager from the Administrative Tools menu or by typing dnsmgmt.msc in the Run box.

In the left pane, right-click on Conditional Forwarders and select New Conditional Forwarder.

In the New Conditional Forwarder dialog box, enter contoso.com as the DNS Domain name.

In the IP addresses of the master servers box, enter the IP address of DC1, which is the DNS server for the contoso.com domain. You can also click on Resolve to verify the name resolution of DC1.

Optionally, you can check the box Store this conditional forwarder in Active Directory, and replicate it as follows if you want to store and replicate the conditional forwarder in AD DS. You can also select the replication scope from the drop-down list.

Click OK to create the conditional forwarder.

Now, SRV1 will forward any queries for the contoso.com domain to DC1, and use the root hint servers for any other queries. You can test the name resolution by using the nslookup command on SRV1 or another computer that uses SRV1 as its DNS server. For example, you can run the following commands:

nslookup www.contoso.com

nslookup www.microsoft.com

The first command should return the IP address of www.contoso.com from DC1, and the second command should return the IP address of www.microsoft.com from a root hint server.

Objective:

Create a read-only copy of the DNS zone contoso.com on SRV2.

Step-by-Step Guide: Using a Secondary Zone

✅ Step 1: Log in to SRV2

Log in to SRV2 (where you want to host the secondary zone) using an account with local administrative privileges.

✅ Step 2: Open DNS Manager

Press Windows + R, type dnsmgmt.msc, and press Enter.

✅ Step 3: Create a Secondary Zone

In the DNS Manager, expand the server node for SRV2.

Right-click Forward Lookup Zones and select New Zone.

The New Zone Wizard opens.

✅ Step 4: Configure the Secondary Zone

Zone Type:

Select Secondary zone and click Next.

Zone Name:

Type contoso.com and click Next.

Master DNS Servers:

Enter the IP address of the master DNS server that hosts the primary zone (e.g., SRV1’s IP).

Click Next.

Finish:

Review the settings and click Finish.

✅ Step 5: Allow Zone Transfers on the Primary Server

On SRV1 (or the DNS server hosting the primary zone):

Open DNS Manager.

Right-click the contoso.com zone and select Properties.

Go to the Zone Transfers tab.

Check Allow zone transfers.

Specify SRV2’s IP address (or allow to any server if needed).

✅ Step 6: Verify Zone Replication

On SRV2, refresh the Forward Lookup Zones in DNS Manager.

The contoso.com zone should now appear as a Secondary zone.

Check the Zone Transfer status to ensure it successfully replicated.

To collect the recommended Windows Performance Counters from SRV1 in a Log Analytics workspace, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Access the Log Analytics Workspace Log in to the Azure portal and navigate to your Log Analytics workspace.

Step 2: Configure Performance Counters In the Log Analytics workspace, select Advanced settings and then choose Data > Windows Performance Counters1. You can add the recommended performance counters by selecting the + button. If you’re using legacy agent management, you can add counters from the Legacy agents management menu2.

Step 3: Add Performance Counters Select the counters you want to collect. You can add common counters quickly by checking the boxes next to them. For specific counters, enter the name of the counter in the format object(instance)\counter. For example, to collect the Processor Time counter for all instances of the Processor object, specify Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time.

Step 4: Set Sample Interval When adding a counter, you can set the sample interval, which is the frequency at which data is collected. The default is 10 seconds, but you can change this to a higher value if needed.

Step 5: Apply Configuration After adding the desired performance counters, select Apply at the top of the screen to save the configuration.

Step 6: Install and Configure the Agent Ensure that the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) is installed on SRV1. Configure the agent to report to your Log Analytics workspace by specifying the workspace ID and key during setup.

Step 7: Verify Data Collection After the agent is configured, it will start collecting the specified performance counters. You can verify the data collection in the Log Analytics workspace by running queries against the collected data.

Note: The legacy Log Analytics agent will be deprecated by August 2024. Migrate to the Azure Monitor agent before this date to continue ingesting data3.

By following these steps, you should be able to collect the recommended Windows Performance Counters from SRV1 in your Log Analytics workspace. Ensure that you have the necessary permissions and that SRV1 has network connectivity to Azure services.

To create a group-managed service account (gMSA) named gMSA1 and make it available on SRV1, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the Key Distribution Services Root Key First, you need to create the KDS Root Key, which is required for the gMSA to function. You can do this with the following PowerShell command:

Add-KdsRootKey –EffectiveTime ((get-date).addhours(-10))

Note: The -EffectiveTime parameter is set to 10 hours in the past to ensure immediate effect.

Step 2: Create the gMSA Next, use the New-ADServiceAccount cmdlet to create the gMSA:

New-ADServiceAccount -Name gMSA1 -DNSHostName gmsa1.domain.com -PrincipalsAllowedToRetrieveManagedPassword SRV1$

Replace domain.com with your actual domain name.

Step 3: Install the gMSA on SRV1 Now, you need to install the gMSA on the server SRV1. Run the following command on SRV1:

Install-ADServiceAccount -Identity gMSA1

Step 4: Test the gMSA To ensure that the gMSA is installed correctly and ready for use, perform a test using:

Test-ADServiceAccount -Identity gMSA1

If the test returns True, the gMSA is correctly installed and ready for use on SRV1.

Step 5: Configure the Service to Use the gMSA Finally, configure the service that requires the gMSA to use gMSA1 by setting the service’s logon account to domain\gMSA1$ and leave the password field blank.

This will create and make the gMSA gMSA1 available on SRV1. Ensure that you have the necessary permissions and that SRV1 is properly joined to the domain before proceeding with these steps123.

To manage SRV1 remotely using PowerShell, you’ll need to set up PowerShell Remoting. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Enable PowerShell Remoting on SRV1 On SRV1, run the following command to enable PowerShell Remoting:

Enable-PSRemoting -Force

This command configures the computer to receive PowerShell remote commands that are sent by using the WS-Management technology.

Step 2: Configure the TrustedHosts List (If Needed) If you’re managing SRV1 from a computer that is not part of the same domain, you’ll need to add the managing computer’s name to the TrustedHosts list on SRV1:

Set-Item wsman:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts -Value "ManagingComputerName" -Concatenate -Force

Replace “ManagingComputerName” with the name of your managing computer.

Step 3: Start a Remote Session From your managing computer, start a remote session with SRV1 using the Enter-PSSession cmdlet:

Enter-PSSession -ComputerName SRV1 -Credential (Get-Credential)

This command prompts you for credentials and then starts a remote session with SRV1.

Step 4: Run Remote Commands Once the remote session is established, you can run any PowerShell command as if you were directly on SRV1. For example:

Get-Service

This command gets the status of services on SRV1.

Step 5: Exit the Remote Session When you’re finished, exit the remote session:

Exit-PSSession

Note: Ensure that both the managing computer and SRV1 are properly configured to communicate over the network, and that any firewalls allow for the necessary ports (default is 5985 for HTTP and 5986 for HTTPS) to be open for WS-Management traffic12.

By following these steps, you should be able to manage SRV1 remotely using PowerShell. Make sure you have the appropriate administrative privileges to perform these actions.

Objective:

Grant permissions to the BranchAdmins group to manage the fabikam.com DNS zone on DC1.

Step-by-Step Guide

✅ Step 1: Log in to the DNS Server

Log in to DC1 (which hosts the DNS zone fabikam.com) using an account with Domain Admin or Enterprise Admin rights.

✅ Step 2: Open the DNS Manager

Open DNS Manager:

Press Windows + R, type dnsmgmt.msc, and hit Enter.

✅ Step 3: Locate the Zone

In the DNS Manager, expand the Forward Lookup Zones.

Locate and right-click on the zone fabikam.com.

✅ Step 4: Open Zone Properties

Right-click on fabikam.com and select Properties.

In the Properties window, go to the Security tab.

✅ Step 5: Grant Permissions

In the Security tab, click Add.

Enter the name of the group:

nginx

Copy

BranchAdmins

Click Check Names to resolve the group.

Click OK.

✅ Step 6: Assign the Appropriate Permissions

In the Permissions window, select the BranchAdmins group.

Assign the following permissions:

Read

Write

Create All Child Objects

Delete All Child Objects

Optionally, click Advanced for more granular control if needed.

✅ Step 7: Apply and Close

Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

To create a GPO named GPO1 that only applies to a group named MemberServers, you can follow these steps:

On a domain controller or a computer that has the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) installed, open Group Policy Management from the Administrative Tools menu or by typing gpmc.msc in the Run box.

In the left pane, expand your domain and right-click on Group Policy Objects. Select New to create a new GPO.

In the New GPO dialog box, enter GPO1 as the Name of the new GPO and click OK. You can also optionally select a source GPO to copy the settings from.

Right-click on the new GPO and select Edit to open the Group Policy Management Editor. Here, you can configure the settings that you want to apply to the group under the Computer Configuration and User Configuration nodes. For more information on how to edit a GPO, see Edit a Group Policy Object.

Close the Group Policy Management Editor and return to the Group Policy Management console. Right-click on the new GPO and select Scope. Here, you can specify the scope of management for the GPO, such as the links, security filtering, and WMI filtering.

Under the Security Filtering section, click on Authenticated Users and then click on Remove. This will remove the default permission granted to all authenticated users and computers to apply the GPO.

Click on Add and then type the name of the group that you want to apply the GPO to, such as MemberServers. Click OK to add the group to the security filter. You can also click on Advanced to browse the list of groups available in the domain.

Optionally, you can also configure the WMI Filtering section to further filter the GPO based on the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) queries. For more information on how to use WMI filtering, see Filter the scope of a GPO by using WMI filters.

To link the GPO to an organizational unit (OU) or a domain, right-click on the OU or the domain in the left pane and select Link an Existing GPO. Select the GPO that you created, such as GPO1, and click OK. You can also change the order of preference by using the Move Up and Move Down buttons.

Wait for the changes to replicate to other domain controllers. You can also force the update of the GPO by using the gpupdate /force command on the domain controller or the client computers. For more information on how to update a GPO, see Update a Group Policy Object.

Now, you have created a GPO named GPO1 that only applies to a group named MemberServers. You can verify the GPO application by using the gpresult /r command on a member server and checking the Applied Group Policy Objects entry. You can also use the Group Policy Results wizard in the Group Policy Management console to generate a report of the GPO application for a specific computer or user. For more information on how to use the Group Policy Results wizard, see Use the Group Policy Results Wizard.

To use Azure File Sync to replicate the contents of C:\app on SRV1 to an Azure file share named sharel1, with the source files located in \\dc1.contoso.com\install, follow these steps:

Step 1: Prepare Windows Server for Azure File Sync Ensure that SRV1 meets the prerequisites for Azure File Sync, such as having a supported version of Windows Server and PowerShell 5.1 or later1.

Step 2: Deploy the Storage Sync Service In the Azure portal, deploy the Storage Sync Service in the same region as your Azure file share1.

Step 3: Create an Azure File Share Create an Azure file share named sharel1 in your storage account1.

Step 4: Install the Azure File Sync Agent Download and install the Azure File Sync agent on SRV11.

Step 5: Register SRV1 with the Storage Sync Service After installing the agent, register SRV1 with the Storage Sync Service using the Azure portal1.

Step 6: Create a Sync Group and Server Endpoint In the Azure portal, go to your Storage Sync Service and create a new sync group. Add a server endpoint with the path C:\app on SRV12.

Step 7: Configure Cloud Endpoint Add the Azure file share sharel1 as the cloud endpoint to the sync group2.

Step 8: Initiate the Sync Process The initial sync will start automatically after the cloud endpoint and server endpoint are added to the sync group. Ensure that the Azure File Sync agent is running on SRV11.

Step 9: Monitor the Sync Status Monitor the sync status in the Azure portal to ensure that the files are being replicated correctly from C:\app on SRV1 to the Azure file share sharel11.

Note: Make sure that the network connectivity between SRV1 and the Azure file share is established and that the necessary ports are open. Also, verify that the SMB security settings allow for the required SMB protocol version and authentication methods1.

By following these steps, you should be able to replicate the contents of C:\app on SRV1 to the Azure file share sharel1 using Azure File Sync. Ensure that you have the necessary permissions to perform these actions and that SRV1 is properly configured to communicate with Azure services.

One possible solution to ensure that all DHCP clients that get an IP address from SRV1 will be configured to use DC1 as a DNS server is to use the DHCP scope options. DHCP scope options are settings that apply to all DHCP clients that obtain an IP address from a specific scope. You can use the DHCP scope options to specify the DNS server IP address, as well as other parameters such as the default gateway, the domain name, and the DNS suffix. Here are the steps to configure the DHCP scope options on SRV1:

On SRV1, open DNS Manager from the Administrative Tools menu or by typing dnsmgmt.msc in the Run box.

In the left pane, expand your DHCP server and click on IPv4.

In the right pane, right-click on the scope that you want to configure and select Properties.

In the Scope Properties dialog box, click on the DNS tab.

Check the box Enable DNS dynamic updates according to the settings below. This option allows the DHCP server to register and update the DNS records for the DHCP clients.

Select the option Always dynamically update DNS records. This option ensures that the DHCP server updates both the A and PTR records for the DHCP clients, regardless of whether they request or support dynamic updates.

Check the box Discard A and PTR records when lease is deleted. This option allows the DHCP server to delete the DNS records for the DHCP clients when their leases expire or are released.

Check the box Dynamically update DNS records for DHCP clients that do not request updates. This option allows the DHCP server to update the DNS records for the DHCP clients that do not support dynamic updates, such as legacy or non-Windows clients.

In the DNS servers section, click on the Add button to add a new DNS server IP address.

In the Add Server dialog box, enter the IP address of DC1, which is the DNS server that you want to use for the DHCP clients, and click Add.

Click OK to close the Add Server dialog box and return to the Scope Properties dialog box.

Click OK to apply the changes and close the Scope Properties dialog box.

Now, all DHCP clients that get an IP address from SRV1 will be configured to use DC1 as a DNS server. You can verify the DNS configuration by using the ipconfig /all command on a DHCP client computer and checking the DNS Servers entry. You can also check the DNS records for the DHCP clients by using the DNS Manager console on DC1.

One possible solution to register SRV1 to sync Azure file shares using the 34646045 Storage Sync Service is to use the Register-AzStorageSyncServer cmdlet from the Az.StorageSync module. This cmdlet establishes a trust relationship between the server and the Storage Sync Service, which is required for creating server endpoints and syncing files. Here are the steps to register SRV1 using the cmdlet:

On SRV1, open PowerShell as an administrator and run the following command to install the Az.StorageSync module if it is not already installed:

Install-Module -Name Az.StorageSync

Run the following command to import the Az.StorageSync module:

Import-Module -Name Az.StorageSync

Run the following command to sign in to your Azure account and select the subscription that contains the 34646045 Storage Sync Service:

Connect-AzAccount

Select-AzSubscription -SubscriptionId

Run the following command to register SRV1 with the 34646045 Storage Sync Service. You need to specify the resource group name and the Storage Sync Service name as parameters:

Register-AzStorageSyncServer -ResourceGroupName -StorageSyncServiceName 34646045

Wait for the registration to complete. You can verify the registration status by checking the Registered servers tab on the Azure portal or by running the following command:

Get-AzStorageSyncServer -ResourceGroupName -StorageSyncServiceName 34646045

Now, SRV1 is registered with the 34646045 Storage Sync Service and ready to sync Azure file shares. You can create server endpoints on SRV1 and cloud endpoints on the Azure file shares to define the sync topology.

One possible solution to monitor the security configuration of DC1 by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud is to use the Guest Configuration feature. Guest Configuration is a service that audits settings inside Linux and Windows virtual machines (VMs) to assess their compliance with your organization’s security policies. You can use Guest Configuration to monitor the security baseline settings for Windows Server in the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal by following these steps:

On DC1, open a web browser and go to the folder named \dc1.contoso.com\install. Download the Guest Configuration extension file (GuestConfiguration.msi) and save it to a local folder, such as C:\Temp.

Run the Guest Configuration extension file and follow the installation wizard. You can choose to install the extension for all users or only for the current user. For more information on how to install the Guest Configuration extension, see Install the Guest Configuration extension.

After the installation is complete, sign in to the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal (2).

In the left pane, select Security Center and then Recommendations.

In the recommendations list, find and select Vulnerabilities in security configuration on your Windows machines should be remediated (powered by Guest Configuration).

In the Remediate Security Configurations page, you can see the compliance status of your Windows VMs, including DC1, based on the Azure Compute Benchmark. The Azure Compute Benchmark is a set of rules that define the desired configuration state of your VMs. You can also see the number of failed, passed, and skipped rules for each VM. For more information on the Azure Compute Benchmark, see Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Azure compute benchmark is now available.

To view the details of the security configuration of DC1, click on the VM name and then select View details. You can see the list of rules that apply to DC1 and their compliance status. You can also see the severity, description, and remediation steps for each rule. For example, you can see if DC1 has the latest security updates installed, if the firewall is enabled, if the password policy is enforced, and so on.

To monitor the security configuration of DC1 over time, you can use the Compliance over time chart, which shows the trend of compliance status for DC1 in the past 30 days. You can also use the Compliance breakdown chart, which shows the distribution of compliance status for DC1 by rule severity.

By using Guest Configuration, you can monitor the security configuration of DC1 by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud and ensure that it meets your organization’s security standards. You can also use Guest Configuration to monitor the security configuration of other Windows and Linux VMs in your Azure environment.

Membership in the Enterprise Admins group or the Domain Admins group in the forest root domain is required.