Windows Server 2012 Self-Study Guide (The Fundamentals)

As I start this blog entry, it's been nearly 8 months since I created my last self-study guide. For those of you following this blog, I apologize for the long gap. All I can say is that the requirements of work and life, coupled with a mountain of good intention, has seemed to push this new installment back for some time. I hope going forward that I will be able to publish at least once a month, but like always I have no idea what the future holds. So I appreciate everyone's patience and continuing encouragement to move forward with these self-study guides.

With this post, my plan is to focus on Windows Server 2012. Given that this is the newest server operating system for Microsoft, I have no idea in advance how long it will take to feel like I've covered it thoroughly. I am not even sure in advance how I will break out the various specialty areas in Windows Server 2012. With this entry, my purpose is to try and address the fundamentals. As always, the links I am providing below are all validated as of this writing, but I can make no promises about whether they'll continue to work over time. If you find some that don't resolve properly in the future, please write me and let me know which ones they are so I can try and keep them updated.

Now, on to the material...

To begin with, for those who need a definition up front, here is how Microsoft defines Windows Server 2012. I have taken this definition from here:

"Windows Server powers many of the worlds' largest datacenters, enables small businesses around the world, and delivers value to organizations of all sizes in between. Windows Server 2012 redefines the server category, delivering hundreds of new features and enhancements spanning virtualization, networking, storage, user experience, cloud computing, automation, and more. Simply put, Windows Server 2012 helps you transform your IT operations to reduce costs and deliver a whole new level of business value."

Windows Server 2012 Self-Study Guide (The Fundamentals)

Top-level link for Windows Server 2012 is: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/default.aspx

Microsoft Virtual Academy

Windows Server 2012 Training: Technical Overview

Server Virtualization

Server Virtualization Student Manual (PDF)
Server Virtualization Part 1 (video)
Server Virtualization Part 2 (video)
Server Virtualization Part 3 (video)
Server Virtualization Part 4 (video)
Server Virtualization Part 5 (video)
Server Virtualization Part 6 (video)
Server Virtualization White Paper (PDF)
Download and Evaluate Windows Server 2012 (download)

Management and Automation

Management & Automation Student Manual (PDF)
Management and Automation White Paper (PDF)

Networking

Networking Student Manual (PDF)
Networking Part 1 (video)
Networking Part 2 (video)
Networking Part 3 (video)
Networking Part 4 (video)
Networking Part 5 (video)
Networking Part 6 (video)
Networking White Paper (PDF)

Storage

Storage Student Manual (PDF)
Storage Part 1 (video)
Storage Part 2 (video)
Storage Part 3 (video)
Storage Part 4 (video)
Storage White Paper (PDF)

Identity and Access

Identity and Access Student Manual (PDF)
Identity and Access Part 1 (video)
Identity and Access Part 2 (video)
Identity and Access White Paper (PDF)

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Student Manual (PDF)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Part 1 (video)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Part 2 (video)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Part 3 (video)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure White Paper (PDF)

Web and Application Platform

Web and Application Platform Student Manual (PDF)
Web and Application Platform Part 1 (video)
Web and Application Platform Part 2 (video)
Web and Application Platform Part 3 (video)

Windows Server 2012 Jump Start: Preparing for the Datacenter Evolution

01: Core Hyper-V

Introduction (PDF)
Core Hyper-V (video)
Core Hyper-V: Presentation (PDF)

02: Virtualization Infrastructure

Virtualization Infrastructure Part 1 (video)
Virtualization Infrastructure Part 2 (video)
Virtualization Infrastructure: Presentation (PDF)

03: Storage Architecture

Storage Architecture Part 1 (video)
Storage Architecture Part 2 (video)
Storage Architecture: Presentation (PDF)

04: Continuous Availability

Continuous Availability (video)
Continuous Availability: Presentation (PDF)

05: Multi-Server Management

Multi-Server Management Part 1 (video)
Multi-Server Management Part 2 (video)
Multi-Server Management: Presentation (PDF)

06: Security and Access

Security and Access Part 1 (video)
Security and Access Part 2 (video)
Security and Access: Presentation (PDF)

07: Remote Connectivity and Networking

Remote Connectivity and Networking (video)
Remote Connectivity and Networking: Presentation (PDF)

08: IIS, DHCP and IPAM

IIS, DHCP and IPAM (video)
IIS, DHCP and IPAM (PDF)

Upgrading Skills to Windows Server 2012 Jump Start

01: Installing and Configuring Servers Based on Windows Server 2012

Installing and Configuring Servers Based on Windows Server 2012 (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

02: Monitoring and Maintaining Windows Server 2012

Monitoring and Maintaining Windows Server 2012 (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

03: Managing Windows Server 2012 by Using Windows PowerShell 3.0

Managing Windows Server 2012 by Using Windows PowerShell 3.0 (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

04: Managing Storage for Windows Server 2012

Managing Storage for Windows Server 2012 (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

05: Implementing Network Services

Implementing Network Services (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

06: Implementing Direct Access (DA)

Implementing Direct Access (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

07: Implementing Failover Clustering

Implementing Failover Clustering (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

08: Implementing Hyper-V

Implementing Hyper-V (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

09: Implementing Failover Clustering with Hyper-V

Implementing Failover Clustering with Hyper-V (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

10: Implementing Dynamic Access Control

Implementing Dynamic Access Control (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

11: Implementing Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)

Implementing Active Directory Domain Services (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

12: Implementing Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)

Implementing Active Directory Federation Services (video)
Slide Presentation (PDF)

Windows Server 2012: Server Virtualization

Virtual Machine Scale and Mobility

Virtual Machine Scale (PDF)
Live Migration Student Manual (PDF)
Live Migration of Virtual Machines with nothing Shared (video)
Live Migration of Virtual Machines using SMB File Share to store Virtual Machine Files (video)
Live Migration between Clusters Video (video)
Storage Migration Student Manual (PDF)
Storage Migration Video (video)
Virtual Machine Import Student Manual (PDF)
Importing a VM Video (video)
Mobility and Technology Protection Review (PDF)
Download and Evaluate Windows Server 2012 (download)

Virtual Machine Availability with Hyper-V Replica

Hyper-V Replica Overview (document)
Hyper-V Replica: Step 1: Prepare to Deploy Hyper-V Replica (document)
Hyper-V Replica: Step 2: Enable Replication (document)
Hyper-V Replica: Step 3: Test the Replication Deployment (document)
Hyper-V Replica: Step 4: Perform a Planned Failover (document)
Hyper-V Replica: Step 5: Respond to an Unplanned Failover (document)
Getting Started with Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Replication (document)

Windows Server 2012: Storage

Storage Spaces

Download and Evaluate Windows Server 2012 (download)
Storage Spaces Student Manual (PDF)
End to End Management Video (video)

SMB 3.0

SMB 3.0 (PDF)
SMB 3.0 High Performance Storage with Transparent Failover (video)

Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) and Cluster-Aware Updating

Introduction to Cluster Shared Volumes and CSV Architecture (PDF)
Setting up Clustered Shared Volumes (video)
CSV Resiliency, Performance, Deployment Considerations, Backup & Restore and Failover Clustering (PDF)
Add disk to CSV in Windows Server 2012 (video)
BitLocker on Cluster Share Volumes (video)
Add Storage Space to CSV (video)
Node Drain (video)

File System Enhancements

File System Enhancements (PDF)
Managing Data Deduplication (video)
Storage White Paper (PDF)

Windows Server 2012: Identity and Access

Active Directory New Features and Improvements

Active Directory New Features and Improvements Student Manual (document)
Download and Evaluate Windows Server 2012 (download)

Remote Desktop Services (RDS)

Overview of Windows Server 2012 Remote Desktop Services (document)
Getting Started with RDS (video)
Easy Server Setup (video)
RDS Features and Components (PDF)
RDS Features and Components Drill Down (video)
End User Experience (PDF)
End User Experience (video)

DirectAccess for Remote Access

Introducing DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012 (PDF)
DirectAccess Client Experience (video)
Technical Overview (PDF)
Multi-Site and High Availability (video)

Dynamic Access Control

Data Classification (PDF)
Using Data Classification (video)
Expression-Based Access Control (PDF)
Expression-Based Access Control (video)
Creating an Access Policy (video)
Central Access Policy with User Claims (video)
Data Encryption (PDF)
Automatic Rights Management Protection (video)
Expression-Based Auditing (PDF)
Expression-Based Auditing (video)

Windows Server 2012: Solution Accelerators

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP) 7.0

Windows Server 2012 Readiness Assessment (video)
Windows Server 2012 Readiness Assessment Student Manual (PDF)
Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit (download)

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012

Deploying Windows Server 2012 with MDT 2012 Update 1 (video)
Deploying Windows Server 2012 with MDT 2012 Update 1 Student Manual (PDF)
Download Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Update 1 (download)

Microsoft Security Compliance Manager (SCM) 3.0

Security Baseline for Windows Server 2012 (video)
Security Baseline for Windows Server 2012 Student Manual (PDF)
Download Security Compliance Manager 3.0 (download

Windows Server 2012: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

VDI Solution Details

Microsoft Desktop Virtualization Overview and User State Virtualization (PDF)
User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) tool (video)
Application Virtualization (PDF)
Application Virtualization (App-V) 5.0 (video)
Operating System Virtualization (PDF)
Using VDI (video)
Download the Windows Server 2012 Evaluation (download)

Licensing Windows Server 2012

Licensing Windows Server 2012

Licensing Windows Server 2012 (PDF)
Licensing Windows Server 2012 (video)

Videos/Webcasts

Windows Server 2012 Jump Start

01: Core Hyper-V
02a: Virtualization Infrastructure, Part 1
02b: Virtualization Infrastructure, Part 2
03a: Storage Architecture, Part 1
03b: Storage Architecture, Part 2
04: Continuous Availability
05a: Multi-Server Management, Part 1
05b: Multi-Server Management, Part 2
06a: Security and Access, Part 1
06b: Security and Access, Part 2
07: Remote Connectivity and Networking
08: IIS, DHCP and IPAM

TechEd Videos

TechNet Radio

TechNet Video

Articles/Documentation

Windows Server 2012 Overview
Windows Server 2012 Evaluation Guide
Windows Server 2012

What's New in Windows Server 2012
Technical Scenarios

Building Your Cloud Infrastructure

Designing Your Cloud Infrastructure
Non-Converged Data Center Configuration
Converged Data Center with File Server Storage
Converged Data Center without Dedicated Storage Nodes

Dynamic Access Control

Scenario: Central Access Policy

Plan for a Central Access Policy Deployment
Deploy a Central Access Policy (Demonstration Steps)
Deploy Claims Across Forests

Deploy Claims Across Forests (Demonstration Steps)
Claims Transformation Rules Language

Scenario: File Access Auditing

Plan for File Access Auditing
Deploy Security Auditing with Central Audit Policies (Demonstration Steps)

Scenario: Access-Denied Assistance

Plan for Access-Denied Assistance
Deploy Access-Denied Assistance (Demonstration Steps)

Scenario: Classification-Based Encryption for Office Documents

Planning Considerations for Encryption of Office Documents
Deploy Encryption of Office Files (Demonstration Steps)

Scenario: Get Insight Into Your Data by Using Classification

Plan for Automatic File Classification
Deploy Automatic File Classification (Demonstration Steps)

Scenario: Implement Retention of Information on File Servers

Plan for Retention of Information on File Servers
Deploy Implementing Retention of Information on File Servers (Demonstration Steps)

Appendix A: Dynamic Access Control Glossary
Appendix B: Setting Up the Test Environment

Hosting-Friendly Web Server Platform (IIS)

Build a Static Website on IIS

Configure Request Filtering in IIS
Configure Logging in IIS

Build a Classic ASP Website on IIS
Build an ASP.NET Website on IIS

Plan an ASP.NET Website on IIS

Step 1: Plan IIS Web Server and ASP.NET Modules Installation
Step 2: Plan ASP.NET Settings
Step 3: Plan Data Source Settings
Step 4: Plan Application Security

Configure an ASP.NET Website on IIS

Step 1: Install IIS and ASP.NET Modultes
Step 2: Configure ASP.NET Settings
Step 3: Configure Data Source Settings
Step 4: Configure Application Security

Build an FTP Site on IIS
Build a PHP Website on IIS

Plan a PHP Website on IIS

Step 1: Plan IIS Web Server and PHP Installation
Step 2: Plan PHP Settings
Step 3: Plan PHP Application Security

Configure a PHP Website on IIS

Step 1: Install IIS and PHP
Step 2: Configure PHP Settings
Step 3: Configure PHP Application Security

Build a Web Farm with IIS Servers

Plan a Web Farm with IIS Servers

Step 1: Plan IIS Web Farm Infrastructure
Step 2: Plan IIS Web Farm Configuration
Step 3: Plan IIS Web Farm Load Balancing
Step 4: Plan SSL Central Certificate Store
Step 5: Plan Application Deployment

Configure a Web Farm with IIS Servers

Step 1: Install IIS Web Farm Infrastructure
Step 2: Configure IIS Web Farm Servers
Step 3: Configure IIS Web Farm Load Balancing
Step 4: Configure SSL Central Certificate Store
Step 5: Configure Application Deployment

Increasing Server, Storage, and Network Availability

Deploying Fast and Efficient File Serves for Server Applications
Scale-Out File Server for Application Data

Plan for Scale-Out File Server

Step 1: Plan for Storage in Scale-Out File Server
Step 2: Plan for Networking in Scale-Out File Server

Deploy Scale-Out File Server

Step 1: Install Prerequisites for Scale-Out File Server
Step 2: Configure Scale-Out File Server
Step 3: Configure Hyper-V to Use Scale-Out File Server
Step 4: Configure Microsoft SQL Server to Use Scale-Out File Server
Step 5: Advanced Deployment

Install and Deploy Windows Server 2012

Installing Windows Server 2012
Release Notes: Important Issues in Windows Server 2012
Evaluation Versions and Upgrade Options for Windows Server 2012
Windows Server Installation Options

Server Core and Full Server Integration Overview

Configure and Manage Server Core Installations

Deploy a Server Core Server
Configure a Server Core Server
Configure a Server Core Server with Sconfig.cmd
Install Server Roles and Features on a Server Core Server
Manage a Server Core Server
Services Updates on a Server Core Server
Quick Reference for Server Core Tasks

Features Removed or Deprecated in Windows Server 2012
Common Management Tasks and Navigation in Windows Server 2012

Migrate Roles and Features to Windows Server 2012

Install, Use and Remove Windows Server Migration Tools
Migrate AD FS Role Services to Windows Server 2012

Prepare to Migrate the AD FS 2.0 Federation Server
Prepare to Migrate the AF FS 2.0 Federation Server Proxy
Migrate the AD FS 2.0 Federation Server
Migrate the AD FS 2.0 Federation Server Proxy
Migrate the AD FS 1.1 Web Agents

Migrate File and Storage Services to Windows Server 2012

File and Storage Services: Prepare to Migrate
File and Storage Services: Migrate the File and Storage Services Role
File and Storage Services: Verify the Migration
File and Storage Services: Post-migration Tasks
File and Storage Services: Appendix A: Optional Procedures
File and Storage Services: Appendix B: Migration Data Collection Worksheets
File and Storage Services: Appendix C: Migrate iSCSI Software Target

iSCSI Software Target Migration Overview
Prepare to Migrate iSCSI Software Target
Migrate iSCSI Software Target
Verify the iSCSI Software Target Migration
Troubleshoot the iSCSI Software Target Migration
Roll Back a Failed iSCSI Software Target Migration

Migrate Health Registration Authority to Windows Server 2012

HRA Server Migration: Preparing the Migrate
HRA Server Migration: Migrating the HRA Server
HRA Server Migration: Verifying the Migration
HRA Server Migration: Post-migration Tasks

Migrate Hyper-V to Windows Server 2012

Hyper-V: Prepare to Migrate
Hyper-V: Migrate the Hyper-V Role
Hyper-V: Verify the Migration
Hyper-V: Post-migration Tasks

Migrate IP Configuration to Windows Server 2012

IP Configuration: Prepare to Migrate
IP Configuration: Migrate IP Configuration Data
IP Configuration: Post-migration Tasks
IP Configuration: Appendix

Migrate Network Policy Server to Windows Server 2012

NPS Server Migration: Preparing to Migrate
NPS Server Migration: Migrating the NPS Server
NPS Server Migration: Verifying the Migration
NPS Server Migration: Post-migration Tasks
NPS Server Migration: Appendix A - Data Collection Worksheet

Migrate Print and Document Services to Windows Server 2012

Prepare to Migrate
Migrating the Print and Document Services Role
Verifying the Migration
Post-Migration Tasks
Appendix A - Pringbrm.exe Command-Line Tool Details
Appendix B - Additional Destination Server Scenarios
Appendix C - Printbrm Event IDs

Migrate Remote Access to Windows Server 2012

Remote Access: Prepare to Migrate
Remote Access: Migrate Remote Access
Remote Access: Verify the Migration
Remote Access: Post-migration Tasks

Migrate Windows Server Update Services to Windows Server 2012

Step 1: Plan for WSUS Migration
Step 2: Prepare to Migrate WSUS
Step 3: Migrate WSUS
Step 4: Verify the WSUS Migration

Secure Windows Server 2012

Security Tools to Administer Windows Server 2012

Manage Privacy in Windows Server 2012

Managing Internet Communication and Privacy in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Activation and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2012
Dynamic Update and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Internet Explorer 10 and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
SmartScreen Filter and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
User Access Logging and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows Server 2012
Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Windows Defender and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Windows Error Reporting and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Windows Store and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Using a Microsoft Account to Logon and Resulting Internet Communication in Windows 8
Appendix A: Resources for Learning about Automated Installation and Deployment for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Appendix B: Group Policy Settings Listed Under the Internet Communication Management Category in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012