Sample chapters

Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft-based Server Infrastructure

• Jul 31, 2014
• This chapter from Exam Ref 70-414: Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure discusses objectives surrounding server infrastructure management, including designing an administrative model, designing a monitoring strategy, and planning and implementing automated remediation.

Supporting the Operating System and Application Installation for Windows 8.1

• Jul 31, 2014
• In this chapter from Exam Ref 70-688: Supporting Windows 8.1, you’ll learn how to support various operating system installations that are, for the most part, already in place, ranging from the most basic Windows 8.1 installations to native virtual hard disks to specialty Windows installations unique to a single enterprise. You’ll learn how to support desktop apps in many ways, too, including how to run those apps in virtual, cloud, or remote environments when running them on each workstation isn’t ideal. Finally, you’ll learn how network administrators can make their own apps available to users in a process called sideloading.

Designing Windows Store Apps with HTML and JavaScript: An Overview

• Jul 18, 2014
• This chapter from Exam Ref 70-481: Essentials of Developing Windows Store Apps Using HTML5 and JavaScript helps you design your app, from initial idea, to coding, and then planning for deployment. This chapter covers the first objective in the Exam 70-481 objective domain (and this major topic area makes up about 20 percent of the exam’s material).

Administering Windows Server 2012 R2: Monitoring and Auditing

• Jun 2, 2014
• In this chapter from Training Guide: Administering Windows Server 2012 R2, you will learn how to monitor and configure auditing for computers running the Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system.

Managing Group Policy Application and Infrastructure in Windows Server 2012 R2

• Jun 2, 2014
• In this chapter from Training Guide: Administering Windows Server 2012 R2, you’ll learn how to back up, restore, import, and export GPOs. You’ll learn how to delegate the process of editing and applying GPOs, and how to resolve configuration problems related to the application of Group Policy.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Inside Out: Active Directory Architecture

• May 7, 2014
• Understanding the physical structure of Active Directory is important for understanding how a directory service works. Understanding the logical structure of Active Directory is important for implementing and managing a directory service. William Stanek explains both physical and logical structure in this chapter from Windows Server 2012 R2 Inside Out: Services, Security, & Infrastructure.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Inside Out: Networking with TCP/IP

• May 7, 2014
• TCP/IP is the backbone for Microsoft Windows networks. It is required for internetwork communications and for accessing the Internet. Before you can implement TCP/IP networking, you should understand IP addressing conventions, subnetting options, and name-resolution techniques—all of which are covered in this chapter from Windows Server 2012 R2 Inside Out: Services, Security, & Infrastructure.

Designing Windows Store Apps for Performance

• May 5, 2014
• By keeping performance in mind for the key usage scenarios of your app, you will reduce the risk of making the wrong architectural decisions that would be expensive to change later in the game. This chapter from High-Performance Windows Store Apps covers designing your app with performance in mind.

Advanced Active Directory Infrastructure for Windows Server 2012 R2 Services

• Apr 29, 2014
• In this chapter from Training Guide: Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 R2 Services you discover how and why you would configure forests with multiple domain trees and the benefits of each functional level. You also find out how to configure and manage different types of trust relationships to ensure users in one forest or domain are granted appropriate access to resources in another forest, domain, or Kerberos realm.

Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 R2 Services: Virtual Machine and Site Resilience

• Apr 29, 2014
• This lesson from Training Guide: Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 R2 Services explains different techniques to move virtual machines from one Hyper-V server to another, whether it is a node in the same cluster, another Hyper-V server in the same site, or to a Hyper-V server hosting a replica in another country or on another continent.

Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012 R2: Configure a Network Policy Server Infrastructure

• Apr 29, 2014
• In this chapter from Exam Ref 70-417: Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012 R2, you will learn how to configure Network Access Protection (NAP).

Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012 R2: Configure Network Services and Access

• Apr 29, 2014
• The Configure Network Services and Access domain is another with just one objective tested on the 70-417 exam: Configure DirectAccess.

Deploying Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 Domain Controllers

• Apr 24, 2014
• This chapter from Training Guide: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 describes how to prepare for the deployment of Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 domain controllers, how to deploy domain controllers using both Server Manager and Windows PowerShell, and how to take advantage of domain-controller virtualization.

Preparing for Windows Server 2012 R2

• Apr 24, 2014
• This chapter from Training Guide: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 describes common deployment scenarios and outlines the steps involved in a typical server deployment or migration process. The chapter also examines some approaches and tools you can use for assessing the readiness of your environment for migrating to Windows Server 2012 R2.

Creating Charts and Graphics in Microsoft Excel 2013

• Mar 31, 2014
• In this chapter from Microsoft Excel 2013 Step By Step, you’ll create a chart and customize its elements, find trends in your data, create a dual-axis chart, summarize data by using sparklines, create diagrams by using SmartArt, and create shapes that contain mathematical equations.

Automating Windows 8.1 Configuration

• Nov 15, 2013
• This chapter from Windows 8.1 Administration Pocket Consultant: Essentials & Configuration introduces essential tasks for understanding and managing Group Policy preferences.

Configuring Windows Server® 2012 Advanced Services: Advanced Active Directory Infrastructure

• Nov 15, 2013
• Discover how and why you would configure forests with multiple domain trees and the benefits of each functional level, as well as how to configure and manage different types of trust relationships to ensure users in one forest or domain are granted appropriate access to resources in another forest, domain, or Kerberos realm, in this chapter from Training Guide: Configuring Windows Server® 2012 Advanced Services.

Enterprise Content Management with Microsoft SharePoint: Content Control

• Nov 15, 2013
• This chapter from Enterprise Content Management with Microsoft SharePoint is all about consumption and accessing the content you need in an intuitive and structured manner.

Introduction to Windows 8.1 Administration

• Nov 15, 2013
• This chapter from Windows 8.1 Administration Pocket Consultant: Essentials & Configuration covers getting started with Windows 8.1 and the fundamental tasks you need for Windows 8.1 administration.

Keeping Windows 8.1 Safe and Secure

• Nov 15, 2013
• In this chapter from Windows 8.1 Step by Step, you’ll learn how the UAC works, how to tweak it, and why you should never turn it off. In addition, you’ll learn the basics of working with Windows Firewall to secure your network and Internet traffic and about the new and improved Windows Defender and how to use it to keep your system safe from viruses and spyware. Finally, you’ll learn how to improve your passwords to make it more difficult for unwanted people to use the Internet to access your Microsoft account, your email, and other important accounts.