Active Directory for Admins Training Course

1. Introduction

• Foundations of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• Course goals and expected learning outcomes
• The role of Active Directory within enterprise environments
• Introduction to the training lab environment
• Key Active Directory terminology and concepts

2. Active Directory Features and Architecture Overview

• Architectural components of Active Directory
• Distinguishing between logical and physical structures
• Concepts of Domains, Trees, and Forests
• Utilizing Organizational Units (OUs)
• Domain Controllers and the Global Catalog
• Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles
• Configuring Sites and Subnets
• Integration of DNS with Active Directory
• Active Directory partitions and database organization

3. Identity Management Solutions and Concepts

• Core principles of Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• Differentiating Authentication from Authorization
• Kerberos authentication protocol
• NTLM authentication mechanism
• Implementing Single Sign-On (SSO)
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Managing the identity lifecycle
• Understanding hybrid identity models

4. Setting Up Active Directory

• Planning an Active Directory deployment strategy
• Installing Active Directory Domain Services
• Elevating a server to Domain Controller status
• Creating new forests and domains
• Installing and configuring DNS
• Validating the installation
• Deployment best practices

5. Implementing Active Directory Domain Services

• Creating Organizational Units
• Managing users, groups, and computer objects
• Administrating user accounts
• Understanding group scopes and types
• Delegating administrative controls
• Managing service accounts
• Connecting computers to the domain

6. Configuring and Managing Replication

• Core concepts of Active Directory replication
• Multi-master replication model
• Replication topology design
• Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC)
• Site-based replication schedules
• Diagnosing replication issues
• Monitoring replication health

7. Implementing and Managing Group Policy

• Group Policy architectural framework
• Creating Group Policy Objects (GPOs)
• Linking GPOs to scope targets
• Managing Group Policy inheritance
• Loopback processing techniques
• Utilizing Administrative Templates
• Deploying software via GPO
• Configuring Folder Redirection
• Implementing security policies
• Setting password and account lockout policies
• Resolving Group Policy issues

8. Building a Certification Authority (CA) Hierarchy

• Introduction to Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
• Architecture of Certificate Services
• Roles of Root and Subordinate Certification Authorities
• Installing Active Directory Certificate Services
• Designing the CA hierarchy structure
• Managing certificate templates
• Configuring Auto-enrollment

9. Managing Certificates

• Overseeing the certificate lifecycle
• Issuing certificates
• Handling certificate renewals
• Revoking certificates
• Managing Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs)
• Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
• Administering certificate templates
• Troubleshooting certificate-related issues

10. Implementing and Administering Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)

• Introduction to federation services
• AD FS architectural components
• Claims-based authentication mechanisms
• Installing AD FS
• Configuring trust relationships
• Implementing Single Sign-On
• Integrating external applications
• Monitoring and resolving AD FS issues

11. Enabling Data Access

• Foundations of access control
• Configuring NTFS permissions
• Setting shared folder permissions
• Determining effective permissions
• Implementing Access-Based Enumeration
• Utilizing Dynamic Access Control
• File Classification Infrastructure
• Auditing file access activities

12. Securing Active Directory Domain Services

• Security best practices for Active Directory
• The administrative security model
• Implementing tiered administration
• Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• Securing Domain Controllers
• Enforcing password policies
• Applying Fine-Grained Password Policies
• Configuring account lockout policies
• Conducting auditing and monitoring
• Considering backup and recovery strategies

13. Implementing and Managing Rights Management Services (RMS)

• Introduction to Active Directory Rights Management Services
• RMS architectural overview
• Installing AD RMS
• Protecting sensitive documents
• Defining information protection policies
• Integration with Microsoft Office
• Managing user access rights

14. Implementing Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory)

• Introduction to Microsoft Entra ID
• Cloud identity fundamentals
• Hybrid identity architecture design
• Using Microsoft Entra Connect
• Password Hash Synchronization
• Pass-through Authentication
• Federation integration with AD FS
• Overview of Conditional Access
• Managing identity synchronization
• Administering cloud identities

15. Integrating Active Directory with OpenLDAP

• LDAP fundamental concepts
• LDAP support within Active Directory
• Overview of OpenLDAP
• Methods for identity synchronization
• Integrating authentication processes
• Common interoperability use cases
• Security implications
• Troubleshooting LDAP connections

16. Monitoring Active Directory

• Essential monitoring tools
• Using the Event Viewer
• Utilizing Performance Monitor
• Active Directory Administrative Center
• Leveraging PowerShell for monitoring
• Tracking replication performance
• Performing health checks
• Auditing configuration changes
• Optimizing performance

17. Troubleshooting

• Resolving user logon issues
• Addressing DNS-related problems
• Diagnosing replication failures
• Troubleshooting Group Policy application
• Resolving authentication errors
• Fixing certificate-related issues
• Conducting Domain Controller health checks
• Using diagnostic tools (dcdiag, repadmin, nltest, gpresult)
• Executing backup and recovery procedures
• Handling disaster recovery scenarios

18. Summary and Conclusion

• Recap of key concepts
• Best practices for Active Directory administration
• Security recommendations
• Operational maintenance checklist
• Additional Microsoft resources and documentation
• Questions and answers session
• Final hands-on review and lab conclusion