Frequently Asked Questions

What is this course about? This course provides the practical planning skills and hands-on exercises necessary to design and implement a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory based enterprise. Windows Server 2003's Active Directory provides a rich hierarchical presentation of enterprise resources, and is fundamental for single sign-on, identity management and desktop configuration. You learn how to map the components of your enterprise to the Active Directory in an optimal fashion. Given the complexities of implementing enterprise-wide directory services, organisations committed to Windows Server 2003 should learn how to design and implement a robust and flexible infrastructure. Knowing how to design, maintain, organize and restructure the Active Directory is a critical part of your enterprise strategy. Configuring the DNS architecture and building the site replication topology is also a covered topic. In addition to multiple hands-on exercises, this course uses case studies throughout the course to show the practical applications of course concepts. What background do I need? Familiarity with Windows Server 2003 basic user interface operations, concepts and principles as taught in Course 595, Windows Server® 2003: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, is assumed. You should be familiar with the Active Directory, Organisational Units and other types of objects. A basic understanding of LAN/WAN technologies is also helpful. Who will benefit from this course? This course is for those who are building and maintaining their enterprises using Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, including system architects, network planners, systems administrators, support personnel, programmers who are preparing enterprise applications and help desk personnel. Is this an abstract planning course? This course offers in-depth coverage of concepts fundamental to a successful deployment and maintenance of the Active Directory. I manage the network of a small company. Will I benefit from this course? Yes. You learn vital concepts that help you model your computer network and directory infrastructure, whatever its size. Building an Active Directory well adapted to your enterprise from the first day guarantees scalability as your company grows. Will I learn about the Active Directory's fundamental components? Yes. This course covers the details of applying the Active Directory in your enterprise. Discussions and hands-on exercises reinforce the Active Directory design process, site infrastructure, multimaster replication, Group Policy deployment, delegation of the administration, FSMO roles, DNS architecture, software distribution and inter-forest migration. Details of upgrading and restructuring the Active Directory from previous operating systems are also covered. What sort of integration and migration topics does the course cover? This course covers integration/migration from legacy NT systems. It also covers some integration issues with NetWare and UNIX networks. Integration with Windows 2000 is also covered, along with details of upgrading and restructuring the Active Directory from Windows 2000. How does this course differ from Course 595? Course 595 teaches the core technologies of Windows Server 2003. Course 596 teaches you the fundamental building blocks necessary to implement and maintain a reliable Active Directory infrastructure. You also learn about replication topology management, forest consolidation and DNS enterprise configuration. How much time is spent on each topic? Content Hours Planning and Designing the AD 5.0 Assembling Fundamental Components 5.0 Constructing the Replication Topology 4.0 Automating the Administration 3.0 DNS in the Enterprise 3.0 Controlling Objects 2.0 Restructuring the Active Directory 5.0 Upgrade and Integration Strategies 3.0 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. How does the classroom environment simulate an enterprise? The classroom environment simulates many aspects of an enterprise, including multiple sites, servers, DNS servers, domains and forests. Active Directory Services are used to "glue" together all the classroom components, simulating a real-world situation. Using several AD-implemented virtual machines enhances your migration and consolidation experience. Will I really perform an inter-forest migration? Yes! In several hands-on exercises you perform real migrations of security principals, like users and groups, between multiple Windows Server 2003 forests. The course also covers upgrade issues, security translation, group mapping and migration troubleshooting. How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? Learning Tree offers several courses on Windows Server 2003, including: 595, Windows Server® 2003: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  597, Deploying and Managing a Windows Server® 2003 Environment: Hands-On  598, Troubleshooting Windows Server® 2003 Environments  599, Securing Windows Server® 2003: Hands-On  566, Internet Information Services 6 for Windows Server® 2003: Hands-On  539, Deploying Clusters on Windows Server® 2003: Hands-On  Additional courses related to both Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 include: 950, Windows Vista®: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  951, Deploying Windows Vista®: Hands-On  551, Windows® XP Professional: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  558, Automating Windows® Administration with VBScript: Hands-On  559, Windows Server® 2003 AD Troubleshooting: Hands-On  For detailed information about these courses, please refer to the individual course Q&As.

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