Frequently Asked Questions

What is this course about? In this course, you gain the skills you need to efficiently optimise and troubleshoot your Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and XP operating systems in order to minimise downtime and maximise system availability. You learn how to increase system performance, maintain hard disk partition, backup, edit and restore the Registry, and perform short- and long-term capacity planning techniques. Who will benefit from this course? This course is valuable for those who are already competent in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and XP support and administration, but want to deepen their understanding of the architecture and advanced performance and troubleshooting tools and capabilities. Typical participants include those who: Want to learn about system-level tuning Are responsible for supporting business-critical Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and XP systems Design or support high-availability systems and advanced architectures What background do I need? Course 595, Windows Server® 2003: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, Course 551, Windows® XP Professional: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, or equivalent experience is assumed. Specifically, you should have a basic understanding of the Windows desktop and server administration and configuration. Does this course cover the management features of all three Windows operating systems? Yes. You learn to use built-in and third-party add-on tools to retrieve vital data from your system through both the Windows Management Interface (WMI) and the traditional Performance Library. This data can be an asset for troubleshooting, capacity planning and inventory. Will I learn how to configure, troubleshoot and maintain the Registry? Yes. Changing Registry settings, backing up and restoring the Registry are vital for tuning and troubleshooting Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and XP. There are numerous Registry-related exercises in the course. Will I learn to monitor network performance? Yes. Initially you learn how to use built-in performance monitoring tools to track network performance. Later, you learn to use protocol analysers to investigate data packets on your network. Does the course cover Active Directory issues? No. This course is dedicated to operating system troubleshooting and optimisation. For AD issues, please see Course 559, Windows Server® 2003 AD Troubleshooting: Hands-On. How much of the course is dedicated to each Windows OS? The underlying operating system architecture, troubleshooting and performance tuning concepts and techniques are quite similar for Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. This course addresses all three Windows operating systems, pointing out differences in tools, architectural design and troubleshooting techniques. Most hands-on exercises currently focus on Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional, since Windows Vista is not yet in widespread enterprise use. Windows Vista is addressed throughout the course, along with the other two systems and some hands-on exercises are performed using Windows Vista Business Edition. Will I learn to troubleshoot Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and XP boot problems? Yes. You learn how to analyse and recover from numerous boot failures, including corrupted boot sectors and partition tables, corrupted system files, improper driver configurations, invalid or missing Registry entries, boot-time looping Bluescreens and more. You will learn to use built-in and third-party tools to recover from Windows boot failures. Will I learn about Windows Vista built-in monitoring tools and troubleshooting capabilities? Yes. While most of the course exercises are performed using Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP, many of the tools used exist in Windows Vista as well, with only minor cosmetic differences. You will also be introduced to many Windows Vista-specific tools for monitoring and troubleshooting, as well as third-party tools designed to work with all three operating systems. Will I learn how to maximise my Windows enterprise network? Yes, to an extent. You learn how to optimise Windows networking capabilities and services and how to improve and monitor your overall network performance. This course does not cover enterprise network management, such as AD replication, gateways, routers or advanced TCP/IP topics. How much time is spent on each topic? Content Hours Overview of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and XP architecture 2.0 Collecting system configuration information 4.5 Analysing performance 3.5 Advanced system troubleshooting 6.5 Managing Registry integrity 4.0 Maintaining disk and network reliability 7.5 Capacity analysis and planning 2.0 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. What kinds of hands-on exercises does the course include? This course has extensive hands-on exercises in which you learn to take advantage of the advanced features of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and XP. You use tools to optimise, manage and troubleshoot your systems. In addition to performing extensive system monitoring and analysis, you examine network traffic with a software protocol analyser, edit boot sectors manually, destroy and recover Registry keys, and implement the Recovery Console and third-party solutions to correct boot problems. Does this course cover scripting with the Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI)? No, this course focuses on fundamental operating system troubleshooting and optimisation. Course 558, Automating Windows® Administration with VBScript: Hands-On, covers using ADSI and WMI scripts to gather and manipulate Windows Server 2003/2000/XP system and network configuration. Does this course offer real-world experience in designing systems in an optimised way? Yes. The course includes test figures and charts that guide you in a number of areas, including: Maximising filesystem performance Adding RAM according to true need Selecting the appropriate processor type and configuration Choosing the highest performance peripherals and disks Configuring workstations and servers for best overall performance based on their functions Why should I take this course instead of one offered by Microsoft? Learning Tree is dedicated to accelerating the careers of our clients by providing them with world-class technology and management training. Our independence from Microsoft (and any other vendor) allows us to give an unbiased view of what works and what does not. This course is objective in its approach, having been developed independently from Microsoft by industry experts who bring their real-world experience to the classroom. How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? Windows Server 2003 Courses: 595, Windows Server® 2003: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  596, Windows Server® 2003 Active Directory®: Hands-On  597, Deploying and Managing a Windows Server® 2003 Environment: Hands-On  599, Securing Windows Server® 2003: Hands-On  Additional Windows Courses: 551, Windows® XP Professional: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  950, Windows Vista®: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  951, Deploying Windows Vista®: Hands-On  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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