Microsoft AZ-800 - Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure

Step-by-Step Guide: Seizing/Transferring the Schema Master Role to DC2

✅ Step 1: Log in to DC2

Use an account that is a member of the Schema Admins, Enterprise Admins, and Domain Admins groups.

✅ Step 2: Register the Schema Snap-in

The Schema snap-in is not loaded by default.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

Type the following command to register the schema management DLL:

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regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll

✅ Step 3: Open MMC (Microsoft Management Console)

Press Windows + R, type mmc, and hit Enter.

In MMC, go to File > Add/Remove Snap-in.

Select Active Directory Schema, then click Add > OK.

✅ Step 4: Connect to DC2

In the Active Directory Schema console, right-click Active Directory Schema and select Change Active Directory Domain Controller.

In the dialog box, select DC2 and click OK.

This will connect the console to DC2.

✅ Step 5: Transfer the Schema Master Role

Right-click Active Directory Schema again and select Operations Master.

In the Change Schema Master dialog box, confirm that DC2 is shown as the target.

Click the Change button to transfer the Schema Master role to DC2.

Click Yes when prompted to confirm the transfer.

✅ Step 6: Verify the Transfer

In the same dialog box, ensure that DC2 is now listed as the Schema Master.

Optionally, run the following command in PowerShell to verify:

netdom query fsmo

The Schema Master should now be DC2.

TASK 7

👉 Objective:

Attach the VHDX file c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx to VM1 so it can dynamically expand when VM1 is running.

Step-by-Step Guide

✅ Step 1: Verify the VHDX File Type

Dynamic expansion means the virtual disk type should be dynamic (not fixed).

Let’s verify the disk type of Disk1.vhdx:

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Get-VHD -Path "c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx"

In the output, ensure that VhdType shows Dynamic.

If it’s not dynamic, convert it:

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Convert-VHD -Path "c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx" -DestinationPath "c:\vhds\Disk1_dynamic.vhdx" -VHDType Dynamic

✅ Step 2: Attach the VHDX to VM1

Use PowerShell to add the disk to VM1:

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Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "VM1" -Path "c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx"

✅ Or do it via Hyper-V Manager:

Open Hyper-V Manager.

Select VM1 and go to Settings.

In the left pane, select SCSI Controller (recommended for hot-add).

Click Add Hard Drive.

Browse and select c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx.

Click Apply and OK.

✅ Step 3: Verify Hot-Add Support (Optional)

If VM1 is running Windows Server 2012 or later and uses a SCSI Controller, the VHDX can be added without shutting down the VM.

✅ Step 4: Verify the Disk in the VM

Inside VM1, open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).

The newly attached disk should appear as unallocated.

Initialize it, create a volume, and format if needed.

Summary

VHDX file type: Must be dynamic for expanding.

Hot-adding supported if attached via SCSI Controller and OS supports it.

Now Disk1.vhdx is attached to VM1 and can expand dynamically.

To run a container on SRV1 using the mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis image, publish port 60 on the container to port 5001 on SRV1, and ensure it runs in the background, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Pull the IIS Image First, pull the IIS image from the Microsoft Container Registry:

docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis

Step 2: Run the Container Next, run the container with the required port mapping and ensure it runs in the background using the -d flag:

docker run -d -p 5001:60 --name iis_container mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis

This command will start a container named iis_container using the IIS image, map port 60 inside the container to port 5001 on SRV1, and run the container in detached mode.

Step 3: Verify the Container is Running To verify that the container is running and the port is published, use the following command:

docker ps

This will list all running containers and show the port mappings.

Step 4: Access the IIS Server You can now access the IIS server running in the container by navigating to http:// :5001 in a web browser, where is the IP address of SRV1.

Note: Ensure that Docker is installed on SRV1 and that the port 5001 is open on the firewall to allow incoming connections1.

By following these steps, you should be able to run the IIS container on SRV1 with the specified port mapping and have it running in the background.

TASK 4

👉 Objective:

Enforce a minimum password length of 12 characters for members of the BranchAdmins group only.

Step-by-Step Guide: Fine-Grained Password Policy (FGPP)

✅ Step 1: Verify Forest Functional Level

Fine-grained password policies require the forest functional level to be at least Windows Server 2008.

On a DC, open Active Directory Domains and Trusts (domain.msc).

Right-click the domain and select Raise Forest Functional Level to verify.

If it’s lower, consider raising it (requires caution and planning).

✅ Step 2: Open the Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC)

On a DC or management server, open ADAC:

Press Windows + R, type dsac.exe, and hit Enter.

✅ Step 3: Create a Fine-Grained Password Policy

In ADAC, in the left pane, expand the domain (e.g., contoso.com) and click System > Password Settings Container.

In the right pane, right-click and select New > Password Settings.

✅ Step 4: Configure the Password Policy

Name: e.g., BranchAdminsPSO.

Precedence: e.g., 1 (lower number = higher priority).

Minimum password length: 12.

Configure other settings as required (leave them at default if not specified).

In Directly Applies To, click Add.

Search for and select the BranchAdmins group.

Click OK.

✅ Step 5: Confirm and Apply

Click OK to create the policy.

It’s now linked directly to the BranchAdmins group, affecting only its members.

✅ Step 6: Verify the Policy

You can use PowerShell to confirm that the PSO is applied:

Get-ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy -Identity "username"

Replace "username" with a user from the BranchAdmins group. The output will show the minimum password length (should be 12).

Within the hybrid governance section of Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure, Microsoft specifies that Azure Arc–enabled servers are the mechanism to bring on-premises and multi-cloud servers under Azure control to apply Azure Policy (Guest Configuration) and Defender for Servers. The prerequisite is installing the Azure Connected Machine agent (Azure Arc agent) on each server: “To manage servers with Azure Policy and configuration management, install the Connected Machine agent to onboard them to Azure Arc; once connected, you can assign Azure Policy guest configuration and monitor compliance just like Azure VMs.” Hybrid Azure AD Join is unrelated to Azure Policy assignment; the Azure Monitor agent provides telemetry but does not onboard to Arc for policy governance; a hybrid runbook worker is for Automation runbooks, not for enforcing Azure Policy. Therefore, to “use Azure Policy to enforce configuration management policies on the servers in Azure and on-premises,” deploy the Azure Connected Machine agent to all servers to Arc-enable them and then assign the desired policies.

The exam content for Group Policy processing stresses User Group Policy loopback processing for session hosts (RDS/AVD): “In environments like Remote Desktop Session Host (or Azure Virtual Desktop), enable loopback processing on the OU that contains the session host computers so that user settings from that GPO apply when users log on to those computers, regardless of the user’s own OU.” The requirement states: “Apply GPO4 to the Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts. Ensure that Azure Virtual Desktop user sessions lock after being idle for 10 minutes. Users must be able to control the lockout time manually from their client computer.” The idle-lock is a user configuration setting that must apply when users sign in to the session hosts, not to their personal devices. Therefore, enable loopback processing (Merge/Replace) in GPO4, which is linked to the VirtualDesktops OU containing the session hosts. Using security filtering or Enforced cannot make user settings in GPO4 override the user’s own OU without loopback. Loopback ensures the AVD hosts impose the 10-minute lock for sessions, while leaving users free to set their own client device policies independently—fulfilling least-impact design.