What this book covers
Chapter 1, Getting Started with Windows Server 2019, gives us an introduction to the latest Server operating system and an overview of the new technologies and capabilities that it can provide. We will also spend a little bit of time exploring the updated interface for those who may not be comfortable with it yet.
Chapter 2, Installing and Managing Windows Server 2019, dives right into the very first thing we will have to do when working with Server 2019: install it! While this seems like a simple task, there are a number of versioning and licensing variables that need to be understood before you proceed with your own install. From there, we will start to expand upon Microsoft's centralized management mentality, exploring how we can now manage and interact with our servers without ever having to log into them.
Chapter 3, Active Directory, leads us into the most core and essential role that exists in a Windows Server environment. AD is the central repository for many different types of data inside most corporate infrastructures, and without understanding the tools that exist to interface with this directory you will not be able to do much work with those fancy new servers.
Chapter 4, DNS and DHCP, segues into two other important roles that exist in almost every network. DNS and DHCP are both necessary technologies and concepts to understand for any IT administrator, and both happen to be roles that can be serviced from Windows Server 2019. We'll dig into both.
Chapter 5, Group Policy, showcases a fantastic policy engine that can be used inside any Active Directory environment to create a centralized management location for your users and workstations. Whether you are interested in setting up password policies, configuring lockdowns on your systems, automatically mapping network drives, or even distributing software, Group Policy is a powerful tool that is often underutilized.
Chapter 6, Certificates in Windows Server 2019, jumps into one of the pieces of Windows Server that has existed for many years, and yet most server administrators that I meet are unfamiliar with it. We'll take a closer look at certificates as they become more and more commonly required for new technologies that we roll out. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to spin up your own PKI and start issuing certificates for free!
Chapter 7, Networking with Windows Server 2019, begins with an introduction to that big, scary IPv6, and continues from there into building a toolbox of items that are baked into Windows Server 2019 and can be used in your daily networking tasks. We will also discuss the parts and pieces that make up Software-Defined Networking.
Chapter 8, Remote Access, takes a look at the different remote access technologies that are built into Windows Server 2019. Follow along as we explore the capabilities provided by VPN, DirectAccess, Web Application Proxy, and the new Always On VPN.
Chapter 9, Hardening and Security, gives some insight into security and encryption functions that are built into Windows Server 2019. Security is the primary focus of CIOs everywhere, so we'll explore what protection mechanisms are available to us out of the box.
Chapter 10, Server Core, throws us into the shrinking world of headless servers. Server Core has flown under the radar for many years but is critical to understand as we bring our infrastructures into a more security-conscious mindset. We'll make sure you have the information necessary to make your environment more secure and more efficient, all while lowering the amount of space and resources that are consumed by those servers.
Chapter 11, PowerShell, gets us into the new, blue command-line interface so that we can become comfortable using it and also learn why it is so much more powerful than Command Prompt. PowerShell is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for administering servers, especially in cases where you are adopting a centralized management and administration mindset.
Chapter 12, Redundancy in Windows Server 2019, looks at some platforms in Server 2019 that provide powerful data and computing redundancy. Follow along as we discuss Network Load Balancing, Failover Clustering, Storage Spaces Direct, and build our own instance of Storage Replica.
Chapter 13, Containers and Nano Server, incorporates the terms open source and Linux into a Microsoft book! Application containers are quickly becoming the new standard for hosting modern, scalable applications. Learn how to start enhancing your DevOps story using tools such as Windows Server containers, Hyper-V containers, Docker, and Kubernetes.
Chapter 14, Hyper-V, covers a topic that every server administrator should be very familiar with. Organizations have been moving their servers over to virtual machines en masse for many years. We'll use this chapter to make sure you understand how that hypervisor works and give you the resources required to build and manage one if and when you have the need.
Chapter 15, Troubleshooting Windows Server 2019, provides information about tools and software included with Windows Server that can be used to troubleshoot common problems. Server 2019 seems to be Microsoft's most stable and reliable server operating system to date, yet as you all know nothing is perfect, and issues are bound to present themselves. Here we discover tools like Resource Manager, Performance Monitor, and System Insights that help to keep our servers tuned and running well.
