Active Directory for Admins Training Course

1. Introduction

• Introduction to Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• Course objectives and expected learning outcomes
• The role of Active Directory in enterprise settings
• Overview of the training lab setup
• Key terminology and concepts related to Active Directory

2. Active Directory Features and Architecture Overview

• Active Directory architecture
• Distinguishing logical from physical structures
• Domains, Trees, and Forests
• Organizational Units (OUs)
• Domain Controllers and the Global Catalog
• Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles
• Sites and Subnets
• DNS integration with Active Directory
• Active Directory partitions and database architecture

3. Identity Management Solutions and Concepts Overview

• Fundamentals of Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• Differences between Authentication and Authorization
• Kerberos authentication mechanism
• NTLM authentication mechanism
• Single Sign-On (SSO)
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Identity lifecycle management
• Hybrid identity concepts

4. Setting Up Active Directory

• Planning an Active Directory deployment
• Installing Active Directory Domain Services
• Upgrading a server to a Domain Controller
• Creating a new forest and domain
• Installing and configuring DNS
• Verifying the installation
• Deployment best practices

5. Implementing Active Directory Domain Services

• Creating Organizational Units
• Administering users, groups, and computers
• User account management
• Group scopes and group types
• Delegating administrative control
• Managing service accounts
• Joining computers to the domain

6. Configuring and Managing Replication

• Active Directory replication principles
• Multi-master replication model
• Replication topology
• Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC)
• Sites and replication scheduling
• Troubleshooting replication issues
• Monitoring replication health

7. Implementing and Managing Group Policy

• Group Policy architecture
• Creating Group Policy Objects (GPOs)
• Linking GPOs
• Group Policy inheritance behavior
• Loopback processing
• Administrative Templates
• Software deployment via GPO
• Folder Redirection
• Security policies
• Password and account lockout policies
• Troubleshooting Group Policy issues

8. Implementing a Certification Authority (CA) Hierarchy

• Introduction to Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
• Certificate Services architecture
• Root and Subordinate Certification Authorities
• Installing Active Directory Certificate Services
• Designing a CA hierarchy
• Certificate templates
• Auto-enrollment processes

9. Managing Certificates

• Certificate lifecycle management
• Issuing certificates
• Certificate renewal procedures
• Certificate revocation processes
• Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs)
• Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
• Managing certificate templates
• Troubleshooting certificate issues

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

• Introduction to federation services
• AD FS architecture
• Claims-based authentication
• Installing AD FS
• Configuring trust relationships
• Implementing Single Sign-On
• Integrating external applications
• Monitoring and troubleshooting AD FS

11. Enabling Data Access

• Access control concepts
• NTFS permissions
• Shared folder permissions
• Calculating Effective permissions
• Access-Based Enumeration
• Dynamic Access Control
• File Classification Infrastructure
• Auditing file access events

12. Securing Active Directory Domain Services

• Security best practices for Active Directory
• Administrative security model
• Tiered administration approach
• Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• Securing Domain Controllers
• Password policies
• Fine-Grained Password Policies
• Account lockout policies
• Auditing and monitoring strategies
• Backup and recovery considerations

13. Implementing and Managing Rights Management Services (RMS)

• Introduction to Active Directory Rights Management Services
• RMS architecture
• Installing AD RMS
• Protecting sensitive documents
• 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 concepts
• Hybrid identity architecture
• Microsoft Entra Connect
• Password Hash Synchronization
• Pass-through Authentication
• Federation with AD FS
• Conditional Access overview
• Identity synchronization processes
• Managing cloud identities

15. Integrating Active Directory with OpenLDAP

• LDAP fundamentals
• Active Directory LDAP support
• OpenLDAP overview
• Identity synchronization methods
• Authentication integration techniques
• Common interoperability scenarios
• Security considerations
• Troubleshooting LDAP connectivity issues

16. Monitoring Active Directory

• Monitoring tools available
• Using Event Viewer
• Utilizing Performance Monitor
• Active Directory Administrative Center
• PowerShell for monitoring tasks
• Replication monitoring techniques
• Conducting health checks
• Auditing changes in the directory
• Performance optimization strategies

17. Troubleshooting

• Addressing user logon issues
• Resolving DNS-related problems
• Investigating replication failures
• Troubleshooting Group Policy issues
• Handling authentication issues
• Addressing certificate-related problems
• Checking Domain Controller health
• Using diagnostic tools (dcdiag, repadmin, nltest, gpresult)
• Backup and recovery procedures
• Disaster recovery scenarios

18. Summary and Conclusion

• Review of key concepts covered
• 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 wrap-up