CTS1328C / AZ-800 · Windows Server Administration ← Instructor Hub
CTS1328C · AZ-800

Windows Server Administration

Welcome · Day 1
4 weeks · lecture + lab 19 modules + capstone AZ-800 exam-ready

Why Windows Server

The operating system that runs more enterprise infrastructure than any other.

Active Directory is the identity backbone of 95% of the Fortune 500. Hyper-V hosts millions of production workloads. IIS, DNS, DHCP, file services, Group Policy: the bones of every enterprise IT environment.

  • Career bedrock. You will use these skills in tier-1 support, sysadmin, cloud, security, DevOps, every IT job you take.
  • It is what runs production. Even cloud-native shops still operate Windows Server. Azure runs on Hyper-V. Hybrid is the dominant deployment model in 2026.
  • The certification opens doors. AZ-800 is on every job listing for Windows Server admin, infrastructure engineer, hybrid cloud admin, junior sysadmin roles.
The promise of this course: by week 4 you will have built, configured, broken, and recovered a working Windows Server environment with Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Hyper-V, IIS, file services, Group Policy, certificates, backup, and clustering. By yourself. With your own hands.

What you'll learn · 19 modules + capstone

Every Windows Server function, in bite-sized chunks. Each module = one topic, lecture + lab + quiz.

M01Fundamentals
M02Active Directory
M03Storage
M04Hyper-V
M05Containers
M06Clustering
M07Monitoring
M08DNS
M09DHCP
M10Group Policy
M11IIS
M12Remote Desktop
M13Certificate Svcs
M14Adv Networking
M15AD Sites
M16Backup/Recovery
M17Firewall/Security
M18PowerShell Auto
M19Troubleshoot
M20Capstone: Failsafe

Each module: a lecture (concepts), one or more labs (you do it), a quiz (you prove it), and a Hexworth Prime mini-game (so it sticks).

The semester at a glance

4 weeks. 19 modules. 1 capstone. Roughly one module per class session, sometimes two.

Week 1 Foundations M01 Fundamentals
M02 Active Directory
M03 Storage
M04 Hyper-V
M05 Containers
M06 Clustering
Week 2 Services + Policy M07 Monitoring
M08 DNS
M09 DHCP
M10 Group Policy
Week 3 Apps + Identity at Scale M11 IIS
M12 RDS
M13 Cert Services
M14 Adv Networking
Week 4 Resilience + Ops M15 AD Sites
M16 Backup
M17 Firewall
M18 PowerShell
M19 Troubleshoot
M20 Capstone

Lecture covers the concepts. Lab makes them yours. Exams between weeks check the path. Capstone in week 4 puts everything together.

How class works

Lecture, lab, quiz. Three modes. They all matter.

  • Lecture. I walk the concepts. You ask questions. Slides are live on Hexworth Prime; you can re-read after class.
  • Lab. You actually do the thing. Build the AD domain. Configure the failover cluster. Break it on purpose, then fix it. Hands-on is non-negotiable: reading about Active Directory does not make you a sysadmin.
  • Quiz. Server-graded checkpoints. You prove you understood. No cheating on these (the keys live in Firestore, not in the page).
  • Mini-games. Optional, but they cement the muscle memory. PowerShell command-match, "Save the Pod" cluster failover, others.
  • Dr. Hex. The on-platform AI tutor lives in the corner of every lab page. Stuck? Ask before you Google.
If you skip the labs, you will fail the AZ-800 exam. The exam is performance-based. It does not ask you to recite. It asks you to do.

What you'll be using

The technical toolkit. Get these set up this week.

Hexworth Prime Your home base. Lectures, labs, quizzes, AI tutor (Dr. Hex), mini-games, certifications dashboard. Already live: hexworth.com.
Hyper-V or Azure Your VM playground. Enable Hyper-V on your Windows 11 Pro laptop, or use Azure free tier. We build a 2-DC AD lab in Week 1.
PowerShell 7+ The Windows admin language. Install-Module GroupPolicy, ActiveDirectory, Hyper-V. Verb-noun pattern. You will be fast in this by Week 3.
Windows Server 2022 ISO The image you'll install on every VM. 180-day evaluation is free from Microsoft. We'll use Server Core for production-style work.

Setup this week: install Hyper-V, download the ISO, create your first VM. M01 lab walks you through it.

Certifications you'll earn

Two outcomes. One course.

College Credit CTS1328C Keiser University Server Administration course credit. Pass with C or better. Counts toward the IT/Cyber AAS and BAS degree paths.
Industry Cert AZ-800 Microsoft Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate. Performance-based exam. The course content IS the exam blueprint. Pass the course, you're exam-ready.
The AZ-800 alone is worth this course. On every job listing for Windows Server admin, infrastructure engineer, junior sysadmin. Salary bump: typically 10-20k over non-certified peers.

Today & this week

What we're doing right now. What to do next.

  • Right now. This brief, then jumping into M01 Fundamentals. Editions, install options, Server Manager, PowerShell.
  • This class session. M01 + M02 (Active Directory). We will go deep on AD because everything downstream needs it.
  • Before next class. Hyper-V installed. Windows Server 2022 ISO downloaded. First VM created. M01 lab complete.
  • This week. M01 through M06. Foundations week. The other weeks build on this one, so put the time in now.
  • Get stuck? Ask in class. Use Dr. Hex (AI tutor on every lab page). Office hours. Classmates. In that order.
  • The first quiz. End of M01. Server-graded. Open notes. Open Dr. Hex. Closed Google.
House rules: Hands-on is required, not optional. Ask early, ask often. Break things in lab so you can fix them on the job. Welcome to Windows Server Administration.
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