Membership in the Enterprise Admins group or the Domain Admins group in the forest root domain is required.

Create a domain controller named dc3.corp.fabrikam.com in Vnet1.

In a hybrid network, you can configure Azure virtual machines as domain controllers. The domain controllers in Azure communicate with the on-premises domain controllers in the same way that on-premises domain controllers communicate with each other.

Objective:

Grant permissions to the BranchAdmins group to manage the fabikam.com DNS zone on DC1.

Step-by-Step Guide

✅ Step 1: Log in to the DNS Server

Log in to DC1 (which hosts the DNS zone fabikam.com) using an account with Domain Admin or Enterprise Admin rights.

✅ Step 2: Open the DNS Manager

Open DNS Manager:

Press Windows + R, type dnsmgmt.msc, and hit Enter.

✅ Step 3: Locate the Zone

In the DNS Manager, expand the Forward Lookup Zones.

Locate and right-click on the zone fabikam.com.

✅ Step 4: Open Zone Properties

Right-click on fabikam.com and select Properties.

In the Properties window, go to the Security tab.

✅ Step 5: Grant Permissions

In the Security tab, click Add.

Enter the name of the group:

nginx

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BranchAdmins

Click Check Names to resolve the group.

Click OK.

✅ Step 6: Assign the Appropriate Permissions

In the Permissions window, select the BranchAdmins group.

Assign the following permissions:

Read

Write

Create All Child Objects

Delete All Child Objects

Optionally, click Advanced for more granular control if needed.

✅ Step 7: Apply and Close

Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

To collect the recommended Windows Performance Counters from SRV1 in a Log Analytics workspace, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Access the Log Analytics Workspace Log in to the Azure portal and navigate to your Log Analytics workspace.

Step 2: Configure Performance Counters In the Log Analytics workspace, select Advanced settings and then choose Data > Windows Performance Counters1. You can add the recommended performance counters by selecting the + button. If you’re using legacy agent management, you can add counters from the Legacy agents management menu2.

Step 3: Add Performance Counters Select the counters you want to collect. You can add common counters quickly by checking the boxes next to them. For specific counters, enter the name of the counter in the format object(instance)\counter. For example, to collect the Processor Time counter for all instances of the Processor object, specify Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time.

Step 4: Set Sample Interval When adding a counter, you can set the sample interval, which is the frequency at which data is collected. The default is 10 seconds, but you can change this to a higher value if needed.

Step 5: Apply Configuration After adding the desired performance counters, select Apply at the top of the screen to save the configuration.

Step 6: Install and Configure the Agent Ensure that the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) is installed on SRV1. Configure the agent to report to your Log Analytics workspace by specifying the workspace ID and key during setup.

Step 7: Verify Data Collection After the agent is configured, it will start collecting the specified performance counters. You can verify the data collection in the Log Analytics workspace by running queries against the collected data.

Note: The legacy Log Analytics agent will be deprecated by August 2024. Migrate to the Azure Monitor agent before this date to continue ingesting data3.

By following these steps, you should be able to collect the recommended Windows Performance Counters from SRV1 in your Log Analytics workspace. Ensure that you have the necessary permissions and that SRV1 has network connectivity to Azure services.

To map \\dd.contoso.com\instal1 as drive H for all users using Group Policy Preferences and ensure that the new drive mapping takes precedence over any existing mappings, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Group Policy Management Console Open the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) on a machine that has administrative privileges over the domain.

Step 2: Create or Edit a GPO Create a new Group Policy Object (GPO) or edit an existing one that applies to the users who need the drive mapping.

Step 3: Navigate to Drive Mappings In the GPO Editor, navigate to:

User Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings -> Drive Maps

Step 4: New Drive Mapping Right-click on Drive Maps and select New -> Mapped Drive.

Step 5: Configure Drive Mapping In the New Drive Properties window, configure the following settings:

Action: Select Replace. This action will overwrite any existing mappings with the same drive letter.

Location: Enter the UNC path \\dd.contoso.com\instal1.

Drive Letter: Choose H: from the drop-down menu.

Reconnect: Check this option if you want the drive mapping to persist across logon sessions.

Label As: Optionally, provide a label for the drive mapping.

Hide/Show this drive: Set according to your preference.

Hide/Show all drives: Set according to your preference.

Step 6: Common Tab Go to the Common tab and configure the following:

Run in logged-on user’s security context (user policy option): Check this option.

Item-level targeting: Click on Targeting and set up any specific criteria if needed.

Step 7: Apply the GPO Click Apply and then OK to save the drive mapping configuration.

Step 8: Link the GPO Link the GPO to an Organizational Unit (OU) or domain that contains the users who should receive the drive mapping.

Step 9: Update Group Policy Instruct users to log off and log back on, or use the gpupdate /force command to refresh Group Policy on their computers.

Objective:

Create a read-only copy of the DNS zone contoso.com on SRV2.

Step-by-Step Guide: Using a Secondary Zone

✅ Step 1: Log in to SRV2

Log in to SRV2 (where you want to host the secondary zone) using an account with local administrative privileges.

✅ Step 2: Open DNS Manager

Press Windows + R, type dnsmgmt.msc, and press Enter.

✅ Step 3: Create a Secondary Zone

In the DNS Manager, expand the server node for SRV2.

Right-click Forward Lookup Zones and select New Zone.

The New Zone Wizard opens.

✅ Step 4: Configure the Secondary Zone

Zone Type:

Select Secondary zone and click Next.

Zone Name:

Type contoso.com and click Next.

Master DNS Servers:

Enter the IP address of the master DNS server that hosts the primary zone (e.g., SRV1’s IP).

Click Next.

Finish:

Review the settings and click Finish.

✅ Step 5: Allow Zone Transfers on the Primary Server

On SRV1 (or the DNS server hosting the primary zone):

Open DNS Manager.

Right-click the contoso.com zone and select Properties.

Go to the Zone Transfers tab.

Check Allow zone transfers.

Specify SRV2’s IP address (or allow to any server if needed).

✅ Step 6: Verify Zone Replication

On SRV2, refresh the Forward Lookup Zones in DNS Manager.

The contoso.com zone should now appear as a Secondary zone.

Check the Zone Transfer status to ensure it successfully replicated.

To deploy a new primary DNS zone named fabrikam.com to DC1 and sign the zone, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the Primary DNS Zone Use the Add-DnsServerPrimaryZone PowerShell command to create the primary zone:

Add-DnsServerPrimaryZone -Name "fabrikam.com" -ZoneFile "fabrikam.com.dns" -DynamicUpdate Secure

This command creates a primary zone for fabrikam.com with a DNS file named fabrikam.com.dns and allows secure dynamic updates.

Step 2: Sign the Zone To sign the zone, you can use the DNS Manager or Windows PowerShell. Here’s how to sign the zone using PowerShell:

Add-DnsServerSigningKey -ZoneName "fabrikam.com" -Type KeySigningKey -CryptoAlgorithm RsaSha256

Set-DnsServerDnsSecZoneSetting -ZoneName "fabrikam.com" -DenialOfExistence NSEC3 -NSEC3Parameters 1,0,10,""

These commands add a signing key to the zone and set DNSSEC settings with NSEC3 parameters.

Step 3: Publish the Signed Zone After signing the zone, ensure that it is published and available for DNS queries. You can verify the zone signing status using the following command:

Get-DnsServerZone -Name "fabrikam.com"

Note: Ensure that you have the appropriate permissions to perform these actions on DC1 and that the DNS Server role is installed and properly configured. Also, replace "fabrikam.com.dns" with the actual path to your DNS file if it’s different12.

By following these steps, you should be able to deploy and sign the new primary DNS zone fabrikam.com on DC1.

To create a GPO named GPO1 that only applies to a group named MemberServers, you can follow these steps:

On a domain controller or a computer that has the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) installed, open Group Policy Management from the Administrative Tools menu or by typing gpmc.msc in the Run box.

In the left pane, expand your domain and right-click on Group Policy Objects. Select New to create a new GPO.

In the New GPO dialog box, enter GPO1 as the Name of the new GPO and click OK. You can also optionally select a source GPO to copy the settings from.

Right-click on the new GPO and select Edit to open the Group Policy Management Editor. Here, you can configure the settings that you want to apply to the group under the Computer Configuration and User Configuration nodes. For more information on how to edit a GPO, see Edit a Group Policy Object.

Close the Group Policy Management Editor and return to the Group Policy Management console. Right-click on the new GPO and select Scope. Here, you can specify the scope of management for the GPO, such as the links, security filtering, and WMI filtering.

Under the Security Filtering section, click on Authenticated Users and then click on Remove. This will remove the default permission granted to all authenticated users and computers to apply the GPO.

Click on Add and then type the name of the group that you want to apply the GPO to, such as MemberServers. Click OK to add the group to the security filter. You can also click on Advanced to browse the list of groups available in the domain.

Optionally, you can also configure the WMI Filtering section to further filter the GPO based on the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) queries. For more information on how to use WMI filtering, see Filter the scope of a GPO by using WMI filters.

To link the GPO to an organizational unit (OU) or a domain, right-click on the OU or the domain in the left pane and select Link an Existing GPO. Select the GPO that you created, such as GPO1, and click OK. You can also change the order of preference by using the Move Up and Move Down buttons.

Wait for the changes to replicate to other domain controllers. You can also force the update of the GPO by using the gpupdate /force command on the domain controller or the client computers. For more information on how to update a GPO, see Update a Group Policy Object.

Now, you have created a GPO named GPO1 that only applies to a group named MemberServers. You can verify the GPO application by using the gpresult /r command on a member server and checking the Applied Group Policy Objects entry. You can also use the Group Policy Results wizard in the Group Policy Management console to generate a report of the GPO application for a specific computer or user. For more information on how to use the Group Policy Results wizard, see Use the Group Policy Results Wizard.

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:

powershell

Copy

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.

To configure the domain to support the creation of gMSAs, you need to perform the following steps:

On a domain controller or a computer that has the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) installed, open PowerShell as an administrator and run the following command to install the Active Directory module:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name RSAT-AD-PowerShell

Run the following command to create a Key Distribution Service (KDS) root key, which is required for generating passwords for gMSAs. You only need to do this once per domain:

Add-KdsRootKey -EffectiveImmediately

Wait for at least 10 hours for the KDS root key to replicate to all domain controllers in the domain. Alternatively, you can use the -EffectiveTime parameter to specify a past date and time for the KDS root key, but this is not recommended for security reasons. For more information, see Add-KdsRootKey.

After the KDS root key is replicated, you can create and configure gMSAs using the New-ADServiceAccount and Set-ADServiceAccount cmdlets. For more information, see Create a gMSA and Configure a gMSA.

One possible solution to ensure that the Azure file share named share1 can sync to on-premises servers is to use Azure File Sync. Azure File Sync allows you to centralize your file shares in Azure Files without giving up the flexibility, performance, and compatibility of an on-premises file server. It does this by transforming your Windows Servers into a quick cache of your Azure file share. You can use any protocol available on Windows Server to access your data locally (including SMB, NFS, and FTPS) and you can have as many caches as you need across the world1.

Here are the steps to configure Azure File Sync for the Azure file share named share1 and the source files located in a folder named \dc1.contoso.com\install:

On the Azure portal, create a Storage Sync Service in the same region as your storage account that contains the Azure file share named share1. For more information on how to create a Storage Sync Service, see How to deploy Azure File Sync.

On the on-premises server that hosts the folder named \dc1.contoso.com\install, install the Azure File Sync agent. For more information on how to install the Azure File Sync agent, see Install the Azure File Sync agent.

On the on-premises server, register the server with the Storage Sync Service that you created in the first step. For more information on how to register a server with a Storage Sync Service, see Register/unregister a server with Storage Sync Service.

On the Azure portal, create a sync group that defines the sync topology for a set of files. In the sync group, select the Azure file share named share1 as the cloud endpoint and the folder named \dc1.contoso.com\install as the server endpoint. For more information on how to create a sync group, see Create a sync group and a cloud endpoint and Create a server endpoint.

Wait for the initial sync to complete. You can monitor the sync progress on the Azure portal or on the on-premises server. For more information on how to monitor sync progress, see [Monitor sync progress].

Once the initial sync is complete, you can add more on-premises servers to the same sync group to sync and cache the content locally. You can also enable cloud tiering to optimize the storage space on the on-premises servers by tiering infrequently accessed or older files to Azure Files.

To create a group-managed service account (gMSA) named gMSA1 and make it available on SRV1, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the Key Distribution Services Root Key First, you need to create the KDS Root Key, which is required for the gMSA to function. You can do this with the following PowerShell command:

Add-KdsRootKey –EffectiveTime ((get-date).addhours(-10))

Note: The -EffectiveTime parameter is set to 10 hours in the past to ensure immediate effect.

Step 2: Create the gMSA Next, use the New-ADServiceAccount cmdlet to create the gMSA:

New-ADServiceAccount -Name gMSA1 -DNSHostName gmsa1.domain.com -PrincipalsAllowedToRetrieveManagedPassword SRV1$

Replace domain.com with your actual domain name.

Step 3: Install the gMSA on SRV1 Now, you need to install the gMSA on the server SRV1. Run the following command on SRV1:

Install-ADServiceAccount -Identity gMSA1

Step 4: Test the gMSA To ensure that the gMSA is installed correctly and ready for use, perform a test using:

Test-ADServiceAccount -Identity gMSA1

If the test returns True, the gMSA is correctly installed and ready for use on SRV1.

Step 5: Configure the Service to Use the gMSA Finally, configure the service that requires the gMSA to use gMSA1 by setting the service’s logon account to domain\gMSA1$ and leave the password field blank.

This will create and make the gMSA gMSA1 available on SRV1. Ensure that you have the necessary permissions and that SRV1 is properly joined to the domain before proceeding with these steps123.

Explore

To create a container image named app1 for your application using the Dockerfile in the C:\app directory on SRV1, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open PowerShell or Command Prompt First, open PowerShell or Command Prompt on SRV1.

Step 2: Navigate to the Application Directory Change to the directory where your application and Dockerfile are located:

cd C:\app

Step 3: Build the Container Image Use the docker build command to create the container image. The -t flag tags the image with the name app1:

docker build -t app1 .

The period . at the end of the command tells Docker to use the Dockerfile in the current directory.

Step 4: Verify the Image Creation After the build process completes, verify that the image app1 has been created successfully by listing all images:

docker images

You should see app1 in the list of images.

Step 5: Use the Image Now, you can use the image app1 to run containers or push it to a container registry if needed.

By following these steps, you’ll have created a Docker container image named app1 using the Dockerfile located in C:\app on SRV11. Ensure that Docker is installed on SRV1 and that you have the necessary permissions to execute these commands.

To manage SRV1 remotely using PowerShell, you’ll need to set up PowerShell Remoting. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Enable PowerShell Remoting on SRV1 On SRV1, run the following command to enable PowerShell Remoting:

Enable-PSRemoting -Force

This command configures the computer to receive PowerShell remote commands that are sent by using the WS-Management technology.

Step 2: Configure the TrustedHosts List (If Needed) If you’re managing SRV1 from a computer that is not part of the same domain, you’ll need to add the managing computer’s name to the TrustedHosts list on SRV1:

Set-Item wsman:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts -Value "ManagingComputerName" -Concatenate -Force

Replace “ManagingComputerName” with the name of your managing computer.

Step 3: Start a Remote Session From your managing computer, start a remote session with SRV1 using the Enter-PSSession cmdlet:

Enter-PSSession -ComputerName SRV1 -Credential (Get-Credential)

This command prompts you for credentials and then starts a remote session with SRV1.

Step 4: Run Remote Commands Once the remote session is established, you can run any PowerShell command as if you were directly on SRV1. For example:

Get-Service

This command gets the status of services on SRV1.

Step 5: Exit the Remote Session When you’re finished, exit the remote session:

Exit-PSSession

Note: Ensure that both the managing computer and SRV1 are properly configured to communicate over the network, and that any firewalls allow for the necessary ports (default is 5985 for HTTP and 5986 for HTTPS) to be open for WS-Management traffic12.

By following these steps, you should be able to manage SRV1 remotely using PowerShell. Make sure you have the appropriate administrative privileges to perform these actions.

One possible solution to register SRV1 to sync Azure file shares using the 34646045 Storage Sync Service is to use the Register-AzStorageSyncServer cmdlet from the Az.StorageSync module. This cmdlet establishes a trust relationship between the server and the Storage Sync Service, which is required for creating server endpoints and syncing files. Here are the steps to register SRV1 using the cmdlet:

On SRV1, open PowerShell as an administrator and run the following command to install the Az.StorageSync module if it is not already installed:

Install-Module -Name Az.StorageSync

Run the following command to import the Az.StorageSync module:

Import-Module -Name Az.StorageSync

Run the following command to sign in to your Azure account and select the subscription that contains the 34646045 Storage Sync Service:

Connect-AzAccount

Select-AzSubscription -SubscriptionId

Run the following command to register SRV1 with the 34646045 Storage Sync Service. You need to specify the resource group name and the Storage Sync Service name as parameters:

Register-AzStorageSyncServer -ResourceGroupName -StorageSyncServiceName 34646045

Wait for the registration to complete. You can verify the registration status by checking the Registered servers tab on the Azure portal or by running the following command:

Get-AzStorageSyncServer -ResourceGroupName -StorageSyncServiceName 34646045

Now, SRV1 is registered with the 34646045 Storage Sync Service and ready to sync Azure file shares. You can create server endpoints on SRV1 and cloud endpoints on the Azure file shares to define the sync topology.

One possible solution to monitor the security configuration of DC1 by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud is to use the Guest Configuration feature. Guest Configuration is a service that audits settings inside Linux and Windows virtual machines (VMs) to assess their compliance with your organization’s security policies. You can use Guest Configuration to monitor the security baseline settings for Windows Server in the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal by following these steps:

On DC1, open a web browser and go to the folder named \dc1.contoso.com\install. Download the Guest Configuration extension file (GuestConfiguration.msi) and save it to a local folder, such as C:\Temp.

Run the Guest Configuration extension file and follow the installation wizard. You can choose to install the extension for all users or only for the current user. For more information on how to install the Guest Configuration extension, see Install the Guest Configuration extension.

After the installation is complete, sign in to the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal (2).

In the left pane, select Security Center and then Recommendations.

In the recommendations list, find and select Vulnerabilities in security configuration on your Windows machines should be remediated (powered by Guest Configuration).

In the Remediate Security Configurations page, you can see the compliance status of your Windows VMs, including DC1, based on the Azure Compute Benchmark. The Azure Compute Benchmark is a set of rules that define the desired configuration state of your VMs. You can also see the number of failed, passed, and skipped rules for each VM. For more information on the Azure Compute Benchmark, see Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Azure compute benchmark is now available.

To view the details of the security configuration of DC1, click on the VM name and then select View details. You can see the list of rules that apply to DC1 and their compliance status. You can also see the severity, description, and remediation steps for each rule. For example, you can see if DC1 has the latest security updates installed, if the firewall is enabled, if the password policy is enforced, and so on.

To monitor the security configuration of DC1 over time, you can use the Compliance over time chart, which shows the trend of compliance status for DC1 in the past 30 days. You can also use the Compliance breakdown chart, which shows the distribution of compliance status for DC1 by rule severity.

By using Guest Configuration, you can monitor the security configuration of DC1 by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud and ensure that it meets your organization’s security standards. You can also use Guest Configuration to monitor the security configuration of other Windows and Linux VMs in your Azure environment.

To ensure that all computers in the domain use DNSSEC to resolve names in the adatum.com zone, you’ll need to configure both the DNS servers and the client computers. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Sign the adatum.com Zone First, you need to sign the adatum.com DNS zone. This can be done using the DNS Manager or PowerShell. Here’s a PowerShell example:

Add-DnsServerSigningKey -ZoneName "adatum.com" -CryptoAlgorithm RsaSha256

Set-DnsServerDnsSecZoneSetting -ZoneName "adatum.com" -DenialOfExistence NSEC3 -NSEC3Parameters 1,0,10,""

This will add a signing key and configure DNSSEC for the zone with NSEC3 parameters.

Step 2: Configure DNS Servers Ensure that your DNS servers are configured to support DNSSEC. This includes setting up trust anchors for the zones that you want to validate and configuring the DNS servers to provide DNSSEC validation for DNS queries.

Step 3: Configure DNS Clients For DNSSEC validation to occur on the client side, the client computers must be configured to trust the DNS server’s validation process. This typically involves configuring the client’s DNS settings to point to a DNS server that supports DNSSEC.

Step 4: Validate Configuration You can validate that DNSSEC is working correctly by using tools like nslookup or dig to query DNS records and check for the presence of DNSSEC signatures in the responses.

Note: The exact steps may vary depending on your environment and the version of Windows Server you are using. Ensure that you have the appropriate administrative rights to make these changes and that you test the configuration in a controlled environment before deploying it domain-wide12.

By following these steps, you should be able to ensure that all computers in your domain use DNSSEC to resolve names in the adatum.com zone.