Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure (AZ-800)

Hybrid Windows Server estates create operational risk when identity, policy, virtualization, networking, and storage are managed differently on-premises and in Azure. IT Directors can assign this AZ-800 course to infrastructure teams that need a common operating model for AD DS, Azure AD/Entra integration, Group Policy, Hyper-V, containers, DNS/DHCP, VPN, NPS, Azure File Sync, DFS, and Windows Server storage.

This is best fit for system administrators, infrastructure engineers, cloud operations teams, and IT Practitioners with at least one year of server administration experience. The full curriculum is about 39 hours per learner, so Training Managers may want to schedule it in phases: identity first, then policy, hybrid management, virtualization, networking, and storage. For change management, Team Leads should pair the training with lab or test-environment validation before applying directory, DNS, replication, or Group Policy changes in production.

CBT Nuggets Playlists help sequence role-based assignments, Practice Exams support AZ-800 readiness, and Team Reporting helps IT leaders track completion across the team.

IT teams complete this training to reduce the day-to-day friction of running Windows Server across on-premises and Azure environments.

• Stabilize identity operations: Teams learn AD DS installation and management, RODCs, FSMO roles, trusts, sites, replication, user accounts, computer joins, groups, and hybrid identity with Entra Connect and Cloud Sync.
• Improve policy consistency: Administrators build shared skills around Group Policy, Group Policy Preferences, and Azure AD DS policy so configuration changes can be managed centrally instead of manually repeated.
• Support hybrid workloads: Infrastructure teams work through Windows Server management with Azure services, Azure VMs, Hyper-V configuration, replica, clustering, checkpoints, virtual disks, virtual switches, and containers.
• Reduce network and storage escalations: Practitioners cover DNS, hybrid DNS, DHCP, IPAM, VPNs to Azure, NPS, advanced hybrid networking, Azure File Sync, file shares, BranchCache, DFS, and Windows Server storage.

Knowledge

• Core AZ-800 domains for administering Windows Server hybrid infrastructure.
• How AD DS, Azure AD/Entra, and Azure AD DS fit into hybrid identity designs.
• Domain controllers, RODCs, FSMO roles, trusts, sites, and replication concepts.
• Group Policy and Group Policy Preferences for centralized configuration.
• Hyper-V, containers, Azure VMs, hybrid networking, DNS/DHCP, and Windows Server storage concepts.

Ability

• Install, configure, and manage AD DS and domain controller roles.
• Manage users, groups, computers, trusts, replication, and Group Policy in AD DS.
• Implement hybrid identity with Azure AD Connectors, Entra Connect, and Cloud Sync.
• Manage Windows Servers and workloads with Azure services, RDP, SSH, Hyper-V, and containers.
• Configure DNS, DHCP, IPAM, VPN connectivity, NPS, Azure File Sync, file shares, DFS, BranchCache, and storage.