Introduction

Welcome to Mastering Windows Server 2016. This book covers Windows Server 2016 and the core technologies built into the operating system. It has a mix of content ranging from networking, identity and access, storage, and much more. We don't cover every single feature or option but focus on providing a deep understanding of the key topics that we cover throughout the chapters. This book is best read from front to back and can later used as a reference.

Major Changes in Windows Server 2016

Most of the major components of Windows Server 2016 have new features, enhancements, and changes for Windows Server 2016. With that said, most of the changes involve improvements to existing services and the introduction of new features. Throughout the chapters, we will look at some of these new features in detail. The following major changes represent the changes that we feel stand out from the rest:

• Nested Virtualization  With nested virtualization, a brand new feature for Windows Server 2016, you can deploy a Hyper-V host inside of a VM. This simplifies the process for testing failover clustering and for testing a variety of virtualization-related features and configurations. Note that nested virtualization is best suited for nonproduction environments, such as a lab environment. See Chapter 3 for more information.
• Shielded Virtual Machines  This new feature enhances the security of Hyper-V hosts and VMs. It protects against scenarios such as malicious administrators trying to view the console or trying to view the data on the virtual hard disks. See Chapter 3 for more information.
• Device Guard and Credential Guard  These new features protect Generation 2 VMs against exploits. See Chapter 8 for more information.
• Privileged Access Management (PAM)  PAM enhances the security of Active Directory Domain Services environments by completely changing the way many administrators manage their environments. See Chapter 9 for more information.
• Storage Spaces Direct  This new feature provides a highly available and highly scalable storage solution using local server storage. See Chapter 4 for more information.
• Software Defined Networking (SDN)  There are many new enhancements to networking in Windows Server 2016. SDN enables you to configure your on-premises environment like Azure and manage it using System Center Virtual Machine Manager. See Chapter 5 for more information.
• Containers  Containers are a feature that offers a way for app teams to have a prepackaged way to deploy app environments quickly (for example, IIS with ASP.NET). The container contains everything an app team needs—and the container is portable; it can run on-premises or in the public cloud. See Chapter 7 for more details.
• Nano Server  When Microsoft introduced the Server Core installation of Windows Server, it was lauded for the small size, small requirements, high performance, and enhanced security. Nano Server went a step further (albeit with more limitations). Initially, it was just a smaller footprint deployment, without a GUI, that could run some core roles such as Hyper-V and Scale-Out File Server. However, recently Microsoft announced some big changes for Windows Server 2016 (release 1709). With 1709, Nano Server will no longer support the core roles such as Hyper-V. Instead, it will be dedicated for containers and be geared for the cloud. Nano Server is introduced in Chapter 1.

The Mastering Series

The Mastering series from Sybex provides outstanding instruction for readers with intermediate and advanced skills in the form of top-notch training and development for those already working in their field, and clear, serious education for those aspiring to become pros. Every Mastering book includes the following:

• Skill-based instruction with chapters organized around real tasks rather than abstract concepts or subjects
• End of chapter “Master It” scenarios to test your knowledge of the information in the chapter

How to Use This Book

How you use this book will depend on your goals and your level of experience across the Windows Server technologies. For example, if you have limited experience with Windows Server, then reading the book from front to back might provide the best experience. If you are an experienced server administrator but want to learn more about the networking components of Windows Server 2016, then you might want to go straight to the networking-related chapters. If you are studying for a certification exam, you might want to read specific topics from various chapters to strengthen your knowledge in very specific areas. While the book is ordered so that it is easiest to read it front to back, take the path that best suits your experience and goals.

In several parts of the book, we will perform step-by-step installations and configurations. We highly recommend that you perform those same steps in your lab or nonproduction environment (whether at home or at work). Reading about a technology is good for learning. Deploying, troubleshooting, and maintaining a technology is good for learning. Doing both is great for learning!

Windows Server is a huge product. There is a plethora of technologies in it—and the technologies are complex, much more so than in previous versions (especially older and legacy versions) of Windows Server. Therefore, as authors, we must pick and choose exactly what we cover while still trying to keep the book manageable in size. In general, for this book, we have opted to cover the most used parts of Windows Server, and we try to go into detail in specific parts of every chapter. Lastly, we avoid the introductory information unless it is imperative to the topic. Our readers have historically been experienced administrators who are looking to enhance their knowledge of the newest version of Windows Server. Therefore, we try to avoid material that is “too basic” for our typical reader.

How This Book Is Organized

Each Mastering Windows Server 2016 chapter represents a milestone in your progress toward becoming an expert Windows Server 2016 user. We start off by walking you through the installation, Server Manager, and PowerShell. It is a good way to start and enables you to have a Windows Server 2016 computer to reference while working through the step-by-step sections of chapters. It is also good to know the tools that we are going to reference throughout the book (especially PowerShell) before we dive into them!

• Chapter 1, “Windows Server 2016 Installation and Management,” shows you how to install Windows Server 2016 and how to work with Server Manager for server administration.
• Chapter 2, “PowerShell,” details how to work with PowerShell. It covers a huge amount of information in a single chapter and will be especially beneficial to readers who aren't well-versed in PowerShell yet.

After you have an installation and know your way around the management of Windows Server, you are ready to dive deeper into the foundational technologies.

• Chapter 3, “Compute,” is all about the compute portions of Windows Server, such as Hyper-V and failover clustering.
• Chapter 4, “Storage,” details file systems, data deduplication, Storage Spaces, Storage Replica, and Storage Quality of Service.
• Chapter 5, “Networking,” dives into remote access, DNS, DHCP, and a host of new networking technologies in Windows Server 2016.

At this point, you'll have a pretty good grasp of the basics of Windows Server 2016 and understand some of the new technologies. The next chapters are designed to help you branch out into smaller (but still important) technologies in Windows Server.

• Chapter 6, “File Services,” tells you how to implement and manage file services—not just shared folders but the advanced aspects of managing file services.
• Chapter 7, “Windows Server Containers,” explains what containers are, how they work, and how to create and manage them. This technology is new and rapidly evolving.
• Chapter 8, “Security Mechanisms,” is where you'll learn about Just Enough Administration (JEA), Just In Time (JIT) administration, Credential Guard, and other new security features in Windows Server 2016.

Several Active Directory technologies are built into Windows Server 2016. In this book, we cover the three most deployed. We exclude AD LDS and AD RMS.

• Chapter 9, “Active Directory Domain Services,” covers AD DS, including information about design and architecture, deployment, and day-to-day administration.
• Chapter 10, “Active Directory Certificate Services,” covers AD CS and public key infrastructure technologies. It also walks through a step-by-step two-tier hierarchy.
• Chapter 11, “Active Directory Federation Services,” takes you through AD FS and design considerations. Then, it walks you through a step-by-step implementation of AD FS and Web Application Proxy.

Earlier in the book, we cover managing servers one at a time with Server Manager and PowerShell. In this part of the book, we look at managing servers at the enterprise level where...