Active Directory for Admins Training Course

1. Introduction

• Foundations of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• Defined course objectives and expected learning outcomes
• The strategic role of Active Directory in enterprise infrastructure for government operations
• Overview of the controlled training lab environment
• Essential Active Directory terminology and core concepts

2. Overview of Active Directory Features and Architecture

• Core architectural components of Active Directory
• Distinguishing logical from physical structural elements
• Understanding Domains, Trees, and Forests
• Utilization of Organizational Units (OUs)
• Functions of Domain Controllers and the Global Catalog
• Management of Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles
• Configuration of Sites and Subnets
• Integration of DNS services with Active Directory
• Structure of Active Directory partitions and internal databases

3. Overview of Identity Management Solutions and Concepts

• Fundamentals of Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• Differentiating between Authentication and Authorization
• Implementation of Kerberos authentication protocols
• Use of NTLM authentication methods
• Principles of Single Sign-On (SSO)
• Application of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Management of the identity lifecycle
• Concepts related to hybrid identity models

4. Setting up Active Directory

• Strategic planning for Active Directory deployment
• Installation procedures for Active Directory Domain Services
• Promoting servers to Domain Controller status
• Establishment of new forests and domains
• Installation and configuration of DNS services
• Verification of installation integrity
• Best practices for secure deployment

5. Implementing Active Directory Domain Services

• Creation of Organizational Units
• Administration of users, groups, and computer objects
• Management of user account settings
• Definition of group scopes and types
• Delegation of administrative controls
• Oversight of service accounts
• Joining computer systems to the domain

6. Configuring and Managing Replication

• Core concepts of Active Directory replication
• Operation of multi-master replication models
• Design of replication topology
• Functionality of the Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC)
• Management of Sites and replication schedules
• Techniques for replication troubleshooting
• Monitoring of replication health metrics

7. Implementing and Managing Group Policy

• Architectural overview of Group Policy
• Creation of Group Policy Objects (GPOs)
• Linking GPOs to appropriate containers
• Mechanics of Group Policy inheritance
• Implementation of Loopback processing
• Utilization of Administrative Templates
• Software deployment via GPO
• Configuration of Folder Redirection
• Establishment of security policies
• Definition of password and account lockout policies
• Methodologies for Group Policy troubleshooting

8. Implementing a Certification Authority (CA) Hierarchy

• Foundations of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
• Architecture of Certificate Services
• Distinction between Root and Subordinate Certification Authorities
• Installation of Active Directory Certificate Services
• Design strategies for CA hierarchy
• Configuration of certificate templates
• Implementation of Auto-enrollment

9. Managing Certificates

• Overseeing the certificate lifecycle
• Processes for issuing certificates
• Procedures for certificate renewal
• Mechanisms for certificate revocation
• Management of Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs)
• Use of the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
• Administration of certificate templates
• Diagnostics for certificate-related issues

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

• Introduction to federation service concepts
• Architectural components of AD FS
• Implementation of Claims-based authentication
• Installation procedures for AD FS
• Configuration of trust relationships
• Deployment of Single Sign-On capabilities
• Integration with external application systems
• Monitoring and troubleshooting of AD FS operations

11. Enabling Data Access

• Core concepts of access control
• Management of NTFS permissions
• Configuration of shared folder permissions
• Calculation of effective permissions
• Implementation of Access-Based Enumeration
• Utilization of Dynamic Access Control
• Application of File Classification Infrastructure
• Auditing of file access events

12. Securing Active Directory Domain Services

• Best practices for Active Directory security
• Framework for the administrative security model
• Implementation of tiered administration
• Strategies for Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• Security hardening of Domain Controllers
• Enforcement of password policies
• Application of Fine-Grained Password Policies
• Configuration of account lockout policies
• Protocols for auditing and monitoring
• Considerations for backup and recovery

13. Implementing and Managing Rights Management Services (RMS)

• Introduction to Active Directory Rights Management Services
• Architectural overview of RMS
• Installation of AD RMS components
• Protection of sensitive documents
• Definition of information protection policies
• Integration with Microsoft Office applications
• Management of user access rights

14. Implementing Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory)

• Introduction to Microsoft Entra ID capabilities
• Concepts in cloud-based identity management
• Architecture of hybrid identity solutions
• Configuration of Microsoft Entra Connect
• Implementation of Password Hash Synchronization
• Deployment of Pass-through Authentication
• Federation integration with AD FS
• Overview of Conditional Access features
• Processes for identity synchronization
• Administration of cloud identities

15. Integrating Active Directory with OpenLDAP

• Fundamentals of LDAP protocols
• LDAP support features in Active Directory
• Overview of the OpenLDAP environment
• Methods for identity synchronization
• Integration of authentication processes
• Common interoperability scenarios for government systems
• Security considerations in integration
• Diagnosis of LDAP connectivity issues

16. Monitoring Active Directory

• Selection of monitoring tools
• Utilization of Event Viewer
• Application of Performance Monitor
• Use of the Active Directory Administrative Center
• Implementation of PowerShell for monitoring tasks
• Monitoring of replication activities
• Execution of health checks
• Auditing of configuration changes
• Strategies for performance optimization

17. Troubleshooting

• Resolution of user logon issues
• Diagnosis of DNS-related problems
• Investigation of replication failures
• Methods for Group Policy troubleshooting
• Analysis of authentication issues
• Resolution of certificate-related problems
• Assessment of Domain Controller health
• Utilization of diagnostic tools (dcdiag, repadmin, nltest, gpresult)
• Execution of backup and recovery procedures
• Planning for disaster recovery scenarios

18. Summary and Conclusion

• Review of core concepts
• Best practices for Active Directory administration
• Recommendations for security enhancements
• Checklist for operational maintenance
• Access to additional Microsoft resources and documentation
• Session for questions and answers
• Final hands-on review and lab conclusion