Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 2

First things first – If you do not already have a test machine, build one! - Download a trial version of Windows Server 2008 R2 and install it to a capable machine that you can use for study and learning.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Home

Nothing beats hands-on experience. I guarantee you that you will learn faster and gain a deeper understanding if you have a machine you can touch and work with in person. I recommend a Quad-Core machine that has at east 16 gigs of RAM and reasonably fast hard drives. Preferably high capacity 7200 SATA drives. If you have access to a SAN/NAS that would be a plus.

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With any exam you are preparing to take, knowing what to study can sometimes be more difficult than the exam itself. Fortunately, you can identify exactly what skills are measured for the 70-659 Exam at the Microsoft Learning Site.

I am creating mini-guides for each of the 6 Major sections below that will be posted each day this week and going into next. The guides will NOT give you the answers for the exam! The guides will give you guidance on what areas to focus on for study purposes. You will have to KNOW the product and related technologies before taking the exam! Build a test lab and get your hands dirty!

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The information after “This objective may include but is not limited to” is intended to further define or scope the objective by describing the types of skills and topics that may be tested for the objective. However, it is not an exhaustive list of skills and topics that could be included on the exam for a given skill area. You may be tested on other skills and topics related to the objective that are not explicitly listed here. Study Guide!

Installing and Configuring Host and Parent Settings

  • Add the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2008 R2.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: installing and configuring Hyper-V on Server Core, verifying BIOS settings (i.e. DEP), adding the Hyper-V role using Virtual Machine Manager, configuring Hyper-V Server R2, identifying hardware requirements
  • Enable remote management.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: deploying Virtual Machine Manager Agent, configuring firewall rules, configuring Virtual Network Manager settings
  • Configure virtual networks and VLAN security.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Media Access Control (MAC) address pools, configuring network locations, configuring VLAN tags, configuring VLAN security, configuring virtual networks
  • Configure storage.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Multi Path Input Output (MPIO), executing the mpiocpl.exe command, dynamic I/O redirection, iSCSI initiator, executing the iscsicli.exe command

Configuring Child Settings

  • Configure child resources.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring disks, networks, CPU, and memory
  • Configure child storage.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Dynamic VM storage, creating differencing disks, configuring pass-through disks, taking snapshots, managing GUIDs, managing logical unit numbers (LUNs), editing VHDs, copying physical disks to VHDs
  • Configure child network adapters.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating synthetic and emulated network adapters, configuring MAC spoofing, configuring VLAN ID, configuring Jumbo frame, configuring TCP Offloading Engine (TOE)
  • Create and deploy virtual machines.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating, cloning, deploying, and saving virtual machines using Virtual Machine Manager; creating virtual machines using Hyper-V Manager, configuring Self-Service Portal, scripting and deploying virtual machines using Windows PowerShell

Managing and Monitoring Virtual Environments

  • Solve performance and resource issues.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO), monitoring the environment by using System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, configuring event triggers, allocating resources by using Virtual Machine Manager, monitoring performance and diagnosing issues by using Performance Monitor or Resource Monitor
  • Configure delegation of rights.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating user policies for Self Service Portal, creating and managing templates, managing and replicating libraries in Virtual Machine Manager
  • Create roles and configure authorization rights.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating roles and delegating rights using Authorization Manager (AzMan), delegating rights manually
  • Manage non-Hyper-V-aware virtualization hosts.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: managing ESX/VI3 VMware hosts by using Virtual Machine Manager, managing Virtual Server 2005 R2 hosts using Virtual Machine Manager

Ensuring High Availability and Recoverability

  • Manage snapshots.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: taking, reverting, merging, deleting, and applying snapshots; configuring storage locations
  • Manage backups.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: managing online and offline backups by using DPM, Windows Server Backup, or Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
  • Perform non-clustered migrations.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: performing a SAN migration of child partitions, performing a network migration of child partitions
  • Configure quick and live migrations.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring network and storage for clustered Hyper-V setup, enabling Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV), configuring dynamic I/0 redirection

Performing Migration

  • Perform physical-to-virtual (P2V) migration.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Virtual Machine Manager Intelligent Placement, performing online and offline migrations
  • Perform virtual-to-virtual (V2V) migration.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Virtual Machine Manager Intelligent Placement, performing online and offline migrations
  • Perform import/export migration.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: migrating virtual machines between Hyper-V hosts using the Export/Import feature in Hyper-V

Configuring Remote Desktop (RD) Role Services Infrastructure

  • Configure RD session host.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring session host settings, network-level authentication settings, license settings; restricting users to single remote session; allowing time zone redirection; configuring resource redirection, configuring encryption, configuring multi-monitor support
  • Configure RD licensing.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: activating and deactivating Remote Desktop License Service, installing and revoking client access licenses (CALs), reporting on CAL usage
  • Configure RD Connection Broker.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: installing the RD Connection Broker, configuring DNS for Connection Broker, configuring Connection Broker farms, integrating with RD Virtualization Host role service
  • Configure RD Gateway.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring RD Gateway, integrating RD Gateway with network access protection (NAP), configuring authentication authorization
  • Configure RD Web Access.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring RD Web Access, configuring authentication options (forms, single sign-on), configuring per-user RemoteApp program filtering, configuring public and private computer options

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For each successive post, I will add links to the series -

Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 1

Passing the Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Virtualization Exam (70-659) – Part 2 (this post)

Cheers!