Lab: Performing local system administration with PowerShell

Scenario

You work for Adatum Corporation on the server support team. One of your first assignments is to configure the infrastructure service for a new branch office. You decide to complete the tasks by using Windows PowerShell.

Objectives

After completing this lab, you’ll be able to:

  • Create and manage Active Directory objects by using Windows PowerShell.
  • Configure network settings on Windows Server by using Windows PowerShell.
  • Create an Internet Information Services (IIS) website by using Windows PowerShell.

Estimated time: 60 minutes

Lab setup

Virtual machines: AZ-040T00A-LON-DC1, AZ-040T00A-LON-SVR1, and AZ-040T00A-LON-CL1

Username: Adatum\Administrator

Password: Pa55w.rd

Lab startup

  1. Select LON-DC1.

  2. Sign in by using the following credentials:

    • Username: Administrator
    • Password: Pa55w.rd
    • Domain: Adatum
  3. Repeat these steps for LON-CL1 and LON-SVR1.

Exercise 1: Creating and managing Active Directory objects

Exercise scenario 1

In this exercise, you’ll create and manage Active Directory objects to create an organizational unit (OU) for a branch office, along with groups for OU administrators. You’ll create accounts for a user and computer in the branch office, in the default OU, and add the user to the administrators group. You’ll later move the user and computer to the OU that you created for the branch office. You’ll use individual Windows PowerShell commands to accomplish these tasks from a client computer.

The main tasks for this exercise are:

  1. Create a new OU for a branch office.
  2. Create a group for branch office administrators.
  3. Create a user and computer account for the branch office.
  4. Move the group, user, and computer accounts to the branch office OU.

Task 1: Create a new OU for a branch office

  • From LON-CL1, use Windows PowerShell to create a new OU named London.

Task 2: Create a group for branch office administrators

  • In the PowerShell console, create the London Admins global security group.

Task 3: Create a user and computer account for the branch office

  1. In the PowerShell console, create a user account for the user Ty Carlson.
  2. Add the user to the London Admins group.
  3. Create a computer account for the LON-CL2 computer.

Task 4: Move the group, user, and computer accounts to the branch office OU

  • Use Windows PowerShell to move the following group, user, and computer accounts to the London OU:

    • London Admins
    • Ty Carlson
    • LON-CL2

Exercise 1 results

After completing this exercise, you’ll have successfully identified and used commands for managing Active Directory objects in the Windows PowerShell command-line interface.

Exercise 2: Configuring network settings on Windows Server

Exercise scenario 2

In this exercise, you’ll configure network settings on Windows Server. To review the effect, you’ll test network connectivity before and after making changes. You’ll use individual Windows PowerShell commands to accomplish these tasks on the server.

The main tasks for this exercise are:

  1. Test the network connection and review the configuration.
  2. Change the server IP address.
  3. Change the DNS settings and default gateway for the server.
  4. Verify and test the changes.

Task 1: Test the network connection and review the configuration

  1. Switch to LON-SVR1.
  2. Open Windows PowerShell with administrative permissions.
  3. Test the connection to LON-DC1 and note the time it takes to receive the response.
  4. Review the network configuration for LON-SVR1.
  5. Note the IP address, default gateway, and DNS server.

Task 2: Change the server IP address

  • Use Windows PowerShell to change the IP address for the Ethernet network interface to 172.16.0.15/16.

Task 3: Change the DNS settings and default gateway for the server

  1. Change the DNS settings of the Ethernet network interface to point at 172.16.0.12.
  2. Change the default gateway for the Ethernet network interface to 172.16.0.2.

Task 4: Verify and test the changes

  1. On LON-SVR1, verify the changes to the network configuration.
  2. Test the connection to LON-DC1, and note the difference in the time it takes to receive the response.

Exercise 2 results

After completing this exercise, you’ll have successfully identified and used Windows PowerShell commands for managing network configuration.

Exercise 3: Creating a website

Exercise scenario 3

In this exercise, you’ll install the Web Server (IIS) server role and create a new internal website for the London branch. You’ll use individual Windows PowerShell commands to accomplish these tasks on the server.

The main tasks for this exercise are:

  1. Install the Web Server (IIS) role on the server.
  2. Create a folder on the server for the website files.
  3. Create the IIS website.

Task 1: Install the Web Server (IIS) role on the server

  • On LON-SVR1, use Windows PowerShell to install the Web server (IIS) role on LON-SVR1.

Task 2: Create a folder on the server for the website files

  • On LON-SVR1, use PowerShell to create a folder named London under C:\inetpub\wwwroot for the website files.

Task 3: Create the IIS website

  1. On LON-SVR1, use PowerShell to create the IIS website by using the following configuration:

    • Name: London
    • Physical path: The folder that you previously created
    • Binding information: The current IP address of LON-SVR1 using port 8080

  2. Open the website in Internet Explorer by using the IP address and port 8080, and then verify that the site is using the provided settings. Internet Explorer will display an error message that a document hasn’t been configured for the URL. The error message details give the physical path of the site, which should be C:\inetpub\wwwroot\London.

Exercise 3 results

After completing this exercise, you’ll have successfully identified and used Windows PowerShell commands that would be used as part of a standardized web server configuration.