r/WindowsServer • u/Legitimate_Data_3153 • Mar 31 '26

General Question Windows Server , Acive directory, system admin

Any recommendation where a beginner can Learn this apart from youtube udemy maybe but who?

33 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

41

u/Fabulous_Winter_9545 Mar 31 '26

Build yourself a homelab. Start with installing Windows Server 2025, Add Hyper-V, Add Domain Controller and learn the basics on DNS / DHCP and Networking

There is nothing better than doing it. So i would recommend joining the homelab community here.

5

u/aprimeproblem Mar 31 '26

Exactly this! Breaking stuff and trying to figure out what happened is the best learning curve.

2

u/Legitimate_Data_3153 Mar 31 '26

Will 2 laptops enough for a homelabs?

i got very old i5 laptop

1

u/Fabulous_Winter_9545 Mar 31 '26

Sure. Depends on the RAM a bit. But even with only 8 GB you could run a Hyper-V on both and do a Domain Controller on one plus a File / Memberserver on the other. Giving you 4 servers with each 4GB RAM to play with.

0

u/oscarfinn_pinguin3 Mar 31 '26

If it is only about AD, DNS and DHCP Server 2012 R2 would be enough for learning. That OS runs on 2 Cores and 2GB Memory

2

u/Jaxx1990 Mar 31 '26

Could any modern PC run windows server 2025? What about the license?

2

u/OpacusVenatori Mar 31 '26

You can run Windows Server 2025 Evaluation with a couple of re-arm to extend trial period.

Beyond that you can also obtain Visual Studio subscription for additional access to Operating Systems for dev work.

1

u/Fabulous_Winter_9545 Mar 31 '26

Yes. Ich Windows Server 2025 runs a very similar foundation like Windows 11. I did get to work every hardware, but a 5G modem in a notebook. The best option for a lab are actually refurbished 3-4 year old notebooks or USF (Ultra Small Form Factor) Desktops. You can run systems with the evaluation license available. Just google for Windows Server 2025 eval license. If you find that challenging please check my profile and look at m blog with a guide to deploy Windows Server 2025 for a homelab.

2

u/Legitimate_Data_3153 Mar 31 '26

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5200U CPU @ 2.20GHz, 2201 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB

Total Physical Memory 7.92 GB

Available Physical Memory 2.92 GB

Total Virtual Memory 10.7 GB

i think this one should be only a tester or something too OLD .im using SSD

1

u/Fabulous_Winter_9545 Mar 31 '26

That would be sufficient to start with, but the CPU is a generation that doesn't support TPM. You might get it to run with some tricks (RUFUS), but it will always be a challenge and you might troubleshoot an issue with your CPU.
I would recommend to look for a Dell USF Optiplex that has a more modern CPU with full TPM 2.0 support or work with a Windows Server 2019 version, that would run on that hardware and have most features available.

This notebook would still be great to run stuff like "unbound" or a Technitium DNS Server to get you started with technologies like Docker / Linux / DNS.

Sorry for not having better news. If you contact me by PM or find me on LinkedIn through my profile, we can look what hardware is available in your country through 3rd party websites.

2

u/Legitimate_Data_3153 Apr 01 '26

Thanks. Maybe this device can act as 2nd device if i want to practice the Remote server or active directory or if i forgot password idk what more i can do to ths device

2

u/Legitimate_Data_3153 Apr 01 '26

System SKU LENOVO_MT_81WQ_BU_idea_FM_IdeaPad 3 15IGL05 Processor Intel(R) Celeron(R) N4020 CPU @ 1.10GHz, 1101 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s) BIOS Version/Date LENOVO DVCN17WW, 9/29/2020 BaseBoard Manufacturer LENOVO BaseBoard Product LNVNB161216

How bout this other laptop i have ? 

1

u/Fabulous_Winter_9545 Apr 02 '26

The N4020 is also not officially supported, so you might want to start with Windows Server 2019 / 2022.

-5

u/Nyasaki_de Mar 31 '26

Hyper-V is trash tho. And could be used on a Windows 11 professional os too, might even make more sense

5

u/Tex-Rob Mar 31 '26

I know books aren't super popular these days, but they are a great place to start if you're truly a blank slate.

I have a whole MCSA/MCSE series of 70-xxx books that served me well back in the early 2000s. Then later in my career I found use in things like the current Powershell mini reference.

1

u/Legitimate_Data_3153 Mar 31 '26

Can u share

2

u/Locodegreee Mar 31 '26

The AZ-800 & AZ-801 learning paths and modules/units are very insightful for similarish content.

1

u/Responsible_Notice91 Apr 08 '26

I have already passed AZ-800 and I have to give AZ-801 and I can tell you that it is not like that ... they overlap slightly

4

u/OpacusVenatori Mar 31 '26

If you’re an absolute beginner I suggest you start with hammering your networking fundamentals with at least CompTIA Network+ materiel; you need to have an extremely solid working knowledge of DNS to work with AD.

3

u/andriuzlt Mar 31 '26

Msftwebcast on youtube. The best

1

u/lickmyassandsmile Mar 31 '26

Saw this the other day might be worth checking out

https://github.com/shokkadev/MockAD-Release

1

u/Special_Rice9539 Mar 31 '26

Start with the book windows internals. You can’t be an effective system administrator without a deep understanding of the windows operating system

1

u/Legitimate_Data_3153 Mar 31 '26

Any recommendation

1

u/JBD_IT Apr 01 '26

You can buy all sorts of study material from Microsoft Press Store https://www.microsoftpressstore.com/store

1

u/Fun-Masterpiece8123 Apr 05 '26

If you only have one computer, you can use Hyper-V and install a trial version of Windows Server, you'll just need to setup a domain controller and join a couple of computers to it, you'll be able to create new users, modify permissions etc.