Administering Windows Server 2012 Case Studies & Practical Application 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A company's branch office has unreliable WAN connectivity. Users report that logging on takes several minutes when the WAN is slow. Which technology should you implement to improve logon times at the branch?
- DirectAccess
- BranchCache in Hosted Cache mode
- Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC) (Correct answer)
- VPN with split tunneling
Correct answer: Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC)
An RODC caches credentials locally, allowing users to authenticate without traversing the WAN when connectivity is poor.
Question 2: After deploying a new application, users in one OU cannot access it due to AppLocker rules. Administrators in another OU can run it fine. What is the most likely cause?
- The application is not digitally signed
- AppLocker GPO is linked to the users' OU blocking the executable (Correct answer)
- The application requires elevation and UAC is blocking it
- Windows Firewall is blocking the application's port
Correct answer: AppLocker GPO is linked to the users' OU blocking the executable
AppLocker policies are applied via Group Policy and a restrictive rule linked to the users' OU would block execution for those users only.
Question 3: A storage administrator needs to ensure that a critical volume is never filled by a single user. Which Windows Server 2012 feature should be configured?
- Storage Spaces with parity
- File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) quotas (Correct answer)
- Dynamic disks with volume extension
- Data Deduplication
Correct answer: File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) quotas
FSRM quotas let administrators set hard or soft limits on how much disk space individual users or folders can consume.
Question 4: A server running Hyper-V has a virtual machine that requires more RAM than is physically available. The VM occasionally experiences performance issues. Which Hyper-V feature can help without adding physical RAM?
- Virtual NUMA
- Dynamic Memory (Correct answer)
- RemoteFX
- VM Queue (VMQ)
Correct answer: Dynamic Memory
Dynamic Memory allows Hyper-V to adjust the amount of RAM allocated to a VM at runtime based on workload demands.
Question 5: An organization needs to allow external partners to access internal SharePoint resources without creating domain accounts. Which Windows Server 2012 solution is most appropriate?
- Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) (Correct answer)
- Network Policy Server (NPS)
- Web Application Proxy
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
Correct answer: Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)
AD FS enables federated identity, allowing external partners to authenticate using their own identity providers without needing internal AD accounts.
Question 6: A Windows Server 2012 server hosts several websites on IIS. After a configuration change, one site returns HTTP 503 errors. What is the most likely cause?
- The website's SSL certificate has expired
- The application pool associated with the site has stopped (Correct answer)
- Windows Firewall is blocking port 80
- The site's IP binding conflicts with another site
Correct answer: The application pool associated with the site has stopped
HTTP 503 Service Unavailable typically means the application pool serving the site has crashed or been stopped.
Question 7: A security audit reveals that local administrator accounts on member servers have the same password across the environment. Which Group Policy setting should you configure to mitigate lateral movement risk?
- Enable the Built-in Administrator account rename policy
- Deploy Microsoft Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) (Correct answer)
- Set Minimum Password Age to 1 day via Default Domain Policy
- Configure Account Lockout Threshold via Fine-Grained Password Policy
Correct answer: Deploy Microsoft Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS)
LAPS automatically randomizes and rotates the local administrator password on each machine, storing it securely in Active Directory.
Administering Windows Server 2012 Case Studies & Practical Application 2
A company's branch office has unreliable WAN connectivity.
Users report that logging on takes several minutes when the WAN is slow.
Which technology should you implement to improve logon times at the branch?