Publication in the Diário da República: Despacho n.º 12805/2021 - 29/12/2021
6 ECTS; 2º Ano, Anual, 70,0 TP , Cód. 602434.
Lecturer
- Telmo Alexandre Mendes Pereira da Silva (1)(2)
(1) Lead Professor
(2) Teaching Professor
Prerequisites
Not applicable
Objectives
1. Plan the infrastructure of a small business network, defining the topology, services, priorities and functional requirements of a Windows server.
2. Install, configure and maintain Windows Server 2025 in a virtualised environment, applying network, firewall, update and role configuration.
3. Implement Active Directory Domain Services, including domain, organisational units, users, groups, permissions and group policies, managed through the graphical interface and PowerShell.
4. Administer essential Windows Server services: file sharing and NTFS permissions, IIS with HTTPS, secure file transfer, SQL Server Express and remote access.
5. Apply the principle of least privilege to accounts, permissions and services, and justify the exposure surface of a server.
6. Perform remote management tasks with PowerShell Remoting, using automation scripts, health checks, remote service installation and troubleshooting.
7. Develop, publish and maintain a .NET 10 WebAPI integrated with Active Directory and SQL Server, as a proof of concept of software and infrastructure integration.
8. Implement and test backup and restore procedures, and draw up a continuity plan proportionate to the context.
9. Apply diagnostic and troubleshooting methodologies, including event log analysis, connectivity testing and resolution of faults in a controlled environment.
10. Assess the life cycle of the technologies used and draw up a reasoned migration plan.
11. Use automated assistance tools in systems administration, critically verifying and documenting the results obtained.
12. Document, present and defend a final project, including architecture, configuration, scripts, tests and critical analysis.
Program
I Virtualisation and server installation
1. Local network architecture and planning of core services.
2. Virtualisation: hypervisors, virtual machine sizing and snapshot management.
3. Installation of Windows Server 2025.
4. Base configuration: server name, addressing, time synchronisation and updates.
II Networking, service exposure and diagnostics
1. Network attachment modes in virtualised environments; service network and management network.
2. Dynamic and static addressing; implications for a server.
3. Windows Firewall and exposure surface management, with a dedicated rule per service.
4. HTTP and HTTPS, RDP, FTPS, SFTP, LDAP and TDS protocols.
5. Network and service testing with PowerShell and native tools.
III Identity, files and servers
1. Active Directory Domain Services, including the name service associated with the domain.
2. Organisational units, users, groups and permissions.
3. SMB shares, NTFS permissions and effective permissions.
4. Least privilege, service accounts and credential management.
5. Group Policy: security policies, user policies and logon scripts.
6. IIS: sites, bindings, application pools, certificates and HTTPS.
7. Secure file transfer: FTPS and SFTP.
8. SQL Server Express and SQL Server Management Studio: remote access, backup and restore.
9. Remote Desktop: activation, permissions and access restriction.
IV Services and applications
1. .NET 10 development: WebAPI and CRUD models.
2. Proof of concept: reading Active Directory objects and writing to SQL Server through the WebAPI.
3. Publishing to IIS (.NET Hosting Bundle) and the republishing cycle.
4. Testing with OpenAPI and Swagger.
5. Application troubleshooting: IIS logs, event logs, ports, permissions and firewall.
V PowerShell and automation
1. Core cmdlets: services, processes, disk, network and event logs.
2. Script execution and execution policies.
3. PowerShell administration of Active Directory, IIS and SQL Server.
4. PowerShell Remoting (WinRM): remote sessions, remote execution and remote installation of roles and features.
5. Health check, diagnostic and maintenance scripts; task scheduling.
VI Operations, continuity and life cycle
1. Server and system state backup and restore; restore testing.
2. Monitoring, event logs and log analysis.
3. Fault diagnosis in a controlled environment.
4. Product life cycle and migration planning.
5. Verified use of automated assistance tools.
Evaluation Methodology
All three assessment modes (continuous assessment, exam and resit exam) share the same structure and weighting: practical project (50%), technical report (25%) and oral presentation and defence (25%).
Practical project: a complete Windows Server infrastructure, covering identity, services, security, remote automation and continuity.
Technical report: architecture, configurations, scripts, tests, migration plan and a record of AI tool use.
Oral defence: demonstration of the solution, execution of a change requested on the spot, diagnosis of a fault introduced by the lecturer and justification of technical choices.
The project may be individual or done in pairs. For pairs, the defence includes an individual component, and each student's performance adjusts their mark for the project and report by a factor between 0.5 and 1.0.
AI tools may be used to prepare the work, subject to mandatory disclosure and documented verification of results. They may not be used during in-person assessment.
Bibliography
Teaching Method
Theory-practice classes with live demonstration, assisted replication in each student's environment and autonomous rebuilding in the project. Each procedure is carried out via the graphical interface and PowerShell. Resolution of real faults.
Software used in class
Microsoft Windows Server 2025; Microsoft Windows 10/11; Oracle VirtualBox; Microsoft Visual Studio 2026; Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Express; SQL Server Management Studio; .NET 10 SDK e .NET Hosting Bundle; Windows PowerShell 5.1 e PowerShell 7; OpenSSH para Windows; Sysinternals ADExplorer.
