This 5-day course has been designed to teach experienced IT Professionals the essential skills required to administrate a SharePoint 2013 environment. You will learn how to create a new SharePoint Server 2013 farm and to configure it by adding service applications, Web applications, site collections and sites. The course also explains the benefits and details involved with creating tenancies and site subscriptions to manage and configure a set of site collections. This course will teach students how to create and configure service applications and Web application by writing PowerShell scripts in addition to showing how it can be done by hand using Central Administration.

Along the way students will learn about configuring services applications such as Business Data Connectivity Service, Manage Metadata Service, User Profile Service, MySites and the new unified SharePoint Search service. Students will additionally learn how to use the supported tools to monitor the health of a SharePoint farm as well as how to deploy and monitor custom business solutions including custom business applications that have been developed using the new SharePoint App Model. The course also includes a module discussing SharePoint 2013 support for backup and disaster recovering and a module which examines how to migrate content from SharePoint 2010 to a new farm created with SharePoint 2013.

The course can be used to prepare students for the following Microsoft Certification Exams:

• 70-331: Core Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013
• 70-332: Advanced Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013
  

Attendees should have experience working as an IT professional in a Windows network environment and be familiar with installing and configuring Windows Server 2008, Active Directory and SQL Server. It is recommended (but not required) that attendees have user-level experience with any version SharePoint.

Hands-On Lab Requirements

To do the labs students will need to create a virtual machine (VM) that has SharePoint Server 2013 installed and configured. Critical Path Training has developed the CPT Admin Class SharePoint Server 2013 Setup Guide (v1.1), a step-by-step guide on our site to assist with this process. This guide is available in the Members section of our website.

Please note that you do not need to have the virtual machines created in order to attend the webcast.

Course Modules

1. Getting Started with SharePoint 2013
2. Installing SharePoint 2013
3. Topology and Farm Configuration
4. Configuring Security and Authentication
5. Configuring Web Applications
6. Managing Site Collections
7. SharePoint 2013 Service Applications
8. Configuring SharePoint Server 2013 Search
9. Backup, Restore and Disaster Recovery
10. Upgrading Content from SharePoint 2010
    

Course Module Detailed Outline

Module 01: Getting Started with SharePoint 2013

This module introduces the basic architecture of SharePoint 2013 while highlighting the aspects of product which have been enhanced in this new release. There will also be a discussion about which features and services are available with SharePoint Foundation as well as the Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition of SharePoint Server 2013. The first module will conclude with an intensive primer on Windows PowerShell to ensure that all students have the basic skills required to read and write Windows PowerShell scripts which will be an essential skillset for later lectures and labs.

• SharePoint 2013 Architecture
• What's New in SharePoint 2013   
• Windows PowerShell Primer
• Lab Virtual Environment
  

Hands-on Lab: Getting Started with SharePoint Server 2013

• Exercise 1: Copy the Student files folder to the root drive of the WingtipServer VM
• Exercise 2: Working with the Windows PowerShell Console Window
• Exercise 3: Writing and Debugging Windows PowerShell Scripts
• Exercise 4: Using the ActiveDirectory Module to Manage User Accounts and Groups
  

Module 02: Installing SharePoint 2013

This module steps through the details required to prepare for and install SharePoint Server 2013 in an on-premise environment. There will be an initial discussion of the hardware requirements and software requirements for installing SharePoint 2013. The lecture demonstrates how to create dedicated service accounts in Active Directory and how to run the SharePoint 2013 Prerequisite Installer. This module concludes by showing you how to install SharePoint 2013 and how to create a SharePoint 2013 farm and its configuration database.

• Hardware Requirements and Perquisite Software
• Creating Dedicated Service Accounts
• Installing SharePoint Server 2013
• Creating a new SharePoint 2013 Farm
• Getting Around in Central Administration
  

Hands-on Lab: Installing SharePoint Server 2013

• Exercise 1: Create Dedicated Service Accounts in Active Directory
• Exercise 2: Run the SharePoint Server 2013 Prerequisite Installer
• Exercise 3: Install SharePoint Server 2013
• Exercise 4: Getting Around in Central Administration
  

Module 03: Topology and Farm Configuration

This module begins by introducing farm topologies and discusses how to scale a SharePoint 2013 farm by adding additional web servers and application servers that are configured for specific server roles. The lecture will also discuss how to use the Central Administration site to perform day-to-day administrative activities such as configuring managed accounts and time jobs. This module also describes the essential administrative task of creating and configuring service applications within a farm and demonstrates how to accomplish this by hand in Central Administration as well as by writing PowerShell scripts.

• Farm Topologies
• Caching and Request Management
• Configuring Managed Accounts
• Creating and Configuring Service Applications
  

Hands-on Lab: Configuring a SharePoint Server 2013 Farm

• Exercise 1: Working with PowerShell in the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell
• Exercise 2: Working with Managed Timer Jobs
• Exercise 3: Registering Managed Accounts
• Exercise 4: Creating a Service Application Instance by Hand
• Exercise 5: Configuring Service Applications using the Farm Wizard
  

Module 04: Configuring Security and Authentication

This module discusses the SharePoint 2013 options for configuring user authentication and discusses why Microsoft has deprecated Classic Mode authentication in favor of newer Claims-based security model. You will learn how to configure user Windows authentication using Kerberos, NTLM and Basic Authentication as well as how to configure FBA where user names and passwords can be maintained in a SQL Server database. You will also learn the skills required to leverage the Windows Azure Access Control Service (ACS) to configure an on-premise farm to support authentication through external identity providers such as Windows Live and Facebook.

• Application Pools and Service Accounts
• User Authentication in SharePoint 2013
• Configuring Authentication Providers
• Configuring Web Applications
  

Hands-on Lab: Configuring Security

• Exercise 1: Add Active Directory Users as Farm Administrator
• Exercise 2: Configuring Application Pools and Service Accounts
• Exercise 3: Configuring DNS Settings in DNS Manager
• Exercise 4: Create a new Web Application which uses Kerberos Authentication
• Exercise 5: Add Test SSL Certificates to the WingtipServer VM
• Exercise 6: Creating a new Web Application that uses SSL
• Exercise 7: Configure Internet Explorer to Login Automatically
  

Module 05: Configuring Web Applications

This module discusses the essential issues to consider when creating and configuring Web applications within an on-premise farm. You will learn how to create and manage the content databases associated with a Web application as well as how to configure list throttling and site quotas. This lecture also discusses the disciplines and governance strategies which an organization can employ when creating and managing 1000s of sites and site collections in an enterprise environment.

• Creating and Configuring Web Applications
• Managing Site URLs
• Creating Host Header Site Collections
• Self Service Site Creation
• Managing Content Databases
  

Hands-on Lab: Configuring Web Applications

• Exercise 1: Configuring General Web Application Settings
• Exercise 2: Creating a Site Collection using Central Administration
• Exercise 3: Creating Host Header Site Collections
• Exercise 4: Creating Host Header Site Collections using a Wildcard SSL Certificate
  

Module 06: Managing Site Collections

This lecture begins by discussing the standard site templates available in SharePoint 2013 for creating various types of sites such as Team Sites, Blank Site and Publishing Sites. You will learn about capacity planning strategies which can be used to prevent site collections and content databases from growing too large. The module also discusses how permissions and access control are managed within the context of a site collection and then demonstrates the best practice technique of configuring permissions in terms of SharePoint groups. This lecture also introduces the essential concepts of SharePoint tenancies and site subscriptions and shows how creating and configuring SharePoint tenancies provides new options for configuring and managing sites.

• Site Templates
• Site Design
• Site Collection Security
• Understanding Tenancies
• Configuring Subscriptions
  

Hands-on Lab: Creating Site Collections

• Exercise 1: Create a Document Center Site in the Wingtip Intranet
• Exercise 2: Create a Blog Site as a Host Header Site Collection at http://blog.wingtip.com
• Exercise 3: Create a Publishing Site at http://www.wingtip.com
• Exercise 4: Creating a Site Collection in a New Content Database
• Exercise 5: Install and Begin to use Microsoft Office 2013 SharePoint Designer
  

Module 07: SharePoint 2013 Service Applications

The module discusses three essential service applications of SharePoint Server 2013 standard edition including Business Connectivity Services (BCS), the Managed Metadata Service (MMS) and the User Profile Service.

• Service Application Overview
• Business Connectivity Service (BCS)
• Managed Metadata Service (MMS)
• User Profile Service (UPS)
  

Hands-on Lab: Configuring Service Applications

• Exercise 1: Creating the SQL Server Database named WingtipCustomersDB
• Exercise 2: Creating a Secure Store Service Application
• Exercise 3: Create an External Content Type using SharePoint Designer 2013
• Exercise 4: Create an External List Based on the External Content Type
• Exercise 5: Creating the User Profile Service Application
• Exercise 6: Working with MySites
• Exercise 7: Configuring the User Profile Syndication Service
  

Module 08: Configuring SharePoint Server 2013 Search

Previous versions of SharePoint included various search implementations between SharePoint search & FAST search. In SharePoint 2013 Microsoft has merged their search implementations into a single, unified search architecture. This module introduces the new search architecture of SharePoint 2013 and discusses how to use the new search features. In this module students will learn about the search architecture as well as how to leverage it in custom solutions.

• SharePoint 2013 Search Overview
• Configuring Search
• Executing Search Queries
• Search Verticals
• Custom Entity Extraction
  

Hands-on Lab: Configuring Search in SharePoint 2013

• Exercise 1: Creating the Search Service Application
• Exercise 2: Configuring the Search Service Application
• Exercise 3: Executing Search Queries
  

Module 09: Backup, Restore and Disaster Recovery

This module covers the essential strategies required for backing up and restoring content in and across SharePoint 2013 farms. The discussion begins with versioning and the Recycle Bin. Then you will learn to back up and restore site collections, Content Databases and entire farms using Windows PowerShell scripts and by hand through Central Administration. The modules conclude with a discussion of how to prepare for disaster recovery so that you can restore a SharePoint 2013 farm in the event of catastrophic server failure.

• Overview
• Versioning and Restoring Documents
• Configuring Recycle Bin Behavior
• Backing up and Restoring Content
• Disaster Recovery
• High Availability
  

Hands-on Lab: Backing Up and Restoring Content

• Exercise 1: Create Some Content to Back Up
• Exercise 2: Back up the Product Management Site with PowerShell and SQL
• Exercise 3: Recover Deleted Information using Central Administration 
  

Module 10: Upgrading Content from SharePoint 2010

This module focuses on what is required to upgrade content from SharePoint 2010 farms to SharePoint 2013. You will learn how to use the database attach strategy to migrate site content from a SharePoint 2010 farm to a SharePoint 2013 farm. You will also learn which SharePoint service applications offer a strategy to migrate their content and which do not. The module also introduces the concepts and mechanisms involved with the Visual Upgrade feature which allows users to begin working migrated sites using the SharePoint 2010 UI mode and then after a time to switch over to the standard UI mode of SharePoint 2013.

• Upgrade Concepts and Terminology
• Migrating Content with Database Attach
• Upgrading Site Collections
• UI Modes
  

Hands-on Lab: Upgrading Content from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint 2013

• Exercise 1: Preparing SharePoint 2010 Content Databases for Upgrade
• Exercise 2: Restoring the SharePoint 2010 Content Database in a SharePoint 2013 Farm
• Exercise 3: Mounting the Restored Content Database