Server Administration Essential Training:
Manage, Maintain Storage, Networking,
Security, and Troubleshooting
with Jarrel Rivera
Server Essentials
Reference Links:
Description Hyperlink
IT Asset Management, NIST SP 1800-5 [Link]
Example of a server motherboard, [Link]
from SuperMicro motherboard/x14dbi
Example of GPU server systems, [Link]
from SuperMicro
Ubuntu server, download link [Link]
Ubuntu Tutorial page [Link]
monitoring-log-files#1-overview
VirtualBox, download link [Link]
Windows Admin Center [Link]
server/windows-admin-center
Windows Server 2025, download link [Link]
from Evaluation Center download-windows-server-2025
Windows 11, download link from [Link]
Evaluation Center download-windows-11-enterprise
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Hardware requirements:
Ubuntu Server Windows Server 2025
Requirement (Minimum) (Minimum)
Processor 1 GHz x86-64-v2 processor
512 MB (Server Core) / 2 GB
RAM 512 MB (Desktop Experience)
Hard Disk
Space 2.5 GB 32 GB
Ethernet connection Ethernet adapter (1 Gbit/s throughput) or
Network for updates 802.11 wireless
Display Not strictly required 1024 x 768 (for certain features)
UEFI 2.3.1c with Secure Boot
Firmware Not strictly required (for certain features)
Security Not strictly required TPM 2.0 (for certain features)
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Common ports and protocols
Protocol Port(s) Description
DHCP 67, 68 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(assigns IP addresses to devices)
DNS 53 Domain Name System
(resolves domain names to IP addresses)
FTP 20, 21 File transfer
FTPS 989, 990 File transfer
HTTP 80 Basic web content
HTTPS 443 Secure web content (SSL/TLS encrypted)
IMAP 143, 993 Email retrieval where messages remain on the server
POP3 110, 995 Email retrieval where messages are stored on the client
RDP 3389 Remote desktop management
SMTP 25, 587 Sending email between servers
SSH 22 Secure Shell
Telnet 23 Terminal emulation (older method)
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Active Directory: Forest, Tree, and Domain
• The forest encompasses all trees and domains
• A tree is a collection of one or more connected domains within the forest
• The domain refers to the individual groups of related resources within a tree
Active Directory: Understanding Group Scopes and Group Types
• Group Scopes:
−− Domain Local: Can include users, groups, and computers from
any domain. Used to assign permissions within the same domain
−− Global: Can include users, groups, and computers from the same
domain. Used to assign permissions in any domain
−− Universal: Can include users, groups, and computers from any
domain. Used to assign permissions in any domain or forest
• Group Types:
−− Security Groups: Used to assign permissions to resources
−− Distribution Groups: Used for email distribution lists
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Understanding RAID
RAID Level Minimum Key Benefits
Disks
RAID 0 (Striping) 2 * High performance (fast read/write speeds)
RAID 1 (Mirroring) 2 * High data redundancy (data protection)
RAID 5 (Striping with Parity) 3 * Balance of performance and redundancy
RAID 6 (Striping with Dual Parity) 4 * High redundancy (tolerates two drive failures)
RAID 10 (Mirroring and Striping) 4 * High performance and high redundancy
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NTFS Permission
Permission Allows Allows Allows Allows Allows Allows Allows Allows
Type Viewing Running Creating Reading Modifying Deleting Changing Taking
Files Executables Files/Folders Files/Folders Files/Folders Files/Folders Permissions Ownership
Full Control
Modify
Read &
Execute
List Folder (Sees (Sees names
Contents names only)
only)
Read
Write (Modifies
existing files)
Special (Granular (Granular (Granular (Granular (Granular (Granular (Granular (Granular
Permissions control) control) control) control) control) control) control) control)
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Share Permission
Share Allows Allows Allows Allows Allows Allows Allows
Permission Reading Running Creating Modifying Deleting Changing Taking
Files Executables Files/Folders Files/Folders Files/Folders NTFS Ownership
Permissions
Full Control
Change
Read
Linux Permission
Linux Permission Files Directories
Read (r) Allows viewing the contents of the file. Allows listing the contents of the directory.
Write (w) Allows modifying the contents of the file. Allows creating or deleting files within the directory.
Execute (x) Allows running the file as a program (if it’s executable). Allows entering (navigating into) the directory.
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Storage Management: MBR vs. GPT
Feature MBR (Master Boot Record) GPT (GUID Partition Table)
Partition Table Stored in the first sector of the Stored in multiple locations on
Location drive (the Master Boot Record) the drive, including a backup copy
at the end
Maximum Limited to 2TB (terabytes) Theoretically unlimited, but
Disk Size typically limited by operating
system and hardware constraints
Maximum Four primary partitions, or three Up to 128 partitions by default
Partitions primary and one extended partition in Windows, and theoretically
(which can contain logical partitions) unlimited
Boot Mode Primarily used with BIOS (Basic Typically used with UEFI (Unified
Input/Output System) boot mode Extensible Firmware Interface)
boot mode, but can also work
with BIOS in some cases
Partition IDs Uses a single byte for partition type Uses GUIDs (Globally Unique
IDs, limiting the range of types Identifiers) for partition type IDs,
allowing for a vast range of types
and future expansion
Data Integrity Prone to single-point-of-failure Provides better data integrity
issues (if the MBR is corrupted, through CRC (Cyclic Redundancy
the disk becomes inaccessible) Check) checks and backup
partition table locations
Operating Compatible with older operating Requires operating systems that
System systems and BIOS-based systems support UEFI and is the standard
Compatibility for modern systems
Redundancy No inherent redundancy for the Redundant backups of the partition
partition table table ensure greater reliability
Complexity Simpler structure, but limited More complex structure, but
capabilities significantly more capable and
robust
Boot Process Relies on the boot code in the Uses UEFI boot loaders stored in
MBR to load the operating system separate partitions
Modern Legacy standard Modern standard
Standards
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Storage Management: Windows Commands
Command/Cmdlet Description Purpose
diskpart Disk partitioning utility A powerful command-line tool for managing
(CMD) disks, partitions, and volumes that allows
for creation, deletion, formatting, and
management of disk partitions
chkdsk Check disk (CMD) Scans a disk for file system errors and bad
sectors; attempts to repair found errors
format Format a disk (CMD) Formats a disk partition with a specified
file system, erasing all partition data
fsutil File system utility Provides a range of file system tasks,
(CMD) including sparse file, hard link, and
volume behavior management
wmic logicaldisk Windows Management Allows for querying information regarding
Instrumentation logical disks. For example, you can check
Command-line (CMD) drive space or drive information
defrag Disk Defragmenter Command-line use of the Windows
(CMD) Disk Defragmenter helps to optimize
drive performance by consolidating
fragmented files
mountvol Mount volume (CMD) Creates, deletes, or lists volume mount
points
Get-Disk Gets disk objects Retrieves information about physical disks
(PowerShell)
Get-Partition Gets partition objects Retrieves information about disk partitions
(PowerShell)
Format-Volume Formats a volume Formats a specified volume with a
(PowerShell) file system
Get-Volume Gets volume objects Retrieves information about volumes
(PowerShell)
Resize-Partition Resizes a partition Allows for the resizing of partitions
(PowerShell)
Clear-Disk Clears a disk Removes all partition information and
(PowerShell) uninitializes a disk, erasing all data
Get-StoragePool Gets storage pool Retrieves information about storage pools
objects (PowerShell)
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Sample Script: Disk Cleanup
@echo off
echo Starting disk cleanup...
cleanmgr /sagerun:1
echo Removing temporary files...
del /q/f %temp%\*.*
del /q/f C:\Windows\Temp\*.*
echo Cleanup complete.
Sample Script: Log Rotation
#!/bin/bash
LOG_FILE=”/var/log/apache2/[Link]”
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
BACKUP_DIR=”/var/log/apache2/logs_backup”
# Create backup directory if it doesn’t exist
mkdir -p “$BACKUP_DIR”
# Rotate the log file
mv “$LOG_FILE” “$BACKUP_DIR/access-$[Link]”
# Restart the web server to create a new log file
systemctl restart apache2
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