Microsoft Updated AZ-800 Exam Questions and Answers by reya

To collect the recommended Windows Performance Counters from SRV1 in a Log Analytics workspace, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Access the Log Analytics Workspace Log in to the Azure portal and navigate to your Log Analytics workspace.

Step 2: Configure Performance Counters In the Log Analytics workspace, select Advanced settings and then choose Data > Windows Performance Counters1. You can add the recommended performance counters by selecting the + button. If you’re using legacy agent management, you can add counters from the Legacy agents management menu2.

Step 3: Add Performance Counters Select the counters you want to collect. You can add common counters quickly by checking the boxes next to them. For specific counters, enter the name of the counter in the format object(instance)\counter. For example, to collect the Processor Time counter for all instances of the Processor object, specify Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time.

Step 4: Set Sample Interval When adding a counter, you can set the sample interval, which is the frequency at which data is collected. The default is 10 seconds, but you can change this to a higher value if needed.

Step 5: Apply Configuration After adding the desired performance counters, select Apply at the top of the screen to save the configuration.

Step 6: Install and Configure the Agent Ensure that the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) is installed on SRV1. Configure the agent to report to your Log Analytics workspace by specifying the workspace ID and key during setup.

Step 7: Verify Data Collection After the agent is configured, it will start collecting the specified performance counters. You can verify the data collection in the Log Analytics workspace by running queries against the collected data.

Note: The legacy Log Analytics agent will be deprecated by August 2024. Migrate to the Azure Monitor agent before this date to continue ingesting data3.

By following these steps, you should be able to collect the recommended Windows Performance Counters from SRV1 in your Log Analytics workspace. Ensure that you have the necessary permissions and that SRV1 has network connectivity to Azure services.

TASK 4

???? Objective:

Enforce a minimum password length of 12 characters for members of the BranchAdmins group only.

Step-by-Step Guide: Fine-Grained Password Policy (FGPP)

✅ Step 1: Verify Forest Functional Level

Fine-grained password policies require the forest functional level to be at least Windows Server 2008.

On a DC, open Active Directory Domains and Trusts (domain.msc).

Right-click the domain and select Raise Forest Functional Level to verify.

If it’s lower, consider raising it (requires caution and planning).

✅ Step 2: Open the Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC)

On a DC or management server, open ADAC:

Press Windows + R, type dsac.exe, and hit Enter.

✅ Step 3: Create a Fine-Grained Password Policy

In ADAC, in the left pane, expand the domain (e.g., contoso.com) and click System > Password Settings Container.

In the right pane, right-click and select New > Password Settings.

✅ Step 4: Configure the Password Policy

Name: e.g., BranchAdminsPSO.

Precedence: e.g., 1 (lower number = higher priority).

Minimum password length: 12.

Configure other settings as required (leave them at default if not specified).

In Directly Applies To, click Add.

Search for and select the BranchAdmins group.

Click OK.

✅ Step 5: Confirm and Apply

Click OK to create the policy.

It’s now linked directly to the BranchAdmins group, affecting only its members.

✅ Step 6: Verify the Policy

You can use PowerShell to confirm that the PSO is applied:

Get-ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy -Identity "username"

Replace "username" with a user from the BranchAdmins group. The output will show the minimum password length (should be 12).

TASK 7

???? Objective:

Attach the VHDX file c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx to VM1 so it can dynamically expand when VM1 is running.

Step-by-Step Guide

✅ Step 1: Verify the VHDX File Type

Dynamic expansion means the virtual disk type should be dynamic (not fixed).

Let’s verify the disk type of Disk1.vhdx:

powershell

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Get-VHD -Path "c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx"

In the output, ensure that VhdType shows Dynamic.

If it’s not dynamic, convert it:

powershell

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Convert-VHD -Path "c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx" -DestinationPath "c:\vhds\Disk1_dynamic.vhdx" -VHDType Dynamic

✅ Step 2: Attach the VHDX to VM1

Use PowerShell to add the disk to VM1:

powershell

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Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "VM1" -Path "c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx"

✅ Or do it via Hyper-V Manager:

Open Hyper-V Manager.

Select VM1 and go to Settings.

In the left pane, select SCSI Controller (recommended for hot-add).

Click Add Hard Drive.

Browse and select c:\vhds\Disk1.vhdx.

Click Apply and OK.

✅ Step 3: Verify Hot-Add Support (Optional)

If VM1 is running Windows Server 2012 or later and uses a SCSI Controller, the VHDX can be added without shutting down the VM.

✅ Step 4: Verify the Disk in the VM

Inside VM1, open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).

The newly attached disk should appear as unallocated.

Initialize it, create a volume, and format if needed.

Summary

VHDX file type: Must be dynamic for expanding.

Hot-adding supported if attached via SCSI Controller and OS supports it.

Now Disk1.vhdx is attached to VM1 and can expand dynamically.

One possible solution to monitor the security configuration of DC1 by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud is to use the Guest Configuration feature. Guest Configuration is a service that audits settings inside Linux and Windows virtual machines (VMs) to assess their compliance with your organization’s security policies. You can use Guest Configuration to monitor the security baseline settings for Windows Server in the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal by following these steps:

On DC1, open a web browser and go to the folder named \dc1.contoso.com\install. Download the Guest Configuration extension file (GuestConfiguration.msi) and save it to a local folder, such as C:\Temp.

Run the Guest Configuration extension file and follow the installation wizard. You can choose to install the extension for all users or only for the current user. For more information on how to install the Guest Configuration extension, see Install the Guest Configuration extension.

After the installation is complete, sign in to the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal (2).

In the left pane, select Security Center and then Recommendations.

In the recommendations list, find and select Vulnerabilities in security configuration on your Windows machines should be remediated (powered by Guest Configuration).

In the Remediate Security Configurations page, you can see the compliance status of your Windows VMs, including DC1, based on the Azure Compute Benchmark. The Azure Compute Benchmark is a set of rules that define the desired configuration state of your VMs. You can also see the number of failed, passed, and skipped rules for each VM. For more information on the Azure Compute Benchmark, see Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Azure compute benchmark is now available.

To view the details of the security configuration of DC1, click on the VM name and then select View details. You can see the list of rules that apply to DC1 and their compliance status. You can also see the severity, description, and remediation steps for each rule. For example, you can see if DC1 has the latest security updates installed, if the firewall is enabled, if the password policy is enforced, and so on.

To monitor the security configuration of DC1 over time, you can use the Compliance over time chart, which shows the trend of compliance status for DC1 in the past 30 days. You can also use the Compliance breakdown chart, which shows the distribution of compliance status for DC1 by rule severity.

By using Guest Configuration, you can monitor the security configuration of DC1 by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud and ensure that it meets your organization’s security standards. You can also use Guest Configuration to monitor the security configuration of other Windows and Linux VMs in your Azure environment.