Windows networking: ipconfig, netsh, PowerShell
You manage network settings, DNS and DHCP roles and SMB shares on Windows clients and servers from the command line, and solve problems in networks mixed with Linux.
Level 201 · 15 lessons · 12 practice labs
Lessons
The Windows client
- ipconfig and network adapters
- Setting addresses and DNS with netsh
- Networking in PowerShell: Get-NetIPConfiguration, Test-NetConnection
- Name resolution order on Windows: hosts, DNS, LLMNR, NetBIOS
- Short task: find out why a Windows client cannot reach the domain
Windows server roles
- Windows DNS server and AD-integrated zones
- Windows DHCP server: scopes and reservations
- SMB shares and their permissions
- Windows Firewall profiles and rules
- Short task: create a DHCP scope and DNS record for a branch
In a mixed environment
- Registering Linux machines in Windows DNS
- Turning off LLMNR, NetBIOS and SMBv1
- Capturing packets on Windows with pktmon and netsh trace
- Short task: fix a name resolution problem between Linux and Windows
Wrap-up
- Capstone: put the network services of a small Windows site in order
Practice labs
- The Windows client has a 169.254 address: Diagnose with ipconfig and PowerShell that the client got no DHCP lease, fix the adapter, renew the address and show the domain controller is reachable with Test-NetConnection.
- Cannot join the domain: wrong DNS: Correct the manually set wrong DNS server on the client with netsh or Set-DnsClientServerAddress, show the SRV records resolving and join the machine to the domain.
- A dual-NIC client takes the wrong path: Solve the interface metric, default route and DNS order problems on a dual-adapter Windows client and prove with Find-NetRoute that internal and external traffic leave through the right adapter.
- A site opens everywhere except on one machine: Find in the hosts file and DNS cache why one client resolves the name to the wrong address, clean it up and show the right answer with Resolve-DnsName.
- Turn off the legacy name-resolution protocols: Disable LLMNR and NetBIOS name resolution on the lab Windows clients with Group Policy and show in a packet capture that these broadcasts have stopped.
- Windows cannot find the Linux server by name: Use a pktmon capture to find why the Linux server at Tulip Pharmacy is not registered in Windows DNS and why the search suffix is wrong, fix the dynamic or static record and show resolution in both directions.
- The printer’s address changes every day: Create a reservation for the printer’s MAC address on the Windows DHCP server, add its A record in DNS and show the printer is reachable by name.
- Branch clients get addresses but cannot reach the internet: Fix the wrong router and DNS options in the branch scope, set the lease time and show with ipconfig /all that a client receives the correct options.
- DNS is full of stale records: List clashing and stale records in the AD-integrated zone with PowerShell, enable aging and scavenging with safe values and produce a report showing in advance which records will be removed.
- Access denied on a share: Find the conflict between share permission and NTFS permission on the accounting share, fix it on least privilege and show the result with two different users.
- The server suddenly vanished from the network: Use Get-NetConnectionProfile and the firewall log to find which rules closed when the server’s profile switched to Public, fix the profile and open only the necessary ports.
- SMB and firewall clean-up for a small site: Find the machines using SMBv1 at Oakmere Studios’ Windows site, disable SMBv1, require signing and report whether a legacy device is affected and how to migrate it.
About this course
You manage network settings, DNS and DHCP roles and SMB shares on Windows clients and servers from the command line, and solve problems in networks mixed with Linux.
What you will learn
- The Windows client
- Windows server roles
- In a mixed environment
- Wrap-up
Prerequisites
Finishing the level 101 courses of the same path, or knowing those topics, is enough.
Lab environment
Lessons run in a Kali Linux terminal in the browser and in a practice domain (CORP.LAB) set up separately for every lab. Nothing to install.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this course right for my level?
- The course is at level 201; it assumes you know the topics of the lower-level courses.
- Is there anything to install?
- No. Every lesson runs in your own lab environment that opens in the browser.
- How do lessons work?
- Each lesson has 8 to 10 steps and a short quiz. Early steps show the command to type, later steps give less help; if two attempts fail, the solution opens.
- Can I try it for free?
- Yes. The first three lessons of every course are free.