Exam 70-417: Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012 Practice Test
Exam 70-417 addresses upgrading Windows Server skills to Windows Server 2012, including server migration, role and feature deployment, file services, remote administration, and virtualization. The available practice questions sample practical choices such as selecting an in-place upgrade method, enabling offline files, configuring Hyper-V virtual disks, and using PowerShell to manage servers.
Exam overview
About the Exam 70-417: Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012 Exam
Windows Server 2012 administration calls for matching built-in services and tools to operational requirements. Relevant decisions include choosing certificate services for an internal public key infrastructure, using PowerShell remoting for network-based administration, and selecting a file system based on integrity and metadata features. Server maintenance tasks can involve configuring service recovery behavior, testing connectivity with ICMP, and installing roles with their management tools. Migration scenarios require distinguishing an in-place upgrade from a clean installation, while file and branch-office scenarios may involve offline synchronization or caching to reduce WAN traffic. Virtualization work includes understanding dynamically expanding virtual disks and their capacity behavior. These skills support administrators maintaining Windows Server environments, moving workloads from earlier releases, and configuring infrastructure services to meet client access and availability needs.
Sample Practice Questions
Review a selection from this exam's published US Practice Tests practice bank.
A company wants to deploy a Microsoft-issued certificate to a server so that clients can validate the server's identity during a TLS connection. Which Windows Server role provides an internal public key infrastructure for issuing certificates?
Show answer
Correct answer: AActive Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) can provide certification authority services for issuing and managing certificates in an organization's public key infrastructure. AD DS manages directory identities, AD RMS protects information usage, and Remote Desktop Services provides remote-session capabilities.
A company is moving a small, noncritical file server from Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2012 R2. Which method installs the new operating system while preserving the existing server's installed applications and settings?
Show answer
Correct answer: AAn in-place upgrade can preserve applications, settings, and data when the source edition, architecture, language, and upgrade path meet the operating system's requirements. A clean installation or migration to a new server does not preserve installed applications in this way.
A company wants to make centrally stored user files available offline on supported Windows client computers, with synchronization when connectivity returns. Which Windows Server feature is intended for this purpose?
Show answer
Correct answer: AOffline Files lets users access configured network files while disconnected and synchronizes changes when the connection is restored, subject to configuration and conflict handling. The other features address traffic distribution, storage pooling, and backup.
An administrator wants to manage a Windows Server 2012 R2 computer remotely using PowerShell cmdlets over a network connection. Which technology enables this remote PowerShell session?
Show answer
Correct answer: AWindows PowerShell Remoting uses Windows Remote Management (WinRM) to run commands and establish PowerShell sessions on remote computers. Remote Assistance is for interactive support, while BranchCache and Offline Files concern content access and synchronization.
A virtual machine hosted on Windows Server 2012 R2 must use a virtual disk that can grow as data is written, rather than reserving its maximum capacity immediately. Which virtual disk type meets this requirement?
Show answer
Correct answer: BA dynamically expanding VHDX grows as the guest writes data, up to its configured maximum size. A fixed-size disk reserves its capacity in advance, while a pass-through disk uses a physical disk directly; a differencing disk requires a parent disk.
A Windows Server 2012 R2 computer has a service that should start automatically after a failure, but the administrator wants to avoid repeated restart attempts if the service continues to fail. Where should the administrator configure the restart count and delay?
Show answer
Correct answer: AThe Recovery tab in a service's properties configures actions such as restarting the service after a failure, including restart delays and subsequent-failure behavior. The other tools configure scheduled-task conditions, firewall rules, or performance collection.
A Windows Server 2012 R2 system has a data volume formatted with NTFS. An administrator wants to use features such as integrity streams and metadata checksumming on a new volume. Which file system should be considered?
Show answer
Correct answer: CResilient File System (ReFS) was designed for improved data integrity and resilience, including metadata integrity checking. FAT32, exFAT, and CDFS do not provide those ReFS capabilities.
How to use this practice test
The free practice session draws up to 20 random questions from the 50-question bank. Work through the scenarios by identifying the Windows Server feature, tool, or configuration that fits each requirement. Results appear after the session, so you can review performance and identify topics to revisit.
Preparation tips
- Compare in-place upgrades with clean installations, including which existing applications and settings each approach preserves.
- Practice identifying the roles of AD CS, Offline Files, BranchCache, and PowerShell remoting in common administration scenarios.
- Review how NTFS and ReFS differ, and connect ReFS integrity features to volume requirements.
- In Hyper-V exercises, distinguish dynamically expanding virtual disks from fixed-size disks and consider how capacity is allocated.
- Use PowerShell examples to install roles and features, then practice checking host connectivity with ping and configuring service recovery actions.