Mastering Active Directory Automation and Security for Enterprise Efficiency
You’re not just managing users and groups anymore. You’re safeguarding enterprise integrity, ensuring compliance, and driving operational velocity across thousands of endpoints. One misstep in Active Directory can cascade into system-wide outages or bypass critical security controls. The pressure is real. And the expectation to deliver flawless, scalable automation and ironclad security? It’s not optional - it’s job one. Yet many administrators are stuck. Using outdated scripts, reinventing solutions, or applying fragmented fixes that barely last until the next audit. The result? Recurring fires, leadership doubt, and your expertise undervalued - when you should be seen as the backbone of digital resilience. Mastering Active Directory Automation and Security for Enterprise Efficiency is not another theoretical training. This is a high-precision operational blueprint designed for senior IT engineers, security architects, and infrastructure leads who are done with patchwork fixes. This course equips you to build self-healing identity systems, automate complex provisioning at scale, and embed zero-trust principles directly into Active Directory workflows. One learner, David R., Lead Systems Architect at a Fortune 500 financial institution, used the course methodology to cut Active Directory provisioning time from 3 days to under 17 minutes - while simultaneously passing a federal compliance audit with zero findings. “The automation templates and security benchmark framework in this course were plug-and-play for our environment,” he reported. “It changed how our leadership views IT - from cost center to strategic enabler.” No more guesswork. No more last-minute scrambles before audits. This is your path from reactive maintenance to proactive control, from survival mode to strategic influence. From being overwhelmed to being indispensable. Here’s how this course is structured to help you get there.Course Format & Delivery Details Self-Paced, On-Demand Learning Designed for Real-World Demands
This course is fully self-paced with immediate online access. There are no fixed dates, attendance requirements, or time-based modules. You progress through the material at your own speed, on your schedule. Most learners report completing core automation workflows and implementing initial security hardening protocols in under 21 days. Full mastery - including integration with existing enterprise tooling - typically takes 6 to 8 weeks of consistent engagement. Unlimited, Lifetime Access with Ongoing Updates
Once enrolled, you receive lifetime access to all course materials. This includes every current module, template, tool guide, and diagnostic checklist. Our team continuously updates the curriculum to reflect emerging threats, Microsoft policy changes, and evolving enterprise automation standards - all updates are provided at no extra cost. All content is 24/7 accessible from any location and fully mobile-friendly. Whether you're reviewing PowerShell automation logic from your phone during downtime or deploying Group Policy templates remotely, the material adapts to your workflow. Direct Instructor Support & Expert Guidance
Each enrollee receives direct access to our team of certified infrastructure architects with over 15 years of enterprise Active Directory deployment experience. You can submit questions, request template reviews, and gain clarification on complex scenarios - all through a secure, private learning portal. Responses are typically delivered within 24 business hours, ensuring you’re never blocked. Certificate of Completion from The Art of Service
Upon finishing the course requirements, you will earn a globally recognised Certificate of Completion issued by The Art of Service. This credential is cited by professionals in 67 countries and acknowledged by hiring managers in regulated industries including finance, healthcare, and government. It validates your ability to design, deploy, and maintain secure, automated Active Directory environments at enterprise scale. Transparent Pricing with No Hidden Fees
The course fee includes full access to all modules, templates, labs, and support services. There are no additional charges, no premium tiers, and no unlockable content. What you see is what you get - complete, unrestricted access from day one. Accepted Payment Methods
We accept Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and major corporate purchasing methods. Secure checkout is fully encrypted, and your information is never shared or stored beyond transaction processing. Zero-Risk Enrollment Guarantee
If you complete the first three modules and do not believe this course will significantly improve your operational efficiency, security posture, or career trajectory, simply contact support for a full refund. No forms, no hassles. We remove the risk so you can focus on results. Access Confirmation Process
After enrollment, you will receive an automated confirmation email. Your official access details, including login credentials and course entry instructions, will be sent separately in a follow-up message once your account is fully provisioned and your materials are ready for delivery. Tailored for Senior Practitioners - This Works Even If...
You’ve been using Active Directory for years but still face recurring group membership errors. You’re under pressure to meet SOX, HIPAA, or NIST compliance, but your team lacks standardised procedures. Your current scripts are fragile, undocumented, and break after minor OS updates. This course works even if your environment is hybrid, uses legacy applications, or has inherited technical debt. We provide environment-agnostic frameworks, migration paths, and compatibility matrices so you can modernise without disruption. Our learners include Active Directory administrators at major defense contractors, healthcare CIOs, and cloud infrastructure leads at multinational banks. The consistency? They all needed a repeatable, auditable, and secure automation strategy - and found it here. Confidence Through Risk Reversal
Not only do you get lifetime access and ongoing updates, but we back it with a results-focused guarantee. This isn’t about consuming content - it’s about proving capability. You will exit with a portfolio of actionable automation scripts, a custom security benchmark, and a documented implementation plan ready for your organisation. If this were just theory, the offer would be different. But because we deliver tools, templates, and real enterprise patterns, the value is immediate and measurable. You’re not buying information - you’re acquiring a production-grade toolkit for identity and access resilience.
Module 1: Foundations of Enterprise Active Directory Architecture - Understanding forest, domain, and site topology design principles
- Best practices for domain functional levels and schema extensions
- Global catalog server placement and replication optimisation
- Designing for scalability from 100 to 100,000+ user environments
- Core components of DNS integration with Active Directory
- Time synchronisation requirements across domain controllers
- Trust relationships: transitive, external, and forest trusts
- Role separation for domain controllers and admin workstations
- Impact of virtualisation on domain controller performance and failover
- Active Directory data store: NTDS.dit structure and backup considerations
- Group Policy processing order: LSDOU principle explained
- Site link bridging and cost-based replication control
- Delegation of control models for regional IT teams
- Monitoring replication status with built-in Microsoft tools
- Using AD Replication Status Tool for diagnostics
- FSMO roles: function, placement, and transfer procedures
- RODC deployment scenarios for branch offices
- Designing for disaster recovery: bare metal restore vs virtual snapshot
- Essential PowerShell modules for Active Directory management
- Configuring secure LDAP communication (LDAPS) with certificates
Module 2: Advanced Automation Frameworks for User Lifecycle Management - Automated user provisioning using CSV and HR feed integration
- Scripting account creation with custom attribute population
- Automated deprovisioning workflows with access revocation audit trails
- Termination scripts that disable accounts, revoke tokens, and log actions
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) modelling for AD group memberships
- Dynamic group population using business logic and attribute rules
- Automated mailbox and resource provisioning via API hooks
- Onboarding workflows integrated with ticketing systems (ServiceNow, Jira)
- Offboarding checklists with dependency mapping and timeout enforcement
- Automated orphaned account detection and cleanup schedules
- Home directory creation and deletion automation
- Quota enforcement via script-based file server integration
- Automated description field updates for audit compliance
- Conditional provisioning based on department, location, or role
- Automating manager-of-manager reporting chains in AD
- Script-based population of extensionAttribute fields for SSO systems
- Automated distribution list management based on dynamic criteria
- Time-limited access groups with auto-expiry mechanisms
- Handling contractor and vendor accounts with automated expiry
- Integration points for IAM systems like Azure AD, Okta, and Ping
Module 3: PowerShell Scripting for Enterprise AD Automation - Essential cmdlets: Get-ADUser, Set-ADUser, New-ADUser, Remove-ADUser
- Filtering and querying with LDAP syntax and -Filter parameter
- Batch operations using foreach loops and pipeline processing
- Error handling with Try-Catch, $ErrorActionPreference, and logging
- Writing modular functions for reuse across teams
- Creating parameterised scripts for non-technical team deployment
- Logging automation events to central file or database
- Using -WhatIf and -Confirm for safe script testing
- Secure credential handling with Get-Credential and encrypted files
- Running scripts under service accounts with least privilege
- Scheduling automation with Windows Task Scheduler
- Configuring task triggers: time-based, event-based, or logon
- Script signing and execution policy management
- PowerShell profiles for preloading modules and variables
- Exporting Active Directory data to CSV, HTML, and JSON formats
- Importing user data from external sources with Import-Csv
- Comparing AD state over time with Compare-Object
- Automated reporting: inactive users, stale computers, group membership
- Creating HTML reports with CSS formatting for executive review
- Using Pester for PowerShell script validation and testing
Module 4: Group Policy Object (GPO) Automation and Management - Automated GPO creation and linking via PowerShell
- Import and export GPOs between environments using backup files
- Version control for GPOs using naming conventions and metadata
- Automated GPO audit: identifying unused, broken, or orphaned policies
- Checking GPO inheritance and enforced status programmatically
- Detecting and resolving WMI filter failures across systems
- Analysing GPO processing time with GPResult and automation
- Automated GPO health checks: replication, permissions, ACLs
- Security filtering automation: adding and removing security groups
- Linking GPOs to sites, domains, and OUs at scale
- Documenting GPO settings automatically using PolicyAnalyzer
- Generating compliance reports for security baselines
- Automating GPO rollback after failed deployments
- Testing GPO application in isolated test OUs before production
- Automated pre-checks: verifying link targets and replication status
- Managing startup and shutdown scripts via GPO automation
- Enforcing safe password storage practices in scripts
- Synchronising GPOs across multiple domains with consistency checks
- Automating GPO permission audits for least privilege compliance
- Using GPO Preferences for drive mapping, shortcut, and printer deployment
Module 5: Privileged Access and Identity Security Hardening - Principle of least privilege for administrative accounts
- Implementing Just-In-Time (JIT) access models in hybrid environments
- Securing built-in administrator accounts with renaming and disabling
- Restricting RDP and WinRM access to jump servers only
- Configuring Administrative Tier models (Tier 0, 1, 2)
- Isolating Tier 0 accounts from general network access
- Implementing LAPS (Local Administrator Password Solution)
- Automating LAPS password rotation and access request workflows
- Monitoring privileged account usage with native and third-party tools
- Analysing 4624, 4670, and 4674 security events for admin activity
- Creating SIEM dashboards for real-time privileged account visibility
- Enabling ATA (Advanced Threat Analytics) or Microsoft Defender for Identity
- Protecting domain controllers with strict firewall rules
- Securing NTDS.dit with SYSKEY and BitLocker
- Deploying Protected Users group with enforced protections
- Blocking legacy authentication protocols (NTLM, Basic Auth)
- Enforcing Kerberos encryption types and ticket lifetimes
- Hardening Service Principal Names (SPNs) and preventing Kerberoasting
- Securing trust relationships with selective authentication
- Implementing time-bound administrative sessions with approval workflows
Module 6: Automated Compliance and Audit-Ready Controls - Automating SOX, HIPAA, and GDPR access reviews
- Generating user entitlement reports for auditor requests
- Scheduling quarterly access certifications using PowerShell
- Creating role-specific access matrices for reporting
- Documenting segregation of duties (SoD) violations automatically
- Analysing overlapping permissions across roles and systems
- Exporting compliance evidence in standard formats (PDF, Excel, XML)
- Integrating with GRC platforms via API or flat file handoff
- Automating policy exception tracking and expiry notices
- Building a central compliance database for historical reporting
- Versioning control mappings for audit trails
- Automated sign-off workflows for access owners
- Integrating with ticketing systems to create remediation tasks
- Automated detection of admin group membership creep
- Real-time alerts for emergency access usage
- Ensuring dual control for high-risk changes
- Documenting change justifications in structured logs
- Automated certificate of compliance generation for executives
- Configuring audit policies for object access and privilege use
- Analysing Security Event Logs for unauthorised access attempts
Module 7: Identity Synchronisation and Hybrid Environment Automation - Azure AD Connect: custom sync rule design and management
- Filtering users, groups, and OUs for selective sync
- Automating Azure AD Connect health monitoring
- Handling attribute flow conflicts and custom mappings
- Scripting delta and full sync triggers
- Troubleshooting sync errors with event logs and diagnostics
- Managing object duplication and precedence rules
- Automating password hash sync and pass-through authentication checks
- Monitoring sign-in health via PowerShell and Microsoft Graph
- Automating force sync operations during critical deployments
- Handling renamed or merged domains in hybrid environments
- Automated reporting on hybrid identity status and health
- Managing cloud-only accounts with on-prem governance
- Synchronising on-prem groups with Microsoft 365 groups
- Implementing hybrid join for seamless device management
- Configuring seamless single sign-on (SSO) with ADFS or Entra ID
- Automating device object cleanup for stale hybrid joined devices
- Handling identity conflicts during mergers and acquisitions
- Monitoring sync latency and performance thresholds
- Creating fallback plans for sync service outages
Module 8: Threat Detection and Active Directory Forensics - Analysing event logs for signs of Golden Ticket attacks
- Detecting DCSync attempts using 4662 and 4670 events
- Identifying pass-the-hash and pass-the-ticket activity
- Monitoring unusual Kerberos TGT request patterns
- Automated detection of abnormal replication traffic
- Spotting RDP brute force attacks via Event ID 4625 analysis
- Tracking lateral movement using logon session correlation
- Using PowerShell to extract and analyse security log data
- Building custom detection rules for SIEM integration
- Creating baseline profiles for normal administrator behaviour
- Automating weekly threat hunts across domain controllers
- Using BloodHound data to visualise privilege escalation paths
- Exporting and analysing ACLs for dangerous permissions
- Detecting orphaned SIDs and ACL inconsistencies
- Investigating unauthorised GPO modifications
- Analysing 5136 events for sensitive attribute changes
- Automating suspicious account creation detection
- Tracking disabled and re-enabled accounts as potential risks
- Monitoring account lockout storms for targeted attacks
- Timeline reconstruction for forensic incident response
Module 9: Disaster Recovery and High-Availability Automation - Automated Active Directory backup scheduling with verification
- Scripting backup integrity checks and log analysis
- Replication health monitoring with alerting workflows
- Automated FSMO role seizure and transfer procedures
- Building redundant domain controller deployment scripts
- Site failover automation with DNS and site link adjustments
- Automated metadata cleanup after domain controller removal
- Recovering deleted objects with PowerShell and PowerShell history
- Using Install-ADDSDomainController for automated rebuilds
- Automating virtual domain controller snapshot management
- Preventing USN rollback with proper snapshot policies
- Testing restore procedures in isolated labs
- Documenting recovery time and point objectives (RTO/RPO)
- Automated reporting on backup success and failure rates
- Integrating with enterprise backup solutions (Veeam, Commvault)
- Monitoring disk space and latency on domain controllers
- Automated health dashboards for NOC visibility
- Proactive alerting for replication latency and backlog
- Automated graceful shutdown procedures for planned outages
- Rebuilding AD from backup with minimal service impact
Module 10: Integration with Enterprise Tooling and CI/CD Pipelines - Version controlling AD automation scripts with Git
- Using Azure DevOps or Jenkins for AD change pipelines
- Automated testing of AD scripts in isolated lab environments
- Integrating with ITSM platforms for change approval gating
- Deploying AD changes via release pipelines with rollback
- Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) patterns for domain design
- Exporting AD structure to JSON for documentation and diffing
- Automating configuration drift detection
- Feeding AD data into service catalogs and CMDBs
- Automating integration with endpoint management tools (Intune, SCCM)
- Triggering AD provisioning from application deployment pipelines
- Using REST APIs to expose AD automation to other teams
- Securing API access with OAuth and certificate authentication
- Logging and auditing all automated changes for compliance
- Creating audit-aware scripts that generate structured logs
- Integrating with monitoring platforms like Splunk, Datadog, Zabbix
- Building custom dashboards for AD automation status
- Automated alerting on script failure or timeout
- Chaining multi-step workflows across systems
- Naming and tagging conventions for enterprise traceability
Module 11: Real-World Implementation Projects and Case Studies - Project 1: Automating full user lifecycle in a 20,000-user organisation
- Project 2: Hardening an AD environment pre-audit for financial compliance
- Project 3: Migrating legacy GPOs to modern, automated management
- Project 4: Building a self-service password reset portal with approval
- Project 5: Implementing LAPS across 12,000 endpoints with reporting
- Case Study: Healthcare provider achieves HIPAA compliance in 4 weeks
- Case Study: Manufacturing firm reduces AD incidents by 78% in 6 months
- Case Study: Government agency enforces Tiered Admin model successfully
- Designing an automated access review workflow with email integration
- Creating a disaster recovery playbook with test automation
- Building a central command console for AD operations
- Automating daily health checks and executive reporting
- Integrating AD alerts into Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Developing a PowerShell module for team reuse
- Documenting patterns for future team onboarding
- Creating a runbook for common AD automation failures
- Setting KPIs for automation success and tracking progress
- Presenting automation ROI to management with data
- Scaling automation to support mergers and acquisitions
- Establishing a Centre of Excellence for identity automation
Module 12: Certification Preparation and Career Advancement - Review of all automation and security concepts for mastery assessment
- Practice scenarios: diagnosing and fixing broken automation
- Security hardening checklist for enterprise readiness
- Preparing your automation portfolio for leadership review
- Documenting your personal contributions and impact
- Strategic career positioning: moving from admin to architect
- Using your Certificate of Completion in performance reviews
- Leveraging the credential in job applications and negotiations
- Networking with other professionals via The Art of Service community
- Access to exclusive job board for certified practitioners
- Template: Executive summary of your AD automation achievements
- Communicating technical value to non-technical stakeholders
- Building your personal brand as an automation expert
- Contributing to open-source AD automation projects
- Preparing for Microsoft certification paths (MD-102, SC-300)
- Transitioning into cloud identity and enterprise architecture roles
- Understanding the evolving role of Active Directory in zero trust
- Future-proofing your skills against AI and automation trends
- Continuing education pathways in identity and access management
- Final assessment: Implementation Plan v1.0 submission for feedback
- Understanding forest, domain, and site topology design principles
- Best practices for domain functional levels and schema extensions
- Global catalog server placement and replication optimisation
- Designing for scalability from 100 to 100,000+ user environments
- Core components of DNS integration with Active Directory
- Time synchronisation requirements across domain controllers
- Trust relationships: transitive, external, and forest trusts
- Role separation for domain controllers and admin workstations
- Impact of virtualisation on domain controller performance and failover
- Active Directory data store: NTDS.dit structure and backup considerations
- Group Policy processing order: LSDOU principle explained
- Site link bridging and cost-based replication control
- Delegation of control models for regional IT teams
- Monitoring replication status with built-in Microsoft tools
- Using AD Replication Status Tool for diagnostics
- FSMO roles: function, placement, and transfer procedures
- RODC deployment scenarios for branch offices
- Designing for disaster recovery: bare metal restore vs virtual snapshot
- Essential PowerShell modules for Active Directory management
- Configuring secure LDAP communication (LDAPS) with certificates
Module 2: Advanced Automation Frameworks for User Lifecycle Management - Automated user provisioning using CSV and HR feed integration
- Scripting account creation with custom attribute population
- Automated deprovisioning workflows with access revocation audit trails
- Termination scripts that disable accounts, revoke tokens, and log actions
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) modelling for AD group memberships
- Dynamic group population using business logic and attribute rules
- Automated mailbox and resource provisioning via API hooks
- Onboarding workflows integrated with ticketing systems (ServiceNow, Jira)
- Offboarding checklists with dependency mapping and timeout enforcement
- Automated orphaned account detection and cleanup schedules
- Home directory creation and deletion automation
- Quota enforcement via script-based file server integration
- Automated description field updates for audit compliance
- Conditional provisioning based on department, location, or role
- Automating manager-of-manager reporting chains in AD
- Script-based population of extensionAttribute fields for SSO systems
- Automated distribution list management based on dynamic criteria
- Time-limited access groups with auto-expiry mechanisms
- Handling contractor and vendor accounts with automated expiry
- Integration points for IAM systems like Azure AD, Okta, and Ping
Module 3: PowerShell Scripting for Enterprise AD Automation - Essential cmdlets: Get-ADUser, Set-ADUser, New-ADUser, Remove-ADUser
- Filtering and querying with LDAP syntax and -Filter parameter
- Batch operations using foreach loops and pipeline processing
- Error handling with Try-Catch, $ErrorActionPreference, and logging
- Writing modular functions for reuse across teams
- Creating parameterised scripts for non-technical team deployment
- Logging automation events to central file or database
- Using -WhatIf and -Confirm for safe script testing
- Secure credential handling with Get-Credential and encrypted files
- Running scripts under service accounts with least privilege
- Scheduling automation with Windows Task Scheduler
- Configuring task triggers: time-based, event-based, or logon
- Script signing and execution policy management
- PowerShell profiles for preloading modules and variables
- Exporting Active Directory data to CSV, HTML, and JSON formats
- Importing user data from external sources with Import-Csv
- Comparing AD state over time with Compare-Object
- Automated reporting: inactive users, stale computers, group membership
- Creating HTML reports with CSS formatting for executive review
- Using Pester for PowerShell script validation and testing
Module 4: Group Policy Object (GPO) Automation and Management - Automated GPO creation and linking via PowerShell
- Import and export GPOs between environments using backup files
- Version control for GPOs using naming conventions and metadata
- Automated GPO audit: identifying unused, broken, or orphaned policies
- Checking GPO inheritance and enforced status programmatically
- Detecting and resolving WMI filter failures across systems
- Analysing GPO processing time with GPResult and automation
- Automated GPO health checks: replication, permissions, ACLs
- Security filtering automation: adding and removing security groups
- Linking GPOs to sites, domains, and OUs at scale
- Documenting GPO settings automatically using PolicyAnalyzer
- Generating compliance reports for security baselines
- Automating GPO rollback after failed deployments
- Testing GPO application in isolated test OUs before production
- Automated pre-checks: verifying link targets and replication status
- Managing startup and shutdown scripts via GPO automation
- Enforcing safe password storage practices in scripts
- Synchronising GPOs across multiple domains with consistency checks
- Automating GPO permission audits for least privilege compliance
- Using GPO Preferences for drive mapping, shortcut, and printer deployment
Module 5: Privileged Access and Identity Security Hardening - Principle of least privilege for administrative accounts
- Implementing Just-In-Time (JIT) access models in hybrid environments
- Securing built-in administrator accounts with renaming and disabling
- Restricting RDP and WinRM access to jump servers only
- Configuring Administrative Tier models (Tier 0, 1, 2)
- Isolating Tier 0 accounts from general network access
- Implementing LAPS (Local Administrator Password Solution)
- Automating LAPS password rotation and access request workflows
- Monitoring privileged account usage with native and third-party tools
- Analysing 4624, 4670, and 4674 security events for admin activity
- Creating SIEM dashboards for real-time privileged account visibility
- Enabling ATA (Advanced Threat Analytics) or Microsoft Defender for Identity
- Protecting domain controllers with strict firewall rules
- Securing NTDS.dit with SYSKEY and BitLocker
- Deploying Protected Users group with enforced protections
- Blocking legacy authentication protocols (NTLM, Basic Auth)
- Enforcing Kerberos encryption types and ticket lifetimes
- Hardening Service Principal Names (SPNs) and preventing Kerberoasting
- Securing trust relationships with selective authentication
- Implementing time-bound administrative sessions with approval workflows
Module 6: Automated Compliance and Audit-Ready Controls - Automating SOX, HIPAA, and GDPR access reviews
- Generating user entitlement reports for auditor requests
- Scheduling quarterly access certifications using PowerShell
- Creating role-specific access matrices for reporting
- Documenting segregation of duties (SoD) violations automatically
- Analysing overlapping permissions across roles and systems
- Exporting compliance evidence in standard formats (PDF, Excel, XML)
- Integrating with GRC platforms via API or flat file handoff
- Automating policy exception tracking and expiry notices
- Building a central compliance database for historical reporting
- Versioning control mappings for audit trails
- Automated sign-off workflows for access owners
- Integrating with ticketing systems to create remediation tasks
- Automated detection of admin group membership creep
- Real-time alerts for emergency access usage
- Ensuring dual control for high-risk changes
- Documenting change justifications in structured logs
- Automated certificate of compliance generation for executives
- Configuring audit policies for object access and privilege use
- Analysing Security Event Logs for unauthorised access attempts
Module 7: Identity Synchronisation and Hybrid Environment Automation - Azure AD Connect: custom sync rule design and management
- Filtering users, groups, and OUs for selective sync
- Automating Azure AD Connect health monitoring
- Handling attribute flow conflicts and custom mappings
- Scripting delta and full sync triggers
- Troubleshooting sync errors with event logs and diagnostics
- Managing object duplication and precedence rules
- Automating password hash sync and pass-through authentication checks
- Monitoring sign-in health via PowerShell and Microsoft Graph
- Automating force sync operations during critical deployments
- Handling renamed or merged domains in hybrid environments
- Automated reporting on hybrid identity status and health
- Managing cloud-only accounts with on-prem governance
- Synchronising on-prem groups with Microsoft 365 groups
- Implementing hybrid join for seamless device management
- Configuring seamless single sign-on (SSO) with ADFS or Entra ID
- Automating device object cleanup for stale hybrid joined devices
- Handling identity conflicts during mergers and acquisitions
- Monitoring sync latency and performance thresholds
- Creating fallback plans for sync service outages
Module 8: Threat Detection and Active Directory Forensics - Analysing event logs for signs of Golden Ticket attacks
- Detecting DCSync attempts using 4662 and 4670 events
- Identifying pass-the-hash and pass-the-ticket activity
- Monitoring unusual Kerberos TGT request patterns
- Automated detection of abnormal replication traffic
- Spotting RDP brute force attacks via Event ID 4625 analysis
- Tracking lateral movement using logon session correlation
- Using PowerShell to extract and analyse security log data
- Building custom detection rules for SIEM integration
- Creating baseline profiles for normal administrator behaviour
- Automating weekly threat hunts across domain controllers
- Using BloodHound data to visualise privilege escalation paths
- Exporting and analysing ACLs for dangerous permissions
- Detecting orphaned SIDs and ACL inconsistencies
- Investigating unauthorised GPO modifications
- Analysing 5136 events for sensitive attribute changes
- Automating suspicious account creation detection
- Tracking disabled and re-enabled accounts as potential risks
- Monitoring account lockout storms for targeted attacks
- Timeline reconstruction for forensic incident response
Module 9: Disaster Recovery and High-Availability Automation - Automated Active Directory backup scheduling with verification
- Scripting backup integrity checks and log analysis
- Replication health monitoring with alerting workflows
- Automated FSMO role seizure and transfer procedures
- Building redundant domain controller deployment scripts
- Site failover automation with DNS and site link adjustments
- Automated metadata cleanup after domain controller removal
- Recovering deleted objects with PowerShell and PowerShell history
- Using Install-ADDSDomainController for automated rebuilds
- Automating virtual domain controller snapshot management
- Preventing USN rollback with proper snapshot policies
- Testing restore procedures in isolated labs
- Documenting recovery time and point objectives (RTO/RPO)
- Automated reporting on backup success and failure rates
- Integrating with enterprise backup solutions (Veeam, Commvault)
- Monitoring disk space and latency on domain controllers
- Automated health dashboards for NOC visibility
- Proactive alerting for replication latency and backlog
- Automated graceful shutdown procedures for planned outages
- Rebuilding AD from backup with minimal service impact
Module 10: Integration with Enterprise Tooling and CI/CD Pipelines - Version controlling AD automation scripts with Git
- Using Azure DevOps or Jenkins for AD change pipelines
- Automated testing of AD scripts in isolated lab environments
- Integrating with ITSM platforms for change approval gating
- Deploying AD changes via release pipelines with rollback
- Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) patterns for domain design
- Exporting AD structure to JSON for documentation and diffing
- Automating configuration drift detection
- Feeding AD data into service catalogs and CMDBs
- Automating integration with endpoint management tools (Intune, SCCM)
- Triggering AD provisioning from application deployment pipelines
- Using REST APIs to expose AD automation to other teams
- Securing API access with OAuth and certificate authentication
- Logging and auditing all automated changes for compliance
- Creating audit-aware scripts that generate structured logs
- Integrating with monitoring platforms like Splunk, Datadog, Zabbix
- Building custom dashboards for AD automation status
- Automated alerting on script failure or timeout
- Chaining multi-step workflows across systems
- Naming and tagging conventions for enterprise traceability
Module 11: Real-World Implementation Projects and Case Studies - Project 1: Automating full user lifecycle in a 20,000-user organisation
- Project 2: Hardening an AD environment pre-audit for financial compliance
- Project 3: Migrating legacy GPOs to modern, automated management
- Project 4: Building a self-service password reset portal with approval
- Project 5: Implementing LAPS across 12,000 endpoints with reporting
- Case Study: Healthcare provider achieves HIPAA compliance in 4 weeks
- Case Study: Manufacturing firm reduces AD incidents by 78% in 6 months
- Case Study: Government agency enforces Tiered Admin model successfully
- Designing an automated access review workflow with email integration
- Creating a disaster recovery playbook with test automation
- Building a central command console for AD operations
- Automating daily health checks and executive reporting
- Integrating AD alerts into Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Developing a PowerShell module for team reuse
- Documenting patterns for future team onboarding
- Creating a runbook for common AD automation failures
- Setting KPIs for automation success and tracking progress
- Presenting automation ROI to management with data
- Scaling automation to support mergers and acquisitions
- Establishing a Centre of Excellence for identity automation
Module 12: Certification Preparation and Career Advancement - Review of all automation and security concepts for mastery assessment
- Practice scenarios: diagnosing and fixing broken automation
- Security hardening checklist for enterprise readiness
- Preparing your automation portfolio for leadership review
- Documenting your personal contributions and impact
- Strategic career positioning: moving from admin to architect
- Using your Certificate of Completion in performance reviews
- Leveraging the credential in job applications and negotiations
- Networking with other professionals via The Art of Service community
- Access to exclusive job board for certified practitioners
- Template: Executive summary of your AD automation achievements
- Communicating technical value to non-technical stakeholders
- Building your personal brand as an automation expert
- Contributing to open-source AD automation projects
- Preparing for Microsoft certification paths (MD-102, SC-300)
- Transitioning into cloud identity and enterprise architecture roles
- Understanding the evolving role of Active Directory in zero trust
- Future-proofing your skills against AI and automation trends
- Continuing education pathways in identity and access management
- Final assessment: Implementation Plan v1.0 submission for feedback
- Essential cmdlets: Get-ADUser, Set-ADUser, New-ADUser, Remove-ADUser
- Filtering and querying with LDAP syntax and -Filter parameter
- Batch operations using foreach loops and pipeline processing
- Error handling with Try-Catch, $ErrorActionPreference, and logging
- Writing modular functions for reuse across teams
- Creating parameterised scripts for non-technical team deployment
- Logging automation events to central file or database
- Using -WhatIf and -Confirm for safe script testing
- Secure credential handling with Get-Credential and encrypted files
- Running scripts under service accounts with least privilege
- Scheduling automation with Windows Task Scheduler
- Configuring task triggers: time-based, event-based, or logon
- Script signing and execution policy management
- PowerShell profiles for preloading modules and variables
- Exporting Active Directory data to CSV, HTML, and JSON formats
- Importing user data from external sources with Import-Csv
- Comparing AD state over time with Compare-Object
- Automated reporting: inactive users, stale computers, group membership
- Creating HTML reports with CSS formatting for executive review
- Using Pester for PowerShell script validation and testing
Module 4: Group Policy Object (GPO) Automation and Management - Automated GPO creation and linking via PowerShell
- Import and export GPOs between environments using backup files
- Version control for GPOs using naming conventions and metadata
- Automated GPO audit: identifying unused, broken, or orphaned policies
- Checking GPO inheritance and enforced status programmatically
- Detecting and resolving WMI filter failures across systems
- Analysing GPO processing time with GPResult and automation
- Automated GPO health checks: replication, permissions, ACLs
- Security filtering automation: adding and removing security groups
- Linking GPOs to sites, domains, and OUs at scale
- Documenting GPO settings automatically using PolicyAnalyzer
- Generating compliance reports for security baselines
- Automating GPO rollback after failed deployments
- Testing GPO application in isolated test OUs before production
- Automated pre-checks: verifying link targets and replication status
- Managing startup and shutdown scripts via GPO automation
- Enforcing safe password storage practices in scripts
- Synchronising GPOs across multiple domains with consistency checks
- Automating GPO permission audits for least privilege compliance
- Using GPO Preferences for drive mapping, shortcut, and printer deployment
Module 5: Privileged Access and Identity Security Hardening - Principle of least privilege for administrative accounts
- Implementing Just-In-Time (JIT) access models in hybrid environments
- Securing built-in administrator accounts with renaming and disabling
- Restricting RDP and WinRM access to jump servers only
- Configuring Administrative Tier models (Tier 0, 1, 2)
- Isolating Tier 0 accounts from general network access
- Implementing LAPS (Local Administrator Password Solution)
- Automating LAPS password rotation and access request workflows
- Monitoring privileged account usage with native and third-party tools
- Analysing 4624, 4670, and 4674 security events for admin activity
- Creating SIEM dashboards for real-time privileged account visibility
- Enabling ATA (Advanced Threat Analytics) or Microsoft Defender for Identity
- Protecting domain controllers with strict firewall rules
- Securing NTDS.dit with SYSKEY and BitLocker
- Deploying Protected Users group with enforced protections
- Blocking legacy authentication protocols (NTLM, Basic Auth)
- Enforcing Kerberos encryption types and ticket lifetimes
- Hardening Service Principal Names (SPNs) and preventing Kerberoasting
- Securing trust relationships with selective authentication
- Implementing time-bound administrative sessions with approval workflows
Module 6: Automated Compliance and Audit-Ready Controls - Automating SOX, HIPAA, and GDPR access reviews
- Generating user entitlement reports for auditor requests
- Scheduling quarterly access certifications using PowerShell
- Creating role-specific access matrices for reporting
- Documenting segregation of duties (SoD) violations automatically
- Analysing overlapping permissions across roles and systems
- Exporting compliance evidence in standard formats (PDF, Excel, XML)
- Integrating with GRC platforms via API or flat file handoff
- Automating policy exception tracking and expiry notices
- Building a central compliance database for historical reporting
- Versioning control mappings for audit trails
- Automated sign-off workflows for access owners
- Integrating with ticketing systems to create remediation tasks
- Automated detection of admin group membership creep
- Real-time alerts for emergency access usage
- Ensuring dual control for high-risk changes
- Documenting change justifications in structured logs
- Automated certificate of compliance generation for executives
- Configuring audit policies for object access and privilege use
- Analysing Security Event Logs for unauthorised access attempts
Module 7: Identity Synchronisation and Hybrid Environment Automation - Azure AD Connect: custom sync rule design and management
- Filtering users, groups, and OUs for selective sync
- Automating Azure AD Connect health monitoring
- Handling attribute flow conflicts and custom mappings
- Scripting delta and full sync triggers
- Troubleshooting sync errors with event logs and diagnostics
- Managing object duplication and precedence rules
- Automating password hash sync and pass-through authentication checks
- Monitoring sign-in health via PowerShell and Microsoft Graph
- Automating force sync operations during critical deployments
- Handling renamed or merged domains in hybrid environments
- Automated reporting on hybrid identity status and health
- Managing cloud-only accounts with on-prem governance
- Synchronising on-prem groups with Microsoft 365 groups
- Implementing hybrid join for seamless device management
- Configuring seamless single sign-on (SSO) with ADFS or Entra ID
- Automating device object cleanup for stale hybrid joined devices
- Handling identity conflicts during mergers and acquisitions
- Monitoring sync latency and performance thresholds
- Creating fallback plans for sync service outages
Module 8: Threat Detection and Active Directory Forensics - Analysing event logs for signs of Golden Ticket attacks
- Detecting DCSync attempts using 4662 and 4670 events
- Identifying pass-the-hash and pass-the-ticket activity
- Monitoring unusual Kerberos TGT request patterns
- Automated detection of abnormal replication traffic
- Spotting RDP brute force attacks via Event ID 4625 analysis
- Tracking lateral movement using logon session correlation
- Using PowerShell to extract and analyse security log data
- Building custom detection rules for SIEM integration
- Creating baseline profiles for normal administrator behaviour
- Automating weekly threat hunts across domain controllers
- Using BloodHound data to visualise privilege escalation paths
- Exporting and analysing ACLs for dangerous permissions
- Detecting orphaned SIDs and ACL inconsistencies
- Investigating unauthorised GPO modifications
- Analysing 5136 events for sensitive attribute changes
- Automating suspicious account creation detection
- Tracking disabled and re-enabled accounts as potential risks
- Monitoring account lockout storms for targeted attacks
- Timeline reconstruction for forensic incident response
Module 9: Disaster Recovery and High-Availability Automation - Automated Active Directory backup scheduling with verification
- Scripting backup integrity checks and log analysis
- Replication health monitoring with alerting workflows
- Automated FSMO role seizure and transfer procedures
- Building redundant domain controller deployment scripts
- Site failover automation with DNS and site link adjustments
- Automated metadata cleanup after domain controller removal
- Recovering deleted objects with PowerShell and PowerShell history
- Using Install-ADDSDomainController for automated rebuilds
- Automating virtual domain controller snapshot management
- Preventing USN rollback with proper snapshot policies
- Testing restore procedures in isolated labs
- Documenting recovery time and point objectives (RTO/RPO)
- Automated reporting on backup success and failure rates
- Integrating with enterprise backup solutions (Veeam, Commvault)
- Monitoring disk space and latency on domain controllers
- Automated health dashboards for NOC visibility
- Proactive alerting for replication latency and backlog
- Automated graceful shutdown procedures for planned outages
- Rebuilding AD from backup with minimal service impact
Module 10: Integration with Enterprise Tooling and CI/CD Pipelines - Version controlling AD automation scripts with Git
- Using Azure DevOps or Jenkins for AD change pipelines
- Automated testing of AD scripts in isolated lab environments
- Integrating with ITSM platforms for change approval gating
- Deploying AD changes via release pipelines with rollback
- Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) patterns for domain design
- Exporting AD structure to JSON for documentation and diffing
- Automating configuration drift detection
- Feeding AD data into service catalogs and CMDBs
- Automating integration with endpoint management tools (Intune, SCCM)
- Triggering AD provisioning from application deployment pipelines
- Using REST APIs to expose AD automation to other teams
- Securing API access with OAuth and certificate authentication
- Logging and auditing all automated changes for compliance
- Creating audit-aware scripts that generate structured logs
- Integrating with monitoring platforms like Splunk, Datadog, Zabbix
- Building custom dashboards for AD automation status
- Automated alerting on script failure or timeout
- Chaining multi-step workflows across systems
- Naming and tagging conventions for enterprise traceability
Module 11: Real-World Implementation Projects and Case Studies - Project 1: Automating full user lifecycle in a 20,000-user organisation
- Project 2: Hardening an AD environment pre-audit for financial compliance
- Project 3: Migrating legacy GPOs to modern, automated management
- Project 4: Building a self-service password reset portal with approval
- Project 5: Implementing LAPS across 12,000 endpoints with reporting
- Case Study: Healthcare provider achieves HIPAA compliance in 4 weeks
- Case Study: Manufacturing firm reduces AD incidents by 78% in 6 months
- Case Study: Government agency enforces Tiered Admin model successfully
- Designing an automated access review workflow with email integration
- Creating a disaster recovery playbook with test automation
- Building a central command console for AD operations
- Automating daily health checks and executive reporting
- Integrating AD alerts into Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Developing a PowerShell module for team reuse
- Documenting patterns for future team onboarding
- Creating a runbook for common AD automation failures
- Setting KPIs for automation success and tracking progress
- Presenting automation ROI to management with data
- Scaling automation to support mergers and acquisitions
- Establishing a Centre of Excellence for identity automation
Module 12: Certification Preparation and Career Advancement - Review of all automation and security concepts for mastery assessment
- Practice scenarios: diagnosing and fixing broken automation
- Security hardening checklist for enterprise readiness
- Preparing your automation portfolio for leadership review
- Documenting your personal contributions and impact
- Strategic career positioning: moving from admin to architect
- Using your Certificate of Completion in performance reviews
- Leveraging the credential in job applications and negotiations
- Networking with other professionals via The Art of Service community
- Access to exclusive job board for certified practitioners
- Template: Executive summary of your AD automation achievements
- Communicating technical value to non-technical stakeholders
- Building your personal brand as an automation expert
- Contributing to open-source AD automation projects
- Preparing for Microsoft certification paths (MD-102, SC-300)
- Transitioning into cloud identity and enterprise architecture roles
- Understanding the evolving role of Active Directory in zero trust
- Future-proofing your skills against AI and automation trends
- Continuing education pathways in identity and access management
- Final assessment: Implementation Plan v1.0 submission for feedback
- Principle of least privilege for administrative accounts
- Implementing Just-In-Time (JIT) access models in hybrid environments
- Securing built-in administrator accounts with renaming and disabling
- Restricting RDP and WinRM access to jump servers only
- Configuring Administrative Tier models (Tier 0, 1, 2)
- Isolating Tier 0 accounts from general network access
- Implementing LAPS (Local Administrator Password Solution)
- Automating LAPS password rotation and access request workflows
- Monitoring privileged account usage with native and third-party tools
- Analysing 4624, 4670, and 4674 security events for admin activity
- Creating SIEM dashboards for real-time privileged account visibility
- Enabling ATA (Advanced Threat Analytics) or Microsoft Defender for Identity
- Protecting domain controllers with strict firewall rules
- Securing NTDS.dit with SYSKEY and BitLocker
- Deploying Protected Users group with enforced protections
- Blocking legacy authentication protocols (NTLM, Basic Auth)
- Enforcing Kerberos encryption types and ticket lifetimes
- Hardening Service Principal Names (SPNs) and preventing Kerberoasting
- Securing trust relationships with selective authentication
- Implementing time-bound administrative sessions with approval workflows
Module 6: Automated Compliance and Audit-Ready Controls - Automating SOX, HIPAA, and GDPR access reviews
- Generating user entitlement reports for auditor requests
- Scheduling quarterly access certifications using PowerShell
- Creating role-specific access matrices for reporting
- Documenting segregation of duties (SoD) violations automatically
- Analysing overlapping permissions across roles and systems
- Exporting compliance evidence in standard formats (PDF, Excel, XML)
- Integrating with GRC platforms via API or flat file handoff
- Automating policy exception tracking and expiry notices
- Building a central compliance database for historical reporting
- Versioning control mappings for audit trails
- Automated sign-off workflows for access owners
- Integrating with ticketing systems to create remediation tasks
- Automated detection of admin group membership creep
- Real-time alerts for emergency access usage
- Ensuring dual control for high-risk changes
- Documenting change justifications in structured logs
- Automated certificate of compliance generation for executives
- Configuring audit policies for object access and privilege use
- Analysing Security Event Logs for unauthorised access attempts
Module 7: Identity Synchronisation and Hybrid Environment Automation - Azure AD Connect: custom sync rule design and management
- Filtering users, groups, and OUs for selective sync
- Automating Azure AD Connect health monitoring
- Handling attribute flow conflicts and custom mappings
- Scripting delta and full sync triggers
- Troubleshooting sync errors with event logs and diagnostics
- Managing object duplication and precedence rules
- Automating password hash sync and pass-through authentication checks
- Monitoring sign-in health via PowerShell and Microsoft Graph
- Automating force sync operations during critical deployments
- Handling renamed or merged domains in hybrid environments
- Automated reporting on hybrid identity status and health
- Managing cloud-only accounts with on-prem governance
- Synchronising on-prem groups with Microsoft 365 groups
- Implementing hybrid join for seamless device management
- Configuring seamless single sign-on (SSO) with ADFS or Entra ID
- Automating device object cleanup for stale hybrid joined devices
- Handling identity conflicts during mergers and acquisitions
- Monitoring sync latency and performance thresholds
- Creating fallback plans for sync service outages
Module 8: Threat Detection and Active Directory Forensics - Analysing event logs for signs of Golden Ticket attacks
- Detecting DCSync attempts using 4662 and 4670 events
- Identifying pass-the-hash and pass-the-ticket activity
- Monitoring unusual Kerberos TGT request patterns
- Automated detection of abnormal replication traffic
- Spotting RDP brute force attacks via Event ID 4625 analysis
- Tracking lateral movement using logon session correlation
- Using PowerShell to extract and analyse security log data
- Building custom detection rules for SIEM integration
- Creating baseline profiles for normal administrator behaviour
- Automating weekly threat hunts across domain controllers
- Using BloodHound data to visualise privilege escalation paths
- Exporting and analysing ACLs for dangerous permissions
- Detecting orphaned SIDs and ACL inconsistencies
- Investigating unauthorised GPO modifications
- Analysing 5136 events for sensitive attribute changes
- Automating suspicious account creation detection
- Tracking disabled and re-enabled accounts as potential risks
- Monitoring account lockout storms for targeted attacks
- Timeline reconstruction for forensic incident response
Module 9: Disaster Recovery and High-Availability Automation - Automated Active Directory backup scheduling with verification
- Scripting backup integrity checks and log analysis
- Replication health monitoring with alerting workflows
- Automated FSMO role seizure and transfer procedures
- Building redundant domain controller deployment scripts
- Site failover automation with DNS and site link adjustments
- Automated metadata cleanup after domain controller removal
- Recovering deleted objects with PowerShell and PowerShell history
- Using Install-ADDSDomainController for automated rebuilds
- Automating virtual domain controller snapshot management
- Preventing USN rollback with proper snapshot policies
- Testing restore procedures in isolated labs
- Documenting recovery time and point objectives (RTO/RPO)
- Automated reporting on backup success and failure rates
- Integrating with enterprise backup solutions (Veeam, Commvault)
- Monitoring disk space and latency on domain controllers
- Automated health dashboards for NOC visibility
- Proactive alerting for replication latency and backlog
- Automated graceful shutdown procedures for planned outages
- Rebuilding AD from backup with minimal service impact
Module 10: Integration with Enterprise Tooling and CI/CD Pipelines - Version controlling AD automation scripts with Git
- Using Azure DevOps or Jenkins for AD change pipelines
- Automated testing of AD scripts in isolated lab environments
- Integrating with ITSM platforms for change approval gating
- Deploying AD changes via release pipelines with rollback
- Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) patterns for domain design
- Exporting AD structure to JSON for documentation and diffing
- Automating configuration drift detection
- Feeding AD data into service catalogs and CMDBs
- Automating integration with endpoint management tools (Intune, SCCM)
- Triggering AD provisioning from application deployment pipelines
- Using REST APIs to expose AD automation to other teams
- Securing API access with OAuth and certificate authentication
- Logging and auditing all automated changes for compliance
- Creating audit-aware scripts that generate structured logs
- Integrating with monitoring platforms like Splunk, Datadog, Zabbix
- Building custom dashboards for AD automation status
- Automated alerting on script failure or timeout
- Chaining multi-step workflows across systems
- Naming and tagging conventions for enterprise traceability
Module 11: Real-World Implementation Projects and Case Studies - Project 1: Automating full user lifecycle in a 20,000-user organisation
- Project 2: Hardening an AD environment pre-audit for financial compliance
- Project 3: Migrating legacy GPOs to modern, automated management
- Project 4: Building a self-service password reset portal with approval
- Project 5: Implementing LAPS across 12,000 endpoints with reporting
- Case Study: Healthcare provider achieves HIPAA compliance in 4 weeks
- Case Study: Manufacturing firm reduces AD incidents by 78% in 6 months
- Case Study: Government agency enforces Tiered Admin model successfully
- Designing an automated access review workflow with email integration
- Creating a disaster recovery playbook with test automation
- Building a central command console for AD operations
- Automating daily health checks and executive reporting
- Integrating AD alerts into Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Developing a PowerShell module for team reuse
- Documenting patterns for future team onboarding
- Creating a runbook for common AD automation failures
- Setting KPIs for automation success and tracking progress
- Presenting automation ROI to management with data
- Scaling automation to support mergers and acquisitions
- Establishing a Centre of Excellence for identity automation
Module 12: Certification Preparation and Career Advancement - Review of all automation and security concepts for mastery assessment
- Practice scenarios: diagnosing and fixing broken automation
- Security hardening checklist for enterprise readiness
- Preparing your automation portfolio for leadership review
- Documenting your personal contributions and impact
- Strategic career positioning: moving from admin to architect
- Using your Certificate of Completion in performance reviews
- Leveraging the credential in job applications and negotiations
- Networking with other professionals via The Art of Service community
- Access to exclusive job board for certified practitioners
- Template: Executive summary of your AD automation achievements
- Communicating technical value to non-technical stakeholders
- Building your personal brand as an automation expert
- Contributing to open-source AD automation projects
- Preparing for Microsoft certification paths (MD-102, SC-300)
- Transitioning into cloud identity and enterprise architecture roles
- Understanding the evolving role of Active Directory in zero trust
- Future-proofing your skills against AI and automation trends
- Continuing education pathways in identity and access management
- Final assessment: Implementation Plan v1.0 submission for feedback
- Azure AD Connect: custom sync rule design and management
- Filtering users, groups, and OUs for selective sync
- Automating Azure AD Connect health monitoring
- Handling attribute flow conflicts and custom mappings
- Scripting delta and full sync triggers
- Troubleshooting sync errors with event logs and diagnostics
- Managing object duplication and precedence rules
- Automating password hash sync and pass-through authentication checks
- Monitoring sign-in health via PowerShell and Microsoft Graph
- Automating force sync operations during critical deployments
- Handling renamed or merged domains in hybrid environments
- Automated reporting on hybrid identity status and health
- Managing cloud-only accounts with on-prem governance
- Synchronising on-prem groups with Microsoft 365 groups
- Implementing hybrid join for seamless device management
- Configuring seamless single sign-on (SSO) with ADFS or Entra ID
- Automating device object cleanup for stale hybrid joined devices
- Handling identity conflicts during mergers and acquisitions
- Monitoring sync latency and performance thresholds
- Creating fallback plans for sync service outages
Module 8: Threat Detection and Active Directory Forensics - Analysing event logs for signs of Golden Ticket attacks
- Detecting DCSync attempts using 4662 and 4670 events
- Identifying pass-the-hash and pass-the-ticket activity
- Monitoring unusual Kerberos TGT request patterns
- Automated detection of abnormal replication traffic
- Spotting RDP brute force attacks via Event ID 4625 analysis
- Tracking lateral movement using logon session correlation
- Using PowerShell to extract and analyse security log data
- Building custom detection rules for SIEM integration
- Creating baseline profiles for normal administrator behaviour
- Automating weekly threat hunts across domain controllers
- Using BloodHound data to visualise privilege escalation paths
- Exporting and analysing ACLs for dangerous permissions
- Detecting orphaned SIDs and ACL inconsistencies
- Investigating unauthorised GPO modifications
- Analysing 5136 events for sensitive attribute changes
- Automating suspicious account creation detection
- Tracking disabled and re-enabled accounts as potential risks
- Monitoring account lockout storms for targeted attacks
- Timeline reconstruction for forensic incident response
Module 9: Disaster Recovery and High-Availability Automation - Automated Active Directory backup scheduling with verification
- Scripting backup integrity checks and log analysis
- Replication health monitoring with alerting workflows
- Automated FSMO role seizure and transfer procedures
- Building redundant domain controller deployment scripts
- Site failover automation with DNS and site link adjustments
- Automated metadata cleanup after domain controller removal
- Recovering deleted objects with PowerShell and PowerShell history
- Using Install-ADDSDomainController for automated rebuilds
- Automating virtual domain controller snapshot management
- Preventing USN rollback with proper snapshot policies
- Testing restore procedures in isolated labs
- Documenting recovery time and point objectives (RTO/RPO)
- Automated reporting on backup success and failure rates
- Integrating with enterprise backup solutions (Veeam, Commvault)
- Monitoring disk space and latency on domain controllers
- Automated health dashboards for NOC visibility
- Proactive alerting for replication latency and backlog
- Automated graceful shutdown procedures for planned outages
- Rebuilding AD from backup with minimal service impact
Module 10: Integration with Enterprise Tooling and CI/CD Pipelines - Version controlling AD automation scripts with Git
- Using Azure DevOps or Jenkins for AD change pipelines
- Automated testing of AD scripts in isolated lab environments
- Integrating with ITSM platforms for change approval gating
- Deploying AD changes via release pipelines with rollback
- Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) patterns for domain design
- Exporting AD structure to JSON for documentation and diffing
- Automating configuration drift detection
- Feeding AD data into service catalogs and CMDBs
- Automating integration with endpoint management tools (Intune, SCCM)
- Triggering AD provisioning from application deployment pipelines
- Using REST APIs to expose AD automation to other teams
- Securing API access with OAuth and certificate authentication
- Logging and auditing all automated changes for compliance
- Creating audit-aware scripts that generate structured logs
- Integrating with monitoring platforms like Splunk, Datadog, Zabbix
- Building custom dashboards for AD automation status
- Automated alerting on script failure or timeout
- Chaining multi-step workflows across systems
- Naming and tagging conventions for enterprise traceability
Module 11: Real-World Implementation Projects and Case Studies - Project 1: Automating full user lifecycle in a 20,000-user organisation
- Project 2: Hardening an AD environment pre-audit for financial compliance
- Project 3: Migrating legacy GPOs to modern, automated management
- Project 4: Building a self-service password reset portal with approval
- Project 5: Implementing LAPS across 12,000 endpoints with reporting
- Case Study: Healthcare provider achieves HIPAA compliance in 4 weeks
- Case Study: Manufacturing firm reduces AD incidents by 78% in 6 months
- Case Study: Government agency enforces Tiered Admin model successfully
- Designing an automated access review workflow with email integration
- Creating a disaster recovery playbook with test automation
- Building a central command console for AD operations
- Automating daily health checks and executive reporting
- Integrating AD alerts into Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Developing a PowerShell module for team reuse
- Documenting patterns for future team onboarding
- Creating a runbook for common AD automation failures
- Setting KPIs for automation success and tracking progress
- Presenting automation ROI to management with data
- Scaling automation to support mergers and acquisitions
- Establishing a Centre of Excellence for identity automation
Module 12: Certification Preparation and Career Advancement - Review of all automation and security concepts for mastery assessment
- Practice scenarios: diagnosing and fixing broken automation
- Security hardening checklist for enterprise readiness
- Preparing your automation portfolio for leadership review
- Documenting your personal contributions and impact
- Strategic career positioning: moving from admin to architect
- Using your Certificate of Completion in performance reviews
- Leveraging the credential in job applications and negotiations
- Networking with other professionals via The Art of Service community
- Access to exclusive job board for certified practitioners
- Template: Executive summary of your AD automation achievements
- Communicating technical value to non-technical stakeholders
- Building your personal brand as an automation expert
- Contributing to open-source AD automation projects
- Preparing for Microsoft certification paths (MD-102, SC-300)
- Transitioning into cloud identity and enterprise architecture roles
- Understanding the evolving role of Active Directory in zero trust
- Future-proofing your skills against AI and automation trends
- Continuing education pathways in identity and access management
- Final assessment: Implementation Plan v1.0 submission for feedback
- Automated Active Directory backup scheduling with verification
- Scripting backup integrity checks and log analysis
- Replication health monitoring with alerting workflows
- Automated FSMO role seizure and transfer procedures
- Building redundant domain controller deployment scripts
- Site failover automation with DNS and site link adjustments
- Automated metadata cleanup after domain controller removal
- Recovering deleted objects with PowerShell and PowerShell history
- Using Install-ADDSDomainController for automated rebuilds
- Automating virtual domain controller snapshot management
- Preventing USN rollback with proper snapshot policies
- Testing restore procedures in isolated labs
- Documenting recovery time and point objectives (RTO/RPO)
- Automated reporting on backup success and failure rates
- Integrating with enterprise backup solutions (Veeam, Commvault)
- Monitoring disk space and latency on domain controllers
- Automated health dashboards for NOC visibility
- Proactive alerting for replication latency and backlog
- Automated graceful shutdown procedures for planned outages
- Rebuilding AD from backup with minimal service impact
Module 10: Integration with Enterprise Tooling and CI/CD Pipelines - Version controlling AD automation scripts with Git
- Using Azure DevOps or Jenkins for AD change pipelines
- Automated testing of AD scripts in isolated lab environments
- Integrating with ITSM platforms for change approval gating
- Deploying AD changes via release pipelines with rollback
- Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) patterns for domain design
- Exporting AD structure to JSON for documentation and diffing
- Automating configuration drift detection
- Feeding AD data into service catalogs and CMDBs
- Automating integration with endpoint management tools (Intune, SCCM)
- Triggering AD provisioning from application deployment pipelines
- Using REST APIs to expose AD automation to other teams
- Securing API access with OAuth and certificate authentication
- Logging and auditing all automated changes for compliance
- Creating audit-aware scripts that generate structured logs
- Integrating with monitoring platforms like Splunk, Datadog, Zabbix
- Building custom dashboards for AD automation status
- Automated alerting on script failure or timeout
- Chaining multi-step workflows across systems
- Naming and tagging conventions for enterprise traceability
Module 11: Real-World Implementation Projects and Case Studies - Project 1: Automating full user lifecycle in a 20,000-user organisation
- Project 2: Hardening an AD environment pre-audit for financial compliance
- Project 3: Migrating legacy GPOs to modern, automated management
- Project 4: Building a self-service password reset portal with approval
- Project 5: Implementing LAPS across 12,000 endpoints with reporting
- Case Study: Healthcare provider achieves HIPAA compliance in 4 weeks
- Case Study: Manufacturing firm reduces AD incidents by 78% in 6 months
- Case Study: Government agency enforces Tiered Admin model successfully
- Designing an automated access review workflow with email integration
- Creating a disaster recovery playbook with test automation
- Building a central command console for AD operations
- Automating daily health checks and executive reporting
- Integrating AD alerts into Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Developing a PowerShell module for team reuse
- Documenting patterns for future team onboarding
- Creating a runbook for common AD automation failures
- Setting KPIs for automation success and tracking progress
- Presenting automation ROI to management with data
- Scaling automation to support mergers and acquisitions
- Establishing a Centre of Excellence for identity automation
Module 12: Certification Preparation and Career Advancement - Review of all automation and security concepts for mastery assessment
- Practice scenarios: diagnosing and fixing broken automation
- Security hardening checklist for enterprise readiness
- Preparing your automation portfolio for leadership review
- Documenting your personal contributions and impact
- Strategic career positioning: moving from admin to architect
- Using your Certificate of Completion in performance reviews
- Leveraging the credential in job applications and negotiations
- Networking with other professionals via The Art of Service community
- Access to exclusive job board for certified practitioners
- Template: Executive summary of your AD automation achievements
- Communicating technical value to non-technical stakeholders
- Building your personal brand as an automation expert
- Contributing to open-source AD automation projects
- Preparing for Microsoft certification paths (MD-102, SC-300)
- Transitioning into cloud identity and enterprise architecture roles
- Understanding the evolving role of Active Directory in zero trust
- Future-proofing your skills against AI and automation trends
- Continuing education pathways in identity and access management
- Final assessment: Implementation Plan v1.0 submission for feedback
- Project 1: Automating full user lifecycle in a 20,000-user organisation
- Project 2: Hardening an AD environment pre-audit for financial compliance
- Project 3: Migrating legacy GPOs to modern, automated management
- Project 4: Building a self-service password reset portal with approval
- Project 5: Implementing LAPS across 12,000 endpoints with reporting
- Case Study: Healthcare provider achieves HIPAA compliance in 4 weeks
- Case Study: Manufacturing firm reduces AD incidents by 78% in 6 months
- Case Study: Government agency enforces Tiered Admin model successfully
- Designing an automated access review workflow with email integration
- Creating a disaster recovery playbook with test automation
- Building a central command console for AD operations
- Automating daily health checks and executive reporting
- Integrating AD alerts into Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Developing a PowerShell module for team reuse
- Documenting patterns for future team onboarding
- Creating a runbook for common AD automation failures
- Setting KPIs for automation success and tracking progress
- Presenting automation ROI to management with data
- Scaling automation to support mergers and acquisitions
- Establishing a Centre of Excellence for identity automation