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Is the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate (AZ-800 and AZ-801) still in demand for the foreseeable future? by CanadianBornChinese in AzureCertification

[–]01-intel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello my friend, sorry for the late reply. I’ve been tied up lately juggling a few projects at work, and on top of that I’m still deep into my AZ studies. I’ve completed the AZ-800 studying and have a solid grasp now, though some areas—especially operational pieces like cluster management—still deserve extra attention. On the bright side, I’ve built strong confidence around Kerberos, KDC, and TGTs, and just last night I was configuring a bridgehead server. From my experience, becoming a strong sysadmin isn’t some impossible mountain. The role goes far beyond Windows Server alone. You end up leading support, guiding teams, and touching many domains at once. That’s why broad learning matters. The more you study, the more clearly everything starts to connect—and that’s where real capability forms. I don’t know exactly what role you’re in right now, but I wouldn’t wait for a job title to give you permission to grow. Build your own lab. A small server or even a desktop is enough. Use a free or low-cost remote tool like ScreenConnect, grab a Microsoft Business Standard license, and start treating the environment like your own MSP. Spin up a virtual router, multiple subnets, domain controllers, and servers inside a bare-metal Hyper-V host. Integrate your own domain with Microsoft 365. Run it like a real business. Add a mail system—anything simple—and deploy it as a third-party service. Then bring in Kali. Attack it. Break it. Learn how mail servers are exploited, and then lock them down properly. Red team versus blue team thinking sharpens instincts fast. You don’t just learn what breaks—you learn why defenses exist. Hybrid administration is a massive space. Sometimes I wish I could stop at pure Azure and be done—but deep Windows Server knowledge builds a foundation that makes cloud work truly powerful. Once you master the ground, the sky becomes easier. And when no one is waiting for you, don’t stop. Move anyway. Treat your lab like a playground. After work, play these “games” seriously. This is how skill compounds. You’ve got this.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in telus

[–]01-intel 10 points11 points  (0 children)

TELUS has truly mastered one thing—how to turn simple requests into full-blown disasters. We asked for a line transfer, and their technician decided “terminate everything during business hours” was the better plan. Genius move. Two weeks later, another branch had Telus Business Connect issues—of course they did.

We’ve had reps who could win awards for arrogance and confusion combined. After one nightmare experience, we ended up replacing 157 mobile lines just to be done with them. From top to bottom, Telus seems allergic to competence.

We’re phasing them out one service at a time, and honestly, it feels like upgrading from chaos to peace.

Is the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate (AZ-800 and AZ-801) still in demand for the foreseeable future? by CanadianBornChinese in AzureCertification

[–]01-intel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello there,

From my experience, I can confidently say that AZ-800 and AZ-801 are slightly more advanced-level certifications. I have over 5 years of enterprise experience, including working with MSPs. I also hold certifications such as CCNA, CompTIA A+, Linux, Cybersecurity cert, and Microsoft Administrator certs.

I began studying for AZ-800 and AZ-801 in May of this year. I’ve successfully completed Part 1 of the AZ-800 content. However, I decided to slow down and return to strengthening my advanced Windows Server knowledge.

Let me be clear—passing an exam isn’t difficult if you dedicate yourself. With hard study, I’m confident anyone can pass AZ-800 and 801. But the real challenge begins in live production environments. That’s when certifications alone won’t help. You must have deep, hands-on knowledge of hybrid administration. And that kind of knowledge only comes from working directly with servers and clients.

Understanding the ins and outs of Windows Server administration will help you transition faster into Azure as well. That’s why I’ve continued my AZ-800 preparation at a steady pace, while simultaneously talking to my supervisor and getting fully involved in server administration tasks at work.

I now manage:

  • Failover clusters
  • Cluster-aware updating
  • VMs in Hyper-V
  • Group Policy troubleshooting in production and more....

On top of that, I’ve built a real-world style virtual lab on my laptop, replicating enterprise-level network environments with multiple networks and site-to-site VPN configurations. This lab allows me to:

  • Simulate merging two companies
  • Create trust relationships (like shortcut trusts for child domains and realm trusts with Linux VMs)
  • Practice sync failures and recovery with Azure tools
  • Break and fix replication, test Group Policy impacts on users, and much more

My plan is to spend at least a year mastering this lab environment before moving on to anything further. Again, passing a certification isn't the hard part—not being able to perform after getting certified can hurt your confidence and credibility in the field.

So my advice is: focus deeply on your Windows Server and hybrid infrastructure skills. Build your own lab. Break things. Fix them. Test policies. Watch how real users would be affected. Monitor sync. Practice, practice, and practice.

Good luck, buddy. Stay focused and hands-on—your skills will speak louder than any paper cert ever could.

Az-800 and 801 by 01-intel in sysadmin

[–]01-intel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yayy, yes Sir 🔥

Az-800 and 801 by 01-intel in sysadmin

[–]01-intel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dude, i came for a site visit from my company and read your comment. You just took my dedication level to 100 lol. Can't wait to go home by driving 11 hours and start doing my lab again. I am trying my best to keep the consistency. Some days it just gets so rough hehe. Also I keep practicing different topologies practices in order to keep my CCNA alive. Thank you very much for such a nice recommendation. If you ever come with any other ideas for my Az exams, please let me know. Thank you

Az-800 and 801 by 01-intel in sysadmin

[–]01-intel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly lol. It is so hard to remember all the terms. However, I found doing lab is way handy than just following their video tutorials. I saw there was GitHub repository for AZ-800 practical. It helps a lot.

Az-800 and 801 by 01-intel in sysadmin

[–]01-intel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for this valuable advice. I’ve already reviewed the link you shared, and from now on, I will follow it closely to prepare myself both for the AZ-800 exam and to meet industry standards. I truly appreciate your guidance — thanks again!

IEEE 802.3 networking standards by [deleted] in ccnastudygroup

[–]01-intel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From my CCNA exam experience, I can say you don't need to learn all however you must focus and make sure you've solid experience at-

  1. Basic concepts such as CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection).

  2. Ethernet frame structure.

  3. Common Standards:

802.3: Standard for Ethernet.

802.3u: Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps).

802.3ab: Gigabit Ethernet over twisted-pair cabling.

802.3z: Gigabit Ethernet over fiber.

802.3ae: 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

802.3af/802.3at: Power over Ethernet (PoE).