Preface

Microsoft’s launch of Windows 11 is a step toward satisfying Enterprise administrator needs for management and user experience customization. With its improvements and continuous developments since the first Windows 10 releases, it represents the latest and most secure Windows version to date. But to make the most of this security, it is necessary to deal with the new requirements and changes of Windows 11. This book provides Enterprise administrators with the knowledge required to fully utilize the advanced feature set of Windows 11 Enterprise. This practical guide shows Windows 11 from an administrator’s point of view.

Who this book is for

If you’re a system administrator tasked with upgrading to Windows 11, then this book is for you. Having deployed and managed previous versions of Windows in the past will help you follow along with this book, but you can also use it as a guide if Windows 11 is your first foray into system administration.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Windows 11 – Installation and Upgrading, covers concepts and best practices for installing the new Windows 11 to prepare you for the move to Windows 11 in the most feasible way. It covers the new hardware requirements for Windows 11 and discusses different installation options. The chapter shows under which conditions an in-place upgrade is possible. It will also explain the new Lifecycle Policy of Windows 11.

Chapter 2, Introducing PowerShell, provides an introduction to PowerShell/PowerShell 7. The chapter explains the key concepts and shows how you can learn more about PowerShell.

Chapter 3, Configuration and Customization, discusses configuring Windows 11 to your needs, supported customization options, and how to configure Windows 11 for end users.

Chapter 4, User Account Administration, covers the administration of user accounts in Windows 11, including Azure AD, local accounts, and domain accounts usage.

Chapter 5, Tools to Manage Windows 11, discusses two sets of tools that you can use to manage Windows 11 and your Windows Server environment. Remote Server Admin Tools (RSAT) are produced by Microsoft and are available to download and use. The chapter also discusses the Sysinternals tools from Microsoft. Both tool sets are invaluable – and are both free and easy to obtain.

Chapter 6, Device Management, describes the new mobile device management (MDM) capabilities of Windows 10 and 11, discusses caveats of the Windows 10/11 GPO processing, and has a deeper look at patching and servicing, including the deployment solutions of the needed quality and feature updates such as Windows Update for Business, WSUS, MECM (aka SCCM), and third-party solutions.

Chapter 7, Accessing Enterprise Data in BYOD and CYOD Scenarios, covers an understanding of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) models. You will see and understand how to handle the scenario of user access to corporate data on personally owned Windows 11 devices.

Chapter 8, Windows 11 Security, covers all aspects of Windows 11 security. While you have covered some aspects of security in some of the other chapters in this book, you will look at them collectively and in more detail in this security-focused chapter. If you are a security professional, then this chapter is dedicated to your role and responsibilities in securing Windows 11 in a company.

Chapter 9, Advanced Configurations, goes over a variety of different configurations used in enterprise environments, including VDI, kiosk mode, Autopilot, configuration for schools, Unbranded Boot, and WSL2.

Chapter 10, Windows 11 21H2 and 22H2 Changes (versus Windows 10), gives an overview of all the new features and the numerous changes of the first two Windows 11 versions compared to the previous Windows 10 versions. This chapter is intended to give an overview of all the new features you should take a look at. It is a good start to familiarize yourself with the new features.

To get the most out of this book

We recommend that you install and activate a copy of Windows 11 Enterprise in a test environment. An Active Directory domain is required in order to test new Group Policy options. An Azure subscription is required to test the following features covered in this book:

• Azure Active Directory domain join
• Microsoft Intune for device management and Autopilot
• Security Center for Microsoft Endpoint Protection (MDE)

You may also want a Microsoft 365 E5 trial subscription to see the full potential and complete integration.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: “You can check SLAT availability via coreinfo.exe -v from Sysinternals Suite.”

A block of code is set as follows:

Install-Script -Name Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo -ForceGet-WindowsAutoPilotInfo -OutputFile AutoPilotInfo.csv

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy BypassInstall-Script -name Get-WindowsAutopilotInfo -Force
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo -Online

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For instance, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in bold. Here is an example: "From Windows 11, you can use the Microsoft Store and search for PowerShell 7."

Tips or important notes

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