What you should know before taking this course

- [Voiceover] Before getting into Windows Server 2012 R2 high availability and clustering, there's a few things you should know. High availability is not for amateurs. Of course you're in the learning stages, and it is a time for amateurs, but this doesn't mean you should use it in a production environment until you are confident you can get this to work in a test environment. You should have a good foundation of Windows Server 2012 R2.

If you're new to Windows servers or to this particular version of Windows. Then you should take more time to learn some foundations before getting into high availability and clustering, as it is a more advanced subject. You should know how to install roles and features, and understand Server Manager. From Server Manager is where we install all these roles and features, but we also configure other things in Server Manager that make Windows Server 2012 R2 work properly.

You should have a good foundation for TCP/IP. This is the protocol we use for the internet, of course, but we also use to communicate between our cluster nodes and our Network Load Balancing clusters for network cards. Knowing about TCP/IP is a great way to find out ahead of time whether or not you are prepared for clustering. You should create a test environment to follow along. Having a test environment will allow you to do everything that we're doing in the videos, and you can see your success or your challenges while we run through these different scenarios.

Being able to follow along will help you remember better, just as those who write down instructions remember better than just listening to them. I hope you enjoy this high availability clustering project video series. And you get a lot out of it, and it helps you with your career and your certifications. Let's get started.