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#2 in Windows ServerUdemyWindows ServerPaid courseAll LevelsCertificate

Active Directory & Group Policy Lab (Udemy.com)

Learn REAL job skills and stack your resume with the experience you will gain in this course!

4.7
15,089 reviews

Created by: Paul Hill

Last updated August 2024

Our take

Based on the ratings of 15,089 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in August 2024. No course pays to be reviewed.

Paul Hill's lab course is a short, practical walk through Active Directory and Group Policy. It runs about 7 hours across 78 lectures, and the syllabus shows an optional lab build, user and computer management, GPO basics and troubleshooting, workstation settings, domain security, PowerShell and backups. Reviewers describe it as pitched at a true beginner, with every click shown. Expect help desk level skills such as resetting passwords, mapping shared drives and deploying software, not architecture or deep enterprise design.

Students are warm about the teaching. Reviewers say he talks slowly, explains clearly and shows each step, and about 8,600 of the 15,089 ratings are five stars. The complaints are consistent. The lab setup is old: several people hit trouble with newer VirtualBox and Windows Server 2016, and one had to hunt down an older VirtualBox release. Support for questions gets mentioned as thin, and one reviewer called the PowerShell scripts broken. A leftover section of replaced lectures also counts toward completion.

The course was last updated in August 2024, which is over two years ago, and the lab steps show it. Still, with 77,333 students and a 4.7 rating, it is a solid, gentle start. Take it for the Group Policy basics, and if you get stuck on setup, plan to look up current VirtualBox guidance or use your own lab.

Best forHelp desk and junior admin hopefuls who want slow, step by step Active Directory and GPO practice.
Skip it ifYou need current lab setup steps or deep PowerShell scripting; the VirtualBox and Server 2016 setup is dated.

Pros

  • Slow, clear narration with every step shown on screen, per reviewers
  • Covers GPO precedence, troubleshooting, shared drives and software deployment
  • Short at about 7 hours, so the basics are reachable in a few sittings
  • Rated 4.7 from 15,089 reviews, with 77,333 students enrolled

Cons

  • Lab setup uses older VirtualBox and Server 2016, and newer versions cause trouble
  • Reviewers report thin support for questions and a PowerShell section that disappoints
  • Last updated August 2024, and a replaced lectures section still counts toward completion
Great instructor. explains slow and very clear, also shows step by step what to do.
yarden hazan, a student

Labeled All Levels, but it really suits true beginners: reviewers say it explains things as if for zero experience.

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What you will learn

  • Learn how to use Active Directory Users and Computers
  • Understand what Group Policy is, how it works, and how to use it in your domain
  • Finally understand GPO (Group Policy Object) precedence!
  • Write Powershell scripts to automate redundant tasks and save yourself from endless hours of repetitive work!
  • Learn how to create test OUs (organizational units) to safely test your new GPOs
  • Manage domain workstations and servers with Group Policy and Active Directory
  • Configure domain user desktop backgrounds and MUCH more!
  • Deploy Software to specific users or computers with Group Policy
  • Use Group Policy Management to secure your domain
  • Learn how to troubleshoot your Group Policy issues!
  • Apply GPOs to target OUs, users and/or computers
  • Create & Secure Network Share Drives and publish them to Active Directory Users and Computers

Course content

11 sections · 78 lectures · 7.2 hours of video 2 quizzes, 7 articles

  1. 1Introduction 1 free preview1 lecture · 3 min
  2. 2(Optional) Setting Up a Lab Environment 1 free preview13 lectures · 53 min
  3. 3Introduction to Active Directory Users & Computers 2 free previews8 lectures · 1 quiz · 1 hour
  4. 4Introduction to Group Policy Management 1 free preview4 lectures · 40 min
  5. 5Group Policy Troubleshooting3 lectures · 1 quiz · 18 min
  6. 6Manage Your Workstations5 lectures · 53 min
  7. 7Securing your Domain4 lectures · 31 min
  8. 8How to use Powershell with Active Directory8 lectures · 1.5 hours
  9. 9Active Directory Backups2 lectures · 11 min
  10. 10Conclusion2 lectures · 2 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Take this course if you want to earn a high paying job in the IT field
  • Take this course if you want to become more skillful in the IT field

What you need before you start

  • Have a computer with Internet
  • Be ready to learn awesome Active Directory and Group Policy stuff =)
  • Prepare to gain on-the-job like experience with Active Directory and Group Policy
  • (Optional) have access to a Domain Controller

How it compares

Against the other 112 rated Udemy courses in Windows Server on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.7 out of 5higher than 88% of them
  • Reviews15,089#2 of 113 by number of reviews
  • Length7.2 hourslonger than 51% of them
  • Last updatedAugust 2024more recently than 59% of them

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Course Description

This course will is geared to give you the skills you need to level up your career and get a high-paying job! To move up in your career you need to have solid experience that you can qualify when asked about. You need to know what you're talking about and that is what this course is all about.

The topics covered in this course dive deep into Active Directory and Group Policy and will have you up to speed on what you need to know in no time! I do not fluff courses with pointless timefillers. Everything is designed to get you the information you need as quickly as possible.
All Levels All Levels product length iconTime: 7.2h

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Instructor Details

Paul Hill

Paul is an IT Professional with over 15 years of experience currently working as a Network Administrator in contract support of the United States Govt.

He has been teaching online courses for the past 9 years and taught over 300k students in 195 countries.

Paul is the owner of Server Academy, an online IT training platform.

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Reviews

4.7

15,089 ratings on Udemy

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By Anil Kumar Vig on 8/31/2026

I bought this course because I love learning about Active Directory, and this course has helped me learn a lot. The course is interesting, well-structured, and easy to understand. Sometimes, we get stuck while following the lessons and need help from the tutor. This is one area where I feel there could be more support for students. However, I was usually able to find solutions through Google and other online platforms. Our tutor is very knowledgeable and has done a fantastic job creating and explaining this course. Overall, I really enjoyed the course and learned a lot about Active Directory. Thank you for creating such a great course!

By Cedric Kivits on 6/21/2026

Very good course. The course goes in depth but still seems to be enjoyable. The pace of talking is good and it really covers the whole deal. Thank you!

By Clinton C Springer on 5/24/2026

Pretty good section, I have learned a lot. However, during the mapping drives lesson. For some reason my GPO did not work. The only drive that I see in the network section is VBOXSVR. I am pretty sure that I followed the steps properly. Not sure what is wrong.

By Frank Torres on 3/26/2026

The lesson might need to be updated; I had to find VirtualBox‑6.1.48‑159471‑Win.exe anything newer would not work on Server 2016. I got it from https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.1.48

By Tommy Kelly on 12/29/2025

Paul is a great instructor, all his lectures on this lab are clear and presented well. Everything explained is laid out in a very approachable way, and steps are easy to follow along with as you go through the course. Learning a lot, thanks Paul!

By Alexander Laureano on 11/26/2025

Amazing! i just the very but very basic of AD like only changing passwords and creating users accounts, this class sure showed me a lot! Thanks!

By Ilias Patelakis on 7/15/2025

Paul is an extraordinary tutor. His material was very clear and to the point. I really enjoyed his course. Despite my short years of IT experience, I found out things which I didn't know through this course and got an in-depth analysis of AD, and Group Policy Management. The course is highly recommended. Thank you Mr. Hill!!!

By George Kormpos on 11/8/2020

Really nice material.

By Harpreet Singh on 11/8/2020

Very Informative course. Good job Paul. Keep it up

By Sina Sadeghlou on 10/27/2020

excellent. Very nice!!

By deepak singh on 10/6/2020

Wonderfull teacher

By Deepak Madhuranthakam on 10/5/2020

The course ha . It helped me recapitulate my basic concepts concepts like AD replication(Inter/Intra Site & Repadmin commands/troubleshooting) Tombstone/Lingering Objects/AD Recycle Bin , Trust relationship , Sites

Showing 12 of 312 reviews

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Overall Score : 94 / 100

Active Directory & Group Policy Lab
Visit course on Udemy Write a review
  • Video Duration: icon 7.2h
  • Price: $17.99
  • Provider: icon Udemy
  • Updated: icon August 2024
  • Level: All Levels All Levels
  • Language: icon English
  • Certificate: icon Yes
  • Lectures:78 in 11 sections
  • Practice:2 quizzes
  • Students:77,300
  • Subtitles:17 languages
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