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104 Best + Free Windows Server Courses & Certificates [2026]

104 courses compared 37 over 10 hours long Updated October 12, 2026

Ranked by Michael Kuhlman, CourseDuck's founder, from student reviews across every provider. How we rank

Our top picks

  • Master Microsoft PowerShell [Udemy]
  • Active Directory & Group Policy Lab [Udemy]
  • Active Directory on Windows Server [Udemy]
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Training for Beginners [Udemy]
  • Introduction To Windows Server 2012R2 [Udemy]
  • Windows Server 2019 Administration [Udemy]
  • Microsoft SCCM/Endpoint Configuration Manager for Beginners [Udemy]
  • Introduction to Windows PowerShell 5.1 [Udemy]
  • PowerShell for Active Directory Administrators [Udemy]
  • Windows Server 2016 Administration [Udemy]

About the best Windows Server courses

CourseDuck compares the 104 Windows Server courses listed here, 1 of them free, and ranks them from the 239,000 ratings and reviews their students have left, with the price, length and level of each one side by side. No course pays to be listed or ranked. As featured on Harvard EDU, Stackify and Inc. How we rank

Frequently asked questions

The most-reviewed course in this category is Master Microsoft PowerShell by Tom Meservy, with about 20,100 reviews at 4.6 as of October 2026. For Active Directory, Active Directory & Group Policy Lab by Paul Hill has about 15,100 reviews at 4.7.

Installing and running Windows Server, Active Directory and Group Policy, PowerShell scripting and automation, DNS and DHCP, and managing Microsoft systems with Exchange and SCCM. Some were written for Microsoft certification exams.

Paid Udemy video courses include a certificate of completion when you finish; free courses and practice-test-only courses do not. It shows you did the work, but it is not a Microsoft certification. Microsoft certifications come from passing Microsoft's own exams, and Microsoft has retired several Windows Server exams, so check that the exam a course was written for is still offered.

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104 Filtered Courses
Master Microsoft PowerShell
provider

1

Master Microsoft PowerShell (2016)

4.6
(20,146 reviews)
byTom Meservy

A two-hour PowerShell primer from a professor that ends with writing a real file-organizing script, for beginners who want the basics fast.

Best for: Sys admins and IT generalists who want PowerShell basics in one afternoon, ending with a working script.

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Pros
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Cons
    • Short and focused: 31 lectures that stay on the point with no filler
    • Clean audio and simple examples that reviewers could apply straight away
    • Finishes with a 34-minute build of a real script that organizes files
    • Covers loops, hash tables, importing data and functions in about two hours
    • Only about two hours, and several reviewers say explanations get thin
    • Last updated in August 2016, so it reflects Windows 7, 8 and 10 era setups
    • The final script exercise left one reviewer unprepared and needing extra googling
$18.99 Certificate Length: 2h
Active Directory & Group Policy Lab
provider

2

Active Directory & Group Policy Lab (2024)

4.7
(15,089 reviews)
byPaul Hill

A 7 hour, step by step Active Directory and Group Policy lab for help desk beginners, covering OUs, GPOs, shared drives and a PowerShell section.

Best for: Help desk and junior admin hopefuls who want slow, step by step Active Directory and GPO practice.

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Pros
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Cons
    • 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
    • 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
$17.99 Certificate Length: 7.2h
Active Directory on Windows Server
provider

3

Active Directory on Windows Server (2025)

4.6
(14,799 reviews)
byKevin Brown

A short, demo-driven tour of Windows Server Active Directory, from installing a domain controller to trusts, restores and certificate services, in under seven hours.

Best for: New sysadmins with some networking basics who want to watch every AD setting configured on screen.

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Pros
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Cons
    • Every setting is shown in the real interface, with step-by-step demos reviewers say they can reuse later
    • Clear, jargon-light explanations that break big ideas into small pieces
    • Covers core admin tasks: installs, OUs, sites, trusts, RODCs, FSMO roles and restores
    • Bonus section walks through migrating domain controllers to a newer OS
    • Reviewers call it a brief introduction, with advanced topics only skimmed
    • Group Policy gets about 40 minutes, so it stays shallow
    • Assumes basic IT and networking knowledge, so total newcomers may struggle
$14.99 Certificate Length: 6.9h
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Training for Beginners
provider

4

Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Training for Beginners

4.3
(12,554 reviews)
byPaul Hill

A hands-on, lab-based tour of Windows Server 2016 admin, from a VirtualBox install to Active Directory, DHCP, DNS and WSUS, led by a very clear teacher.

Best for: Complete beginners who want to build a home Windows domain lab and see each core server role working once.

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Pros
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Cons
    • Hill's voice and pacing in the basics are described as clear and easy to follow
    • Builds a full lab in VirtualBox: domain controller, Windows 10 client, DHCP and DNS
    • Covers a wide spread in 6.7 hours, including WSUS, PowerShell, Core and backups
    • Lab runs free on a 180 day trial of Server 2016 and VirtualBox
    • Last updated in 2020, and reviewers say screens and software no longer match
    • Some lectures were recorded in different versions, so servers and IPs change mid-lesson
    • Group Policy and advanced topics are thin, and reviewers report no replies to questions
$17.99 Certificate Length: 6.7h
Introduction To Windows Server 2012R2
provider

5

Introduction To Windows Server 2012R2 (2017)

4.5
(1,184 reviews)
byPhillip Roos

A free 97-minute walkthrough of building a Windows Server 2012 R2 lab in a virtual machine, with Active Directory users, DHCP and WDS set up on screen.

Best for: People who want a short, free, follow-along virtual lab for Server 2012 R2, such as Linux admins new to Windows.

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Pros
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Cons
    • Short enough to finish in one evening, and reviewers say it packs in more than some 20 hour courses
    • Shows a full Hyper-V setup, from installing the server to adding Windows 8.1 and 10 machines
    • Covers practical tasks like creating Active Directory users, resetting passwords, DHCP and WDS
    • Free, and a Linux user says it beat reading Microsoft's own documentation
    • Audio is the top complaint: thin sound, background noise and some shouting, and the captions miss words
    • Last updated in 2017 and covers Server 2012 R2, which Microsoft no longer supports
    • Explains concepts like AD DS and DHCP lightly, with no quizzes or exercises to practice on
Free Certificate Length: 1.6h
Windows Server 2019 Administration
provider

6

Windows Server 2019 Administration

4.7
(12,534 reviews)
byKevin Brown
Learn Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, Storage, Backup, Azure integration and More

iconWhat You'll Learn

  • Windows Server Administrative tools
  • Use PowerShell to manage Windows Server
  • How to use Group Policy
  • How to configure DNS
  • How to configure DHCP
  • File Server Management
  • Creating and managing virtual machines using Hyper-V
  • Implement Failover Clustering
  • Implementing Disaster Recovery using Windows Backup
  • Implement Windows Server Security
  • Monitor performance
  • How to manage Active Directory Users, Computers, Groups and more
$119.99 Certificate Length: 21.3h
Microsoft SCCM/Endpoint Configuration Manager for Beginners
provider

7

Microsoft SCCM/Endpoint Configuration Manager for Beginners (2024)

4.5
(12,039 reviews)
byPaul Hill
The fluff-free SCCM course that shows you how to install and administrate SCCM within your network, screen-by-screen

iconWhat You'll Learn

  • The exact steps for building an IT lab at home so you can fully learn and experiment with SCCM while youre taking the course (a must for developing true hands-on experience)
  • Specific recommendations for implementing SCCM in a production environment, regardless if youre doing a small single-site or a large-scale, globally distributed deployment
  • How to install and configure SCCM from the ground up, including downloading and installing SCCM, SQL, and all of the necessary server roles and schema
  • How to use the Configuration Manager Console, including managing users, creating boundary groups, and user discovery methods
  • How to create and push out applications to the Windows PCs on your network to the appropriate users (plus how to monitor whether its progress and any errors that pop up)
  • How to deploy an Operating System (in this case a Windows 10 image and software package) to a machine on your network, without worrying about making an OMG
$19.99 Certificate Length: 9.3h
Introduction to Windows PowerShell 5.1
provider

8

Introduction to Windows PowerShell 5.1 (2024)

4.5
(11,924 reviews)
byPaul Hill
Install PowerShell 5.1, Understand PowerShell Syntax, Setup a PowerShell IT lab, Manage Active Directory with Powershell

iconWhat You'll Learn

  • Understand the Powershell command line
  • How to write Powershell scripts to automate redundant tasks
  • Install and Update Windows PowerShell
  • Learn the Basics of Windows PowerShell 5.1
  • Introduction to the Text Based Console and Intelligent Scripting Environment (ISE)
  • Utilize the PowerShell Help System
  • Finally Understand PowerShell Syntax
  • Understand Objects, Properties and Methods
  • Understand the PowerShell Pipeline
  • Create and Manage Active Directory Users with PowerShell
  • Create and Delete Organizational Units with PowerShell
$17.99 Certificate Length: 11.1h
PowerShell for Active Directory Administrators
provider

9

PowerShell for Active Directory Administrators (2025)

4.5
(8,448 reviews)
byKevin Brown
Use PowerShell to manage Active Directory users, computer, groups, security settings and more on Windows Server

iconWhat You'll Learn

  • Manager Active Directory users, computers and groups using PowerShell
  • Bulk import of accounts into Active Directory
  • Automate tasks using powershell
  • Deploy domain controllers using powershell
$14.99 Certificate Length: 3h
Windows Server 2016 Administration
provider

10

Windows Server 2016 Administration

4.5
(8,068 reviews)
byKevin Brown
Windows Server 2016: Nano Server, Server Core, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Hyper-V, WDS, WSUS, NLB and more.

iconWhat You'll Learn

  • Install Windows Server 2016 as a Desktop Experience Server, Server Core and as a Nano Server
  • Manage users and computers using Active DIrectory
  • Configure computers using Group Policy
  • Manage DNS
  • Understand Powershell
  • Create and manage Virtual Machines using Hyper-V
  • Implement a DHCP infrastructure
  • Deploy operating systems using Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
  • Backup and Restore Windows Server 2016
  • Implement Data Deduplication to reduce storage
  • Monitor Windows Server performance using built-in tools
  • Install and manage Windows Software Update Service (WSUS)
$15.99 Certificate Length: 10.4h
PowerShell: Step-by-step
provider

11

PowerShell: Step-by-step (2025)

4.6
(7,322 reviews)
byKevin Brown
Windows 10 and 11, Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022

iconWhat You'll Learn

  • Understand PowerShell principles and tools
  • Manage processes and services using PowerShell
  • Manage scripts using PowerShell ISE
  • Using different versions of PowerShell
  • How to use PowerShell Help
  • Automate tasks
  • Use of the Pipeline
  • How to create transcripts
  • Work with Object Members
  • Create hash tables
  • create arrays
  • Use operators and parameters
  • Use WMI and CIM commands
  • Proper use of variables
  • Understand execution policy levels
  • Create scripts based on ForEach and ElseIf constructs
  • Use PowerShell remoting
  • How to use Aliases
$13.99 Certificate Length: 6.1h

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