Course Overview

The Azure Stack HCI programme is designed to provide IT professionals and system administrators with a comprehensive, hands-on understanding of modern hybrid infrastructure environments. It focuses on enabling participants to effectively deploy, configure, and manage Azure Stack HCI solutions while integrating on-premises systems with cloud-based services.

The course covers the core principles of hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), including software-defined storage, virtualisation, and compute optimisation. Participants will gain practical knowledge of deploying Azure Stack HCI clusters, managing virtual workloads using Hyper-V, and implementing Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) within Windows Server environments.

A key focus of the programme is hybrid cloud integration using Azure Arc, enabling seamless management of on-premises infrastructure alongside Azure services. Participants will also explore monitoring, security, and governance tools such as Azure Monitor and Microsoft Defender for Cloud to ensure operational stability and protection of workloads.

In addition, the course introduces strategies for scalability, high availability, and disaster recovery, allowing organisations to build resilient hybrid cloud architectures. By the end of the programme, learners will be equipped with the skills required to bridge traditional infrastructure with modern cloud ecosystems, ensuring efficient, secure, and scalable IT operations.

Agenda

Day — 1 Introduction to Azure Stack

• Understanding Azure Stack, Azure Stack HCI, and Azure Stack Edge and their roles in hybrid cloud environments.
• Exploring the core components and architecture of Azure Stack HCI.
• Understanding key technologies used in Azure Stack HCI, including Hyper-V, Windows Server Software-Defined Storage, and Storage Spaces Direct (S2D).
• Examining the management and administration tools used for Azure Stack HCI environments.
• Understanding the principles of deploying and configuring Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) clusters in a Windows Server environment.
• Preparing for S2D deployment, including infrastructure and system requirements.
• Implementing deployment steps for Azure Stack HCI clusters.
• Configuring and optimising storage within S2D environments for performance and reliability.

Day — 2 Plan and Deploy Azure Stack HCI

• Understanding the use cases and business scenarios for Azure Stack HCI in hybrid cloud environments.
• Planning Azure Stack HCI deployments based on workload requirements, scalability, and infrastructure needs.
• Identifying key considerations for workload planning, including performance, storage, and networking requirements.
• Understanding the end-to-end deployment process for Azure Stack HCI clusters.
• Applying best practices for validating Azure Stack HCI deployments to ensure stability and reliability.
• Performing post-deployment checks and verification of system configuration and performance.
• Understanding integration of Azure Stack HCI with Microsoft Azure for hybrid cloud operations.
• Leveraging Azure services to extend functionality, monitoring, and management of HCI environments.

Day — 3 Azure Stack Hub and Azure Arc

• Understanding the differences between Azure Stack Hub, Azure Stack HCI, and Azure Stack Edge in hybrid cloud environments.
• Comparing the use cases, architecture, and deployment scenarios of each Azure Stack solution.
• Exploring Azure Stack Hub systems and their role in delivering consistent Azure services on-premises.
• Understanding how Azure Arc enables unified management across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
• Applying techniques for achieving hybrid cloud consistency across distributed infrastructure.
• Managing Azure Stack Hub environments using built-in tools and administrative interfaces.
• Exploring resource providers in Azure Stack Hub and their role in extending platform functionality.
• Understanding integration strategies for connecting on-premises infrastructure with Azure services.
• Evaluating best practices for hybrid cloud governance, monitoring, and operational control.

Day — 4 Managing Azure Stack HCI Clusters

• Understanding the end-to-end workflow for creating and configuring Azure Stack HCI clusters.
• Exploring the concept, structure, and use cases of stretched clusters in high-availability environments.
• Applying best practices for managing Azure Stack HCI clusters in production environments.
• Using tools and utilities for updating, monitoring, and configuring cluster resources effectively.
• Managing cluster nodes, including adding new nodes and removing existing ones as required.
• Ensuring cluster health, performance, and resilience through continuous monitoring and maintenance.
• Administering virtual machine workloads across Azure Stack HCI clusters.
• Optimising workload distribution and resource utilisation within clustered environments.

Day — 5 Azure Arc and Azure Monitoring HCI Insights

• Understanding the key features, capabilities, and architecture of Azure Arc.
• Using Azure Arc to extend Azure management and governance to Azure Stack HCI environments.
• Managing virtualized workloads on Azure Stack HCI through Azure Arc-enabled services.
• Monitoring Azure Stack HCI clusters and workloads using Azure Arc tools and services.
• Planning and optimising Azure Stack HCI workloads for performance and scalability.
• Implementing monitoring strategies using Azure Monitor and HCI Insights.
• Tracking system health, performance metrics, and operational status of HCI environments.
• Applying best practices for hybrid infrastructure monitoring and centralized management.
• Ensuring visibility and control across on-premises and cloud-integrated environments.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this programme, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals of Azure Stack HCI, including its architecture, components, and core technologies such as Hyper-V and Storage Spaces Direct (S2D).
• Deploy and manage virtualized workloads within Azure Stack HCI environments using best practices.
• Implement Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) clusters to build high-performance, software-defined storage solutions.
• Plan, deploy, and validate Azure Stack HCI workloads to ensure stability, scalability, and operational efficiency.
• Integrate Azure Stack HCI with Azure Stack Hub and Azure Stack Edge to enable a unified hybrid cloud environment.
• Manage and monitor Azure Stack HCI clusters and virtual machines using modern administrative tools.
• Leverage Azure Arc for centralized management of hybrid and multi-cloud resources.
• Monitor system performance and health using Azure Monitor and HCI Insights.
• Apply hybrid cloud strategies to improve scalability, resilience, and operational continuity across IT environments.

Who Should Attend

This programme is ideal for professionals responsible for deploying, managing, and maintaining hybrid cloud and hyper-converged infrastructure environments, including:

• IT Administrators and Infrastructure Engineers.
• Cloud Architects and Cloud Engineers.
• System and Network Administrators.
• DevOps Engineers.
• Data Center Managers.
• Solution Architects.
• Virtualization and Infrastructure Specialists.
• IT Professionals working with hybrid cloud and Azure environments.