Microsoft Windows Server Administrator Boot Camp (AZ-802)

AZ-802, Administering Windows Server, is the single exam behind the Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Administrator Associate certification. It covers managing and securing Windows Server across on-premises and Azure environments, including Active Directory Domain Services, hybrid management, storage, monitoring, and the current security baselines.

Yes. AZ-802 consolidates the two-exam path into one. AZ-800 and AZ-801 retire on September 30, 2026, and from that point AZ-802 is the route to the Windows Server Administrator Associate certification. Practically, that means one voucher and one sitting instead of two, which is why this boot camp is five days rather than the six the old path needed.

If you passed AZ-800 but did not complete AZ-801 before the retirement date, the certification path is now AZ-802. Check your Microsoft Learn transcript for your current status before you enroll, and bring it to your advisor conversation. We would rather point you at the right exam than sell you a week you did not need.

Seven areas across the current outline. Deploying and managing Active Directory Domain Services carries the heaviest weight, followed by managing Windows Server instances and workloads in hybrid environments, storage, monitoring, and security. The hybrid content is the substantial change from the old exams: Azure Arc, Azure Update Manager, Azure Monitor, and Defender for Cloud all appear, alongside newer material such as OSConfig baselines and SMB over QUIC.

Windows Server administrators, systems administrators, and infrastructure engineers who run Active Directory and server workloads, particularly where those workloads now stretch into Azure. It also fits administrators certified on older Windows Server tracks who need a credential that reflects how the estate is actually managed today.

You should already administer Windows Server day to day. Microsoft expects familiarity with Active Directory Domain Services, Windows Admin Center, Hyper-V, and PowerShell, and the hybrid content assumes you have at least seen Azure. This is an associate-level exam, not an entry point, and candidates who arrive without server administration experience tend to struggle with the pace.

Five days of live instruction, online or in person, covering all seven AZ-802 domains with hands-on labs and exam preparation built into each day. You sit the exam on the final day at our onsite Pearson VUE center rather than scheduling it weeks later.

Yes. Your $165 exam voucher is included with enrollment, along with a free retake. Because AZ-802 replaced a two-exam path, that is one voucher rather than two, which is a genuine saving against the old AZ-800 and AZ-801 route.

Microsoft role-based certifications are valid for one year and are renewed through a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn, which you can take in the six months before expiration. There is no fee and no need to resit AZ-802. The renewal is short, but it is not automatic, so put a reminder in your calendar.

Windows Server administration currently averages somewhere around $88,000 to $96,000 in the United States, with the middle of the market roughly $70,000 to $105,000 and senior roles reaching into the $130,000s. The pay moves most for administrators who can work across on-premises and Azure rather than one or the other, which is precisely the ground AZ-802 covers.