Desired State Configuration (DSC) is a configuration management platform built into Windows for state management and compliance. DSC allows you to reliably and consistently manage the deployment states and the lifecycle of systems across various environments. Azure Automation Account offers the automation service that complements the DSC state management and makes it easier to manage and set up the management environment. The service also supports importing existing DSC resources and assigning the configuration to the nodes in any cloud or on-premises data centers.

This lab challenge assumes familiarity with the following PowerShell DSC features and concepts:

• Understanding the PowerShell DSC Syntax
• Creating PowerShell DSC Configuration File

If you are unfamiliar with any of the above, Cloud Academy recommends completing the labs mentioned in the prerequisites before attempting this lab challenge.

This hands-on lab challenge will test your practical ability to interact with the Azure Automation Account to satisfy a set of requirements in a production-like Azure environment. You will be presented with a task and set of requirements you must fulfill to pass the challenge.

This is a real environment, which means you can prove your knowledge in an applied way, substituting multiple choice questions for a dynamic performance-based exam situation.