220-1102 Question 354
Single answerDirectory servicesA technician is preparing 25 new Windows 11 laptops for employees in the accounting department. The company uses an on-premises Windows Server environment with Active Directory. Management wants the laptops to receive department-specific security settings, mapped network drives, and printer deployments automatically when users sign in with their company accounts. Which action should the technician take FIRST to meet this requirement in the most efficient way?
- A
Join each laptop to the Active Directory domain and place the computer accounts in the appropriate organizational unit (OU)
- B
Create local user accounts on each laptop that match the employees' usernames and passwords
- C
Enable a workgroup on each laptop and configure the shared printers manually
- D
Install the printers and map the drives on one laptop, then clone that configuration to all other laptops
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
In an Active Directory environment, domain joining is the foundational step that enables centralized authentication and management. After a computer is joined to the domain, administrators can place it into an organizational unit and use Group Policy to apply security baselines and deploy resources such as printers and mapped drives. This aligns with Microsoft best practices for Windows domain administration, where OUs and GPOs are commonly used to organize devices by department or function. Local accounts and workgroups do not provide directory-based centralized control, and cloning alone does not replace proper domain integration.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Joining the laptops to the Active Directory domain is the required first step so the devices and users can be managed centrally through directory services. Placing the computer accounts in the correct OU allows administrators to apply Group Policy objects (GPOs) targeted to the accounting department, including security settings, printer deployment, and drive mapping preferences. This is the standard and scalable approach in a domain-based Windows environment.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Local accounts are managed only on each individual device and do not integrate with centralized Active Directory policies. Even if the usernames and passwords matched, that would not provide domain authentication, centralized policy enforcement, or automatic department-based resource deployment.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A workgroup is a peer-to-peer setup and does not provide centralized directory services such as domain authentication, Group Policy, or OU-based management. Manually configuring shared printers in a workgroup would increase administrative effort and would not meet the requirement for automatic deployment at scale.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Cloning a configured laptop may copy some settings, but it is not the correct first step for applying department-specific policies through directory services. Mapped drives and printer assignments often depend on user context, security groups, GPOs, and domain membership. Cloning also risks SID and management issues if not handled properly.