220-1102 Question 809
Single answerWindows Remote Management (WinRM)A technician needs to run PowerShell commands remotely against a Windows 11 Pro workstation on the local network. The target PC is powered on and reachable by IP address, but every remote PowerShell attempt fails because Windows Remote Management (WinRM) has not been configured on that workstation. The company wants the fastest supported way to prepare the target computer for basic WinRM use in a small workgroup environment. Which action should the technician perform on the target PC first?
- A
Run winrm quickconfig from an elevated Command Prompt or PowerShell session
- B
Enable Remote Desktop and add the technician to the Remote Desktop Users group
- C
Start the Remote Registry service and open TCP port 3389 in Windows Defender Firewall
- D
Join the workstation to Active Directory so Kerberos can be used for all remote commands
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
WinRM is Microsoft's implementation of the WS-Management protocol and is used by tools such as PowerShell remoting. On a Windows client that has not been prepared for WinRM, the practical first step is to run winrm quickconfig from an elevated session. This configures the WinRM service, creates a listener, and updates firewall settings for WinRM. By contrast, Remote Desktop and Remote Registry are separate technologies and do not enable PowerShell remoting. In workgroup environments, additional trust or authentication considerations may apply, but the initial configuration step on the target computer is still to enable and configure WinRM itself. This aligns with Microsoft's documented WinRM setup process and standard administrative practice for basic remote management.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Running winrm quickconfig (or the equivalent quick configuration process) is the standard supported way to configure WinRM on a Windows system for basic use. It starts the WinRM service if needed, sets it to start automatically, creates a listener, and configures firewall exceptions required for WinRM traffic. In an A+ scenario, this is the most direct first step when WinRM has not yet been set up.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Remote Desktop is a different remote access technology. Enabling RDP allows interactive desktop sessions, but it does not configure WinRM for PowerShell remoting or other WS-Management-based management tasks. A common misconception is assuming all Windows remote access methods are interchangeable.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Remote Registry is unrelated to configuring WinRM, and TCP port 3389 is used for Remote Desktop, not WinRM. Someone might pick this if they confuse remote administration services or assume any remote-management-related service will help, but it does not solve the WinRM configuration problem.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Domain membership can simplify authentication in larger environments, but it is not required just to configure and use WinRM in a small workgroup. The question asks for the fastest supported first step on the target PC, and joining a domain is unnecessary and much more disruptive than enabling WinRM directly.