Install and maintain hardware
Set up servers physically, manage storage and keep the hardware healthy.
Partners and press
Overview
One failed server can stop a whole office. Server+ tests whether you can prevent that.
Server+ is CompTIA’s vendor-neutral Plus exam on server administration, recommended after A+ and two years of server work. It runs from hardware to operating systems and high availability, with administration at 30% and troubleshooting at 28%. This is the SK0-005 version, launched in May 2021, and CompTIA’s page gives no retirement date.
14Modules
90Questions
90Minutes
8Roles
What it tests
Learn all the way down.
Learn all the way down.
Perform when it matters.
Administer the server
Install operating systems, run network services, and handle high availability, virtualization and scripting.
Secure and recover
Apply data and physical security, manage access, harden systems and plan for disaster recovery.
Troubleshoot every layer
Diagnose hardware, software, network and disaster recovery problems in a server environment.
Course outline
From the rack to the running service,
From the rack to the running service,
keep servers up and in order.
We design this course ourselves. CompTIA runs the exam and issues the credential, and LUNARTECH is independent of CompTIA.
Servers are built for different jobs than desktops. You compare tower, rack and blade designs, the processors, error-correcting memory and expansion options inside them, and the management controllers that let you reach a machine that is switched off.
- Tower, rack, blade and modular servers
- Multi-socket processors and core counts
- Error-correcting memory and channel layout
- Expansion cards, buses and network adapters
- Out-of-band management controllers
- Matching hardware to a workload
You build A hardware specification for a database server and a file server, with reasons for each part.
Storage choices decide both speed and survival. You compare disk interfaces and media, configure RAID levels, and decide when direct-attached, network-attached or SAN storage is the right fit.
- SATA, SAS and NVMe drives
- RAID levels, capacity and fault tolerance
- Hot spares, rebuilds and degraded arrays
- Direct-attached, network-attached and SAN storage
- iSCSI, Fibre Channel and file protocols
- Choosing a storage layout for read and write patterns
You build A RAID and storage layout for a mixed workload, with a worked failure and rebuild.
Hardware lives in a physical room with limits. You mount equipment, plan power and cooling, and keep servers healthy through firmware updates, part replacement and scheduled maintenance.
- Rack units, rails and weight limits
- Power distribution, redundant supplies and UPS sizing
- Hot and cold aisles and airflow
- Cabling, labeling and cable management
- Firmware and driver updates
- Hot-swap parts and replacement procedures
- Warranty, spares and maintenance windows
You build A rack layout with a power budget and a maintenance schedule for twelve servers.
A server install should be repeatable. You deploy Windows and Linux servers by media, network boot and image, partition disks sensibly, add roles and features, and capture a standard build so the next server matches.
- Choosing an operating system and edition
- Installing from media, network boot and images
- Partitioning and file system choices
- Roles, features and drivers
- Unattended installation
- Capturing and testing a standard build
You build A standard server image with an unattended install, verified on two machines.
A server earns its place by serving something. You configure addressing and network cards, then run DNS, DHCP, file, print and web services, and join servers to a directory that manages users and policy.
- Server addressing, VLAN tagging and NIC teaming
- DNS and DHCP server configuration
- File and print services
- Web and application servers
- Directory services and domain joins
- Group policy and central management
- Time synchronization and certificates
You build A small domain with DNS, DHCP and a file share, with users joining from a test client.
Most servers now host others. You deploy hypervisors and virtual machines, assign resources fairly, use snapshots and live migration safely, and see where containers fit alongside virtual machines.
- Type 1 and type 2 hypervisors
- Creating and templating virtual machines
- CPU, memory and storage allocation
- Snapshots, cloning and live migration
- Virtual networking and storage
- Containers compared with virtual machines
You build A virtualization host running three virtual machines, with a documented resource plan.
Users expect servers to stay up. You design redundancy at every level, from power supplies to sites, build clusters and load-balanced services, and choose between scaling up and scaling out.
- Single points of failure and how to remove them
- Failover clusters and heartbeats
- Load balancing methods
- Active-active and active-passive designs
- Scaling up and scaling out
- Testing a failover
You build A two-node cluster or load-balanced pair, with a failover test and its results.
Repeated work should be scripted and recorded. You write short scripts for common tasks in more than one shell, schedule them, and keep inventory, licensing and configuration records accurate.
- Shell and PowerShell scripting basics
- Variables, conditions and loops in scripts
- Scheduled tasks and cron jobs
- Asset inventory and lifecycle tracking
- Software licensing and compliance
- Configuration records and documentation
You build A set of scripts that inventory a server and report its health on a schedule.
You cannot manage what you cannot see. You collect baselines, set thresholds and alerts, read logs and performance counters, and plan capacity before growth turns into an outage.
- Baselines for processor, memory, disk and network
- Monitoring agents, SNMP and logs
- Alert thresholds that avoid noise
- Reading performance counters
- Capacity planning and trend analysis
- Reports for management
You build A monitoring setup with baselines and alerts, and a capacity forecast for one server.
A server on the network is a target. You apply hardening baselines, manage accounts and permissions, encrypt data in storage and in transit, and keep patching and logging on a routine.
- Hardening baselines and disabling services
- Patch management and testing
- Accounts, groups, least privilege and auditing
- Host firewalls and endpoint protection
- Encrypting disks, files and connections
- Security logs and review
You build A hardening checklist applied to a test server, with before and after scan results.
Anyone who can touch a server can defeat its software controls. You secure rooms, racks and cabling, control and log access, and retire equipment so that no data leaves with it.
- Locks, badges, biometrics and cameras
- Securing racks and cabling
- Access logs and visitor handling
- Environmental alarms and fire protection
- Data wiping, destruction and certificates
- Decommissioning and records
You build A physical security and decommissioning procedure for a server room.
A backup is proven only by a restore. You choose backup types and schedules, set recovery objectives, plan alternate sites, and test recovery so a real failure follows a rehearsed path.
- Full, incremental and differential backups
- Backup media, locations and retention
- Recovery time and recovery point objectives
- Hot, warm and cold sites
- Replication and snapshots
- Writing and testing a recovery plan
You build A backup schedule and recovery plan, with a restore you perform and time.
Faults need a method more than luck. You work from symptoms to causes across hardware, operating systems, services, networks and failed restores, and use logs and diagnostics to confirm each diagnosis.
- A troubleshooting method for servers
- Memory, storage, power and cooling faults
- Boot failures and operating system errors
- Service, permission and authentication faults
- Network and name resolution problems
- Failed backups and recovery problems
- Escalation and documentation
You build Diagnosis reports for six server faults, each with evidence, fix and prevention.
One project covers every area. You specify, build, secure, monitor and back up a small server estate, then break and recover it to show that it behaves as designed.
- Gathering requirements and sizing the estate
- Building hardware, operating systems and services
- Securing and monitoring the result
- Backing up and rehearsing recovery
- Handing over documentation
You build A built and documented server estate that survives a planned failure test.
Issued by
Certifying body · Independent of LUNARTECH
CompTIA
CompTIA publishes these vendor-neutral exams and runs the program itself. Exams are taken at Pearson VUE test centers or online, and most certifications last three years, renewed through its continuing education program. LUNARTECH is independent of CompTIA.
How you get there
Top-tier roles go to people who can do the work.
Top-tier roles go to people who can do the work.
Here’s how you get there.
Know where you start.
CompTIA recommends A+ or equivalent knowledge, and two years of hands-on experience in a server environment.
Work through the course.
Fourteen modules, designed by LUNARTECH, at your own pace.
Sit it with CompTIA.
CompTIA runs the exam and issues the credential, so you register and book directly with them.
Support
Support at every stage.
Support at every stage.
You won’t be working through this alone.
Before you start
Try it first.
A 3-day free trial opens a selection of the content. Your card is only charged once it ends.
While you learn
Mentors within reach.
Stuck on a concept? Reach out to a mentor whenever you need help.
While you learn
One-on-one sessions.
On the yearly plan, one-on-one sessions give you dedicated support.
Any time
A team behind you.
Write to info@lunartech.ai at any point, from your trial onwards. If your employer is funding you, we’ll set it up with them directly.
All the way through
A schedule that fits around your life.
Your own paceFrom anywhereAt any hour
After the last lesson
Stay in the network.
Your alumni network stays with you: ongoing support, opportunities and industry insight.
Career support
Career support, past the last lesson. Coaching, a sharper resume, real interview preparation and the people to know.
Career direction
Tailored coaching helps you decide where to aim and how to get there.
Strong portfolio
Hands-on projects become work you can show, not just claim.
Resume and profile
Personalized refinement, so what you send says what you can actually do.
Interview preparation
Preparation for the questions that decide it, so you walk in ready.
Network and search
Connections with industry leaders, and an alumni network that stays with you.
Reviews
Real stories from the community.
LUNARTECH Academy has been the most empowering learning experience of my life, giving me a clear, structured path from the absolute basics to building real-world AI systems with confidence.
Your page is fantastic. As a bachelor’s student in Data Science now accepted for a master’s at UConn, your work has been a real source of motivation.
The programme’s clear, bite-sized content and practical projects dramatically improved my speed from fuzzy idea to MVP and my ability to communicate AI value. I followed the system, and it works.
I really appreciate your teaching style and the way you break down complex topics. It has been incredibly helpful.
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As a Data Science graduate, I want to thank you for the effort you put into making videos to support growing data scientists.
I’ve been following your work since taking your machine learning course, and I’m impressed by your practical approach to applying AI.
Why choose us
Built around how you actually learn.
One standard behind every course, from the first lesson to long after the last.
Hands-on practice
Apply every idea to real problems, so it becomes something you have used, not only seen.
Industry-aligned curriculum
We keep courses current with the tools, techniques and skills the field asks for.
Flexible learning
Study at your own pace, from anywhere, at any hour.
Certificate of completion
Finish the course and earn a certificate that shows what you have learned.
Focus on your success
Personalized learning plans and support structures carry you through the hard parts.
Lifetime alumni network
Stay connected after you finish, with ongoing support, opportunities and industry insight.
Your certificate
It doesn’t raise its voice. Neither will you.
Finish a LUNARTECH course and its certificate is issued in your name, under our signature. CompTIA’s credential comes from CompTIA, when you pass its exam.
Certificate of completion
Your Name
Server+ course
LUNARTECH RISE Academy
Pricing
This course comes with the membership.
This course comes with the membership.
So does everything else.
One membership opens every course, certification, workshop and masterclass in the Academy. Every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. You register and book the exam directly with CompTIA.
3 days free, then $29.97 a month. Your card is only charged once the trial ends.
Included in every plan
- Every course in the Academy
- Every certification course
- Workshops and masterclasses
- A certificate of completion
- A 3-day free trial
- Learning at your own pace
- The lifetime alumni network
- Upgrades at any time
In practice
Eight roles.
Eight roles.
One credential across them all.
No single job owns it. Here’s where each role leans hardest, and where its work ends up.
- 01Hardware
- 02Administration
- 03Security
- 04Troubleshooting
-
Administration and fixes are most of the week. They carry most of this exam as well.
Administration, Troubleshooting
Data centers, On-premises IT
-
Racks, drives and decommissioning are hands-on. Hardware and security cover them.
Hardware, Security
Data centers, Managed service providers
-
Smaller teams own servers and recovery together. Disaster recovery is tested alongside security.
Administration, Security
Small and mid-size businesses, On-premises IT
-
Incidents start with a symptom and a clock. Troubleshooting is over a quarter of the weight.
Troubleshooting, Administration
Managed service providers, Healthcare IT
-
DNS, DHCP and routing services live on servers. Faults often sit between the server and the switch.
Administration, Troubleshooting
Data centers, Managed service providers
-
Hardening starts on the server itself. Patches, accounts and services are the first controls.
Security, Administration
On-premises IT, Healthcare IT
-
Sizing and redundancy start with how servers behave. High availability has trade-offs you must explain.
Hardware, Administration
On-premises IT, Small and mid-size businesses
-
Small teams cover servers, backups and users at once. Knowing the basics helps you set priorities.
Administration, Troubleshooting
Small and mid-size businesses, Healthcare IT
- Data centers
- Small and mid-size businesses
- Managed service providers
- On-premises IT
- Healthcare IT
Server Administrator
Administration and fixes are most of the week. They carry most of this exam as well.
Over 10,000 students trust LUNARTECH
LUNARTECH gives you the skills
to learn, build, create and lead.
Engineers
Understand systems all the way down. Build the ones others rely on.
Scientists
Understand what the data says. Build models that hold up.
Researchers
Understand the papers. Build on them, and take the work further.
The field
Anyone can use AI.
Anyone can use AI.
Few can engineer it. This is where that starts.
+340%growth in open roles requiring AI skills
Roles and pay
~35,000 open roles right now
Open roles: Built In, Greenhouse, LinkedIn.
Typical salaries: Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, Payscale, Indeed, Ravio, JobRise, U.S. BLS. Military: 2026 U.S. basic pay, drone officers with aviation incentive pay.
Updated November 2026.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Need help? These answers cover most of what people ask before they start.
No. CompTIA issues it. LUNARTECH is independent of CompTIA, and its names and marks belong to it. When you finish a course of ours, you earn a LUNARTECH certificate of completion for that course.
No. We design this course ourselves, around what the exam covers. CompTIA has no part in it, and you still register and book the exam directly with CompTIA.
90 questions, 90 minutes, test center or online, in English, Japanese. The passing score is 750 (scale of 100–900).
CompTIA recommends A+ or equivalent knowledge, and two years of hands-on experience in a server environment.
3 years. Earn 30 CEUs and pay CE fees.
We last reviewed it on 5 November 2026, from CompTIA’s own pages. Details change, so check the official page before you book.
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The course
Build the skills behind Server+.
Prove you can install, run and secure servers. Start with a free trial, or enroll in a plan and work through the course at your own pace. CompTIA runs the exam and issues the credential.
LUNARTECH is independent of the vendors and certifying bodies listed here. Their names, exam titles and marks belong to them, exams are run by them, and credentials are issued by them. Reviewed 5 November 2026. Catalogues change often, so confirm the details on the official page before you book.
