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In this video, Windows Server support engineers Giles Pauli, Jeff Hughes, and Mike Rhoads talk with Pierre Roman, sharing insights into the most common issues faced by users of Windows Server and how the support team addresses these cases. Each engineer shares their perspective on recurring challenges, highlighting both technical issues and user misunderstandings and the conversation is structured to provide practical advice for IT professionals and administrators on how to prevent or resolve these common problems.

 The most frequent support cases include:

• Active Directory Issues: Problems with domain controllers, replication failures, and account lockouts are among the top reasons customers contact support. These often stem from misconfigurations, outdated documentation, or network connectivity problems.


• Update and Patch Management: Many cases involve failed updates, compatibility issues after patching, or confusion about update sequencing and prerequisites.


• Storage and Disk Management: Common cases include troubleshooting storage spaces, disk failures, and issues with mounting or accessing network shares.


• Networking Problems: Support often addresses DNS misconfigurations, DHCP issues, and firewall or routing problems that impact server connectivity.


• Performance and Resource Bottlenecks: Customers frequently report slow server performance, which is often traced to resource constraints, misconfigured services, or hardware limitations.


• Role and Feature Installation Failures: Issues arise when installing or configuring server roles such as Hyper-V, IIS, or Remote Desktop Services, often due to missing dependencies or conflicting settings.

The engineers emphasize the importance of proactive maintenance, such as regular backups, monitoring, and keeping systems up to date, to reduce the frequency of support cases. They also highlight the value of clear documentation and change management to prevent configuration drift and recurring issues.