Ultimate 70-331 SharePoint Server 2013 Core Solutions Certification Course

Planning, Deploying, and Managing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 for Exam 70-331 Certification

What you will learn from this course

• Understand the key features and capabilities of SharePoint Server 2013 and how they support collaboration and content management across enterprises
• Learn to plan and design information architecture that aligns with organizational goals and business requirements
• Gain knowledge in designing logical and physical architectures to ensure scalable and maintainable SharePoint environments
• Develop skills to install, configure, and deploy SharePoint Server 2013 in an enterprise setting
• Learn to create, configure, and manage web applications effectively to meet business needs
• Understand site collection structure, creation, and management, including templates, features, and configuration options
• Learn to manage users, groups, and permissions in SharePoint to maintain secure access and compliance
• Understand authentication methods and how to configure them to secure SharePoint environments
• Gain knowledge of taxonomy and metadata management for effective content organization
• Learn to configure and manage user profiles and social features to enhance collaboration
• Understand search architecture and learn how to configure, optimize, and troubleshoot SharePoint search
• Develop skills to monitor and maintain a SharePoint environment for performance, reliability, and compliance

Learning Objectives

The main learning objective of this course is to provide learners with a thorough understanding of the planning, deployment, and administration of SharePoint Server 2013. By the end of the course, participants will be able to plan, install, configure, and manage a SharePoint Server 2013 environment that is secure, scalable, and aligned with organizational objectives. Learners will also be prepared to take the 70-331 Microsoft certification exam with confidence. This course emphasizes practical skills, best practices, and real-world application, ensuring that students gain hands-on experience in a controlled learning environment. Another key objective is to provide learners with the knowledge to design and implement information architectures and logical and physical layouts that support business processes efficiently. Additionally, learners will gain insight into user management, permissions, authentication, taxonomy, user profiles, and search configuration, all critical areas for a successful SharePoint deployment.

Target Audience

This course is specifically designed for IT professionals who are responsible for deploying, configuring, and managing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 environments. SharePoint administrators who want to gain a deep understanding of the platform and prepare for certification will find this course highly valuable. Professionals aiming to enhance their knowledge in collaboration and content management systems, as well as individuals planning to advance their careers in enterprise IT infrastructure, will benefit significantly from this training. The course is also suitable for system engineers and network administrators seeking to expand their skill set in SharePoint deployment and management. Business analysts and project managers involved in SharePoint projects may also gain foundational understanding to support planning and design decisions.

Requirements

This course assumes that participants have prior experience with Microsoft SharePoint environments. Learners should have hands-on familiarity with SharePoint features, navigation, and basic configuration tasks. A working knowledge of Microsoft Active Directory concepts and structures is necessary, as these skills are integral to managing users, groups, and permissions effectively. Basic understanding of PowerShell command-line scripting is recommended, as it will be used for administrative tasks, configuration, and automation throughout the course. While prior experience with SharePoint is beneficial, the course provides comprehensive coverage of all key concepts needed to install, configure, and manage SharePoint Server 2013.

Prerequisites

Before enrolling in this course, learners should be comfortable with the following prerequisites:
• Basic knowledge of SharePoint functionality, including document libraries, lists, workflows, and site navigation
• Familiarity with Microsoft Active Directory, including user accounts, groups, and permissions
• Understanding of networking fundamentals and Windows Server administration
• Basic exposure to PowerShell scripting and command-line operations
• General understanding of enterprise IT infrastructure, including servers, storage, and network components

Overview

SharePoint Server 2013 is a comprehensive platform for collaboration, content management, and enterprise search. Organizations rely on SharePoint to manage documents, automate business processes, and provide a centralized hub for communication and collaboration. SharePoint 2013 builds upon its predecessors by providing enhanced capabilities, improved user experience, and more robust tools for administrators and developers. This course begins by exploring the key features of SharePoint 2013, such as site templates, web applications, and service applications. Participants will gain an understanding of how SharePoint supports business objectives and integrates with other Microsoft technologies like Office 365, Exchange Server, and SQL Server.

Planning and Designing Information Architecture

Information architecture is a critical component of any SharePoint deployment. A well-planned architecture ensures that content is organized logically, users can easily find the information they need, and administrators can maintain control over the environment. This section of the course covers best practices for designing site hierarchies, defining content types, and creating metadata structures. Learners will understand the difference between logical architecture, which focuses on user experience and navigation, and physical architecture, which involves the deployment of servers, databases, and services. Effective planning of information architecture also includes understanding business requirements, governance policies, and compliance regulations.

Logical and Physical Architecture Design

Designing logical and physical architectures ensures that the SharePoint environment can handle current and future business demands. Logical architecture includes site collections, web applications, service applications, and content organization. Physical architecture involves the servers, databases, and network topology required to support the SharePoint farm. Participants will learn how to plan for scalability, redundancy, and high availability, as well as how to design architectures that align with performance, security, and business continuity requirements. This section emphasizes decision-making strategies for deployment models, including single-server, small-farm, and large-farm configurations.

Installation and Configuration Overview

Installing SharePoint Server 2013 requires careful planning and preparation. This course provides step-by-step guidance on setting up the necessary infrastructure, including Windows Server, SQL Server, and SharePoint prerequisites. Learners will explore the installation process, configuration wizard, and central administration tasks. Topics include creating and managing service applications, configuring web applications, and establishing site collections. The course also covers administrative tools, monitoring options, and best practices to ensure that the deployment is stable, secure, and optimized for performance.

Web Application and Site Collection Management

Web applications and site collections form the backbone of a SharePoint environment. This section of the course focuses on creating, configuring, and managing web applications and site collections. Participants will learn how to plan web application architecture, assign appropriate service applications, and configure authentication settings. Site collections will be explored in detail, including template selection, feature activation, and content organization. Best practices for managing site collection administrators, quotas, and storage limits are also discussed to ensure a sustainable and maintainable environment.

User Management and Permissions

Managing users and permissions is a fundamental task for SharePoint administrators. Participants will learn how to create and manage users, groups, and permission levels to secure content effectively. Topics include assigning roles, understanding permission inheritance, and implementing best practices for access control. This section also covers integration with Active Directory, single sign-on configurations, and strategies for delegating administrative responsibilities. Proper user and permission management is essential to maintain data integrity, protect sensitive information, and comply with organizational policies.

Taxonomy, User Profiles, and Search Configuration

Effective content organization relies on taxonomy and metadata. Participants will learn how to define managed metadata, create term sets, and implement content types to improve searchability and navigation. User profiles and social features will also be configured to enhance collaboration across the organization. Additionally, the course covers search architecture, including crawl components, search service applications, and query configurations. Learners will gain practical skills in optimizing search results, configuring refiners, and implementing best practices to ensure that users can quickly find relevant content.

Monitoring and Maintaining SharePoint

Ongoing maintenance and monitoring are critical for a healthy SharePoint environment. This section covers performance monitoring, backup and restore strategies, patch management, and troubleshooting techniques. Participants will learn to use administrative tools and PowerShell scripts to automate routine tasks and maintain system health. Emphasis is placed on proactive management to prevent issues, ensure high availability, and support business continuity.

Course Modules / Sections

This SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course is divided into comprehensive modules designed to provide a step-by-step approach to mastering SharePoint deployment, configuration, and administration. Each module builds upon the previous one, ensuring learners gain both conceptual understanding and practical skills. The modules cover planning and design, installation, configuration, administration, security, search, user profiles, taxonomy, monitoring, and maintenance. The course is structured to provide a progressive learning path for IT professionals, SharePoint administrators, and other individuals preparing for the 70-331 certification exam.

The first module introduces SharePoint 2013 and explores its core features, benefits, and role within an enterprise. Learners gain insight into the architecture of SharePoint, including logical and physical components, site collections, web applications, service applications, and the overall farm topology. This module emphasizes the importance of planning and designing an effective SharePoint infrastructure, taking into consideration scalability, high availability, and organizational requirements.

The second module focuses on installation and configuration of SharePoint Server 2013. It covers hardware and software prerequisites, server roles, service applications, and the deployment process. Learners will gain hands-on experience with installation scenarios, configuration options, and initial setup tasks. This module ensures that participants understand how to prepare the environment for a successful deployment and follow best practices to minimize errors and maximize performance.

The third module addresses site and content management. Learners explore web applications, site collections, lists, libraries, and content types. The module covers design considerations for information architecture, navigation, and content organization. Participants will learn how to create and manage sites efficiently, apply templates, activate features, and configure content settings to meet organizational needs.

The fourth module focuses on user management, permissions, and authentication. Learners gain knowledge of security architecture in SharePoint, including Active Directory integration, permission levels, group management, and delegation. The module explores authentication methods, claims-based authentication, and strategies for implementing secure access policies.

The fifth module emphasizes taxonomy, managed metadata, user profiles, and social features. Participants will learn how to define term sets, implement content types, and configure managed metadata services to improve search and content discovery. The module also addresses user profile synchronization, social collaboration, and configuring My Sites to enhance communication and collaboration across the organization.

The sixth module covers SharePoint search architecture and configuration. Learners explore search service applications, crawl and query components, search scopes, and refiners. This module provides practical guidance on configuring search, optimizing search performance, and implementing enterprise search strategies.

The seventh module focuses on monitoring, maintenance, and troubleshooting. Learners will gain skills in performance monitoring, logging, backup and restore strategies, patch management, and disaster recovery planning. Emphasis is placed on proactive administration, using tools and PowerShell scripts to maintain a healthy and secure SharePoint environment.

Key Topics Covered

The course covers an extensive range of key topics designed to ensure learners develop comprehensive expertise in SharePoint 2013. Topics include planning and designing information architecture to align with business requirements. Participants will understand how to map logical and physical architectures to organizational needs, balancing performance, scalability, and maintainability. The course also addresses considerations for service applications, database architecture, server topology, and farm configuration to support enterprise environments.

Installation and configuration topics include prerequisite checks, software and hardware requirements, installation scenarios, configuration wizard usage, central administration setup, and initial service application configuration. Learners will explore creating and managing web applications, configuring authentication, applying templates, and establishing site collections. They will gain insight into site hierarchies, content organization, and best practices for maintaining an efficient and user-friendly SharePoint environment.

User management and permissions topics cover group creation, role assignment, permission inheritance, and delegation. Participants will learn how to implement claims-based authentication, configure single sign-on, and integrate Active Directory for centralized user management. Taxonomy and metadata topics include creating managed metadata services, term sets, content types, and metadata-driven navigation. Learners will understand how these features improve content discoverability, compliance, and search efficiency.

User profile and social collaboration topics explore My Sites configuration, user profile synchronization, audiences, and social features such as newsfeeds and social tagging. Search-related topics cover configuring search service applications, crawl components, query components, search scopes, result sources, refiners, and best practices for search optimization. Monitoring and maintenance topics include configuring health analyzer rules, monitoring farm performance, analyzing usage reports, performing backup and restore operations, patching SharePoint servers, and implementing disaster recovery strategies.

Advanced administration topics include using PowerShell for automation, managing service applications, optimizing farm performance, troubleshooting common issues, and applying governance policies. The course also provides strategies for disaster recovery, high availability, and business continuity planning, enabling learners to maintain a resilient SharePoint environment. Overall, the key topics are aligned with the 70-331 certification exam objectives while providing practical, real-world skills.

Teaching Methodology

The course employs a blended teaching methodology designed to maximize learning outcomes for both theoretical and practical skills. Instruction includes a combination of lecture-style content, demonstrations, and hands-on lab exercises to provide a complete learning experience. Lectures introduce key concepts, principles, and best practices in SharePoint architecture, deployment, configuration, and administration. Demonstrations illustrate practical applications, configuration procedures, and administrative tasks in a live SharePoint environment.

Hands-on labs are a core component of the methodology, enabling learners to practice installing SharePoint, creating web applications and site collections, configuring permissions, and setting up managed metadata and search. These labs allow participants to apply concepts in a controlled environment, reinforcing learning and building confidence. The course also incorporates scenario-based exercises, where learners analyze real-world requirements and design solutions aligned with organizational needs.

Interactive discussions and Q&A sessions encourage engagement, knowledge sharing, and collaborative problem-solving. Participants are encouraged to discuss challenges they encounter in SharePoint environments, explore solutions, and learn from peers and instructors. Case studies are also used to demonstrate enterprise deployment strategies, troubleshooting scenarios, and best practices for high availability and disaster recovery.

The teaching methodology emphasizes a structured learning path, starting with foundational concepts and progressing to advanced configuration, administration, and optimization techniques. This ensures that learners develop a deep understanding of SharePoint 2013 and can confidently apply knowledge in enterprise environments and certification exam scenarios. Continuous assessments and practical exercises reinforce learning outcomes and allow participants to track progress.

Assessment & Evaluation

Assessment and evaluation in this course are designed to measure both theoretical understanding and practical skills in SharePoint Server 2013. Learners will be assessed through a combination of quizzes, practical labs, and scenario-based exercises that simulate real-world SharePoint administration tasks. Quizzes evaluate knowledge of key concepts, architecture, service applications, site collection management, user permissions, taxonomy, user profiles, search configuration, and monitoring. These assessments ensure learners have grasped the foundational principles required for successful SharePoint deployment and management.

Practical lab exercises provide hands-on evaluation of learners’ ability to install, configure, and manage SharePoint environments. Participants are required to perform tasks such as creating web applications, configuring authentication, managing permissions, setting up service applications, and implementing managed metadata. These exercises test the learner’s proficiency in applying knowledge in realistic scenarios and help identify areas that require additional practice.

Scenario-based exercises evaluate problem-solving and decision-making skills. Learners analyze enterprise requirements, design solutions, configure SharePoint components, and troubleshoot issues. This form of assessment encourages critical thinking, practical application, and adherence to best practices. Learners are also evaluated on their ability to document configurations, apply governance policies, and maintain a secure and efficient SharePoint environment.

Ongoing feedback and review sessions are integrated into the course to provide learners with insights into their performance and progress. Instructors provide guidance on improving skills, addressing knowledge gaps, and preparing effectively for the 70-331 certification exam. The course concludes with a comprehensive assessment that combines theory, practical labs, and scenario-based tasks, ensuring that participants are fully prepared to manage SharePoint Server 2013 environments in enterprise settings and achieve certification success.

The assessment and evaluation approach ensures a balanced focus on conceptual understanding, practical skills, and real-world problem-solving, making learners competent in both SharePoint administration and exam readiness. By the end of this module, participants will have demonstrated proficiency across all critical areas, including installation, configuration, administration, security, search, and maintenance, preparing them for professional roles in SharePoint management.

Benefits of the Course

This SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course provides significant benefits for IT professionals, SharePoint administrators, and other individuals involved in enterprise content management and collaboration. Participants gain a comprehensive understanding of SharePoint Server 2013, including planning, deployment, configuration, and administration. By completing the course, learners acquire the skills necessary to design and implement scalable and maintainable SharePoint environments that align with organizational requirements and industry best practices.

The course prepares participants for the 70-331 Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Core Solutions certification exam, providing a structured learning path and ensuring familiarity with exam objectives. Learners develop both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, including hands-on experience with installation, configuration, site collection management, permissions, search, taxonomy, user profiles, and monitoring. These skills enhance career prospects, enabling participants to qualify for roles such as SharePoint administrator, IT consultant, systems engineer, and enterprise content manager.

Participants also gain proficiency in designing logical and physical architectures, implementing governance policies, and applying best practices for security, performance, and high availability. The course emphasizes real-world applications, ensuring that learners can deploy and manage SharePoint environments effectively. Additionally, the practical experience with PowerShell scripting and administrative tools allows learners to automate routine tasks, streamline management processes, and optimize the SharePoint farm. The knowledge gained through this course is applicable across multiple industries, including finance, healthcare, education, government, and corporate enterprise environments.

Completing this course also enhances problem-solving and troubleshooting skills. Learners will be able to address common SharePoint issues, perform proactive maintenance, and implement disaster recovery strategies. By mastering these skills, participants reduce downtime, improve system reliability, and increase end-user satisfaction. Overall, this course provides a holistic approach to SharePoint administration, blending conceptual understanding with hands-on experience, preparing participants to excel both in certification exams and in professional roles.

Course Duration

The SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course is designed to provide comprehensive training while accommodating a practical learning pace. The recommended duration for this course is approximately 40 hours, which can be distributed over multiple weeks depending on the learner’s schedule and availability. The course is divided into modules, each focusing on specific topics such as architecture design, installation, configuration, administration, security, search, and monitoring.

Each module includes instructional lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on lab exercises. Learners are encouraged to spend additional time practicing tasks in a controlled lab environment to reinforce understanding and gain confidence in performing real-world tasks. The duration includes time for self-paced study, scenario-based exercises, and review sessions to ensure mastery of all key topics. For individuals preparing for the 70-331 certification exam, the course duration allows sufficient time to thoroughly review exam objectives, practice configuration tasks, and take assessments to evaluate readiness.

The course is flexible and can be adapted for full-time or part-time learning schedules. For corporate training or group sessions, the duration can be adjusted to fit organizational needs, providing a balance between knowledge acquisition and practical application. Learners are encouraged to allocate additional time for exercises involving complex configurations, service applications, user profile management, and search optimization to gain hands-on experience and ensure proficiency in all areas.

Tools & Resources Required

To gain maximum benefit from this SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course, learners require access to specific tools and resources. These tools provide the environment necessary for hands-on exercises, demonstrations, and practical application of concepts. The primary tools required include a SharePoint 2013 Server environment, which can be set up using physical or virtual servers. This environment should include the latest updates, service packs, and patches to ensure compatibility with course exercises.

A Windows Server operating system is required to host SharePoint 2013, along with SQL Server for database management. Learners will also need administrative access to configure servers, service applications, web applications, site collections, permissions, and other components. PowerShell is a critical tool for performing administrative tasks, automation, and scripting. Participants should have access to PowerShell scripting tools and be familiar with basic command structures to effectively complete lab exercises.

Additional resources include access to Microsoft documentation, SharePoint administrative guides, and learning materials provided within the course. These resources support self-paced learning, provide reference material for best practices, and offer guidance for troubleshooting and optimizing SharePoint environments. Participants may also benefit from access to collaboration platforms, virtual labs, or cloud-based SharePoint environments to practice configuration and deployment tasks in a safe and controlled setting.

Software tools for monitoring and maintenance, such as SharePoint Health Analyzer and performance monitoring utilities, are recommended for learning proactive administration and troubleshooting techniques. Participants may also use third-party tools for backup, restore, and analytics as part of advanced lab exercises to understand enterprise-level SharePoint management.

Overall, the combination of a fully configured SharePoint environment, Windows Server, SQL Server, PowerShell, and reference materials ensures that learners can fully engage with the course content. These tools provide the foundation for hands-on practice, reinforcing theoretical knowledge, and enabling participants to develop practical expertise in deploying, configuring, and managing SharePoint Server 2013.

Career Opportunities

Completing the SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course opens a wide range of career opportunities for IT professionals, SharePoint administrators, system engineers, and enterprise content managers. SharePoint has become an essential platform for collaboration, document management, and enterprise content management across industries. Organizations require skilled professionals to plan, deploy, configure, and maintain SharePoint environments, making certified individuals highly valuable.

SharePoint administrators are responsible for managing site collections, web applications, user permissions, and service applications. They ensure the environment is secure, reliable, and scalable to support business requirements. Completing this course equips learners with the skills to perform these tasks efficiently, improving employability and job readiness. Individuals with this expertise are in demand across industries such as finance, healthcare, education, government, and corporate enterprises, where collaboration and document management systems are critical.

IT professionals with SharePoint skills can pursue roles such as SharePoint consultant, system administrator, infrastructure engineer, or collaboration specialist. These roles involve designing and implementing SharePoint solutions, providing technical support, configuring search and user profiles, managing security, and optimizing performance. Experienced professionals may advance to senior positions, including SharePoint architect, enterprise content manager, or IT project manager, overseeing large-scale deployments and enterprise collaboration initiatives.

Certification in Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions, specifically the 70-331 exam, significantly enhances career prospects. Certified professionals demonstrate expertise in SharePoint deployment, administration, and governance, giving them an edge in competitive job markets. Organizations value certified individuals for their ability to implement best practices, ensure compliance, and optimize collaboration platforms.

Additional career opportunities extend to SharePoint development, business process automation, and integration with other Microsoft technologies such as Office 365, Exchange Server, and SQL Server. Professionals can contribute to building custom solutions, workflows, and business intelligence dashboards within SharePoint, further broadening career options. The knowledge and skills gained from this course also support freelance consulting opportunities, allowing professionals to provide deployment, administration, and troubleshooting services to multiple clients.

Overall, completing this course prepares learners for roles that require both practical SharePoint skills and certification validation. The combination of hands-on experience, architectural planning, user and content management, and enterprise-level administration ensures participants are well-equipped for professional growth and long-term career success in SharePoint and related technologies.

Conclusion

The SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course provides a comprehensive learning experience for IT professionals, SharePoint administrators, and individuals preparing for the 70-331 certification exam. Participants gain in-depth knowledge and practical skills in planning, designing, deploying, configuring, and maintaining SharePoint Server 2013 environments. The course covers essential topics such as information architecture, logical and physical design, web application and site collection management, permissions and authentication, taxonomy, user profiles, search configuration, monitoring, and maintenance.

Through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, hands-on labs, and scenario-based exercises, learners develop both theoretical understanding and practical expertise. The structured learning path ensures that participants build foundational knowledge before progressing to advanced concepts, enabling them to manage SharePoint environments efficiently and confidently. The course emphasizes real-world applications, best practices, and industry standards, preparing learners to handle enterprise-level SharePoint deployments and administration tasks effectively.

Certification preparation is a key component of the course. By aligning the content with the 70-331 exam objectives, learners are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in certification testing. The course also enhances professional credibility, demonstrating to employers that participants have mastered the technical competencies and practical abilities necessary for SharePoint administration and enterprise deployment.

Completing this course empowers learners to optimize collaboration, document management, and enterprise content solutions within their organizations. Participants gain the ability to configure secure, scalable, and high-performing SharePoint environments, implement governance policies, troubleshoot issues, and maintain continuous system performance. The course provides practical skills that are immediately applicable in professional settings, increasing job effectiveness and efficiency.

Ultimately, this course bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world SharePoint administration. By mastering SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions, participants are prepared to take on critical responsibilities in enterprise IT, improve operational efficiency, and contribute to successful digital collaboration initiatives within their organizations. The combination of hands-on experience, certification readiness, and professional development makes this course a valuable investment for anyone seeking to advance their SharePoint career.

Enroll today

Enrolling in the SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course is the first step toward mastering one of the most widely used collaboration and content management platforms in the enterprise. This course offers a structured and comprehensive approach to learning, ensuring participants gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. By enrolling today, learners secure access to expert-led instruction, hands-on labs, scenario-based exercises, and resources designed to prepare them for the 70-331 certification exam.

Participants benefit from a learning environment that emphasizes practical application, best practices, and industry standards. The course provides the knowledge and tools necessary to plan, deploy, configure, and manage SharePoint Server 2013 environments effectively. Learners will also develop critical skills in managing users, permissions, authentication, taxonomy, search, and monitoring, making them highly valuable to employers seeking SharePoint expertise.

Enrollment ensures participants receive guidance from experienced instructors, access to learning resources, and opportunities to practice in realistic lab environments. These features help learners build confidence, apply knowledge in practical scenarios, and develop a professional skill set that aligns with industry requirements. Completing the course opens doors to career advancement, certification achievement, and opportunities in enterprise IT, SharePoint administration, consulting, and related fields.

Start your journey today to become a certified SharePoint professional and gain the skills needed to excel in enterprise environments. With the SharePoint 2013 Core Solutions course, learners acquire the expertise to manage complex deployments, optimize collaboration and content management, and achieve long-term professional success.