Microsoft has also made a 3 hour lab course available as a first look hands on experience. The outline is below.

About This Hands-On Lab

This Hands-on Lab provides students with the knowledge and skills to become familiar with what is new for IT professionals in SharePoint 2010.

Audience Profile

This Hands-on Lab is intended for IT professionals who are experienced in administering Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008. They also may serve as part-time business application administrators (BAAs) who are engaged in the administering line-of-business (LOB) applications in conjunction with internal business customers. They routinely monitor server application status and troubleshoot server application problems. They are somewhat familiar with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007, and want to know what's new for IT professionals in SharePoint Server 2010.
This Hands-on Lab’s secondary audience is Technical Decision Makers who evaluate new server technologies for medium to large IT departments.

At Hands-On Lab Completion

After completing this Hands-on Lab, students will be able to:

• Summarize the SharePoint Server 2010 design goals and product architecture, and provide an overview of the key features of SharePoint Business Productivity Infrastructure and how it can help IT pros.
• Provide key knowledge of system requirements, installation scenarios, and deployment options for SharePoint Server 2010. Describe the core set of migration options from SharePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server 2010 infrastructure.
• Describe the improvements in SharePoint Server 2010 administration and management tools, including Central Administration and the Service Applications model.
• Learn how BCS and other services can integrate SharePoint Server 2010 with Microsoft Office system data and extend connectivity to external data sources.
• Provide a solid understanding of ongoing maintenance activities such as backup/restore, reporting, monitoring, performance controls, and troubleshooting.

Hands-On Lab Outline

Exercise 1: Defining an Initial SharePoint Server 2010 Architecture

In this lab, students will define an appropriate SharePoint Server 2010 system architecture to solve a specific customer requirement.Lab : Defining an Initial SharePoint Server 2010 Architecture

• Creating a SharePoint Server 2010 Services Architecture
• Creating a SharePoint Server 2010 Farm Specification

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Create a SharePoint Server 2010 system architecture to meet specific requirements.
• Use Microsoft Visio 2010 to create a SharePoint Server 2010 farm diagram that models the requirements for the architecture.

Exercise 2: Design a SharePoint Server 2010 Farm to Support the Solution Architecture

Using the system definition created in the Session 1 lab, students will create a graphical design of a SharePoint Server 2010 farm that will support the client requirements using Visio 2010.Lab : Design a SharePoint Server 2010 Farm to Support the Solution Architecture

• Create a Physical SharePoint Server 2010 Test Farm Architecture
• Create a Physical Server Plan to Support the Solution Architecture
• Create a SharePoint Server 2010 System Design

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Analyze the farm definition and map the system requirements to the appropriate SharePoint Server 2010 system architectures that will support the customer’s needs.
• Create a server capacity plan for each server in the SharePoint 2010 farm.
• Create a Visio 2010 diagram and add the appropriate system requirements to it based on the work done in Lab 1 above.

Exercise 3: Administering SharePoint Server 2010 Using the Central Administration Web Site

In this lab, students will gain hands-on exposure to the new administrative interface of SharePoint Server 2010.Lab : Administering SharePoint Server 2010 Using the Central Administration Web Site

• Configure the Service Applications for the Solution Architecture
• Designing SharePoint Server 2010 Search
• Configuring the SharePoint Server 2010 Search Service and Custom Search Content Areas
• Configuring Federated Search for SharePoint Server 2010
• Managing Search Performance Parameters

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Use the SharePoint Server 2010 administrative interface and navigation to configure specific search setting.
• Use recommended best practices for using the in SharePoint Server 2010 administrative interface to configure extended search services in SharePoint Server 2010.
• Use the SharePoint 2010 administrative interface to configure the search service.
• Use the SharePoint 2010 administrative interface to configure specific custom content search areas.
• Use the SharePoint 2010 search administration interface to set specific performance parameter settings.
• Use the SharePoint 2010 search administration interface to set specific federated search settings.

Exercise 4: Extending the SharePoint 2010 Service Architecture

In this lab, students will gain hands-on exposure to the new Business Connectivity Service (BCS) in SharePoint Server 2010 and show the advantages it has over the Business Data Catalogue (BDC) used in SharePoint Server 2007.Lab : Extending the SharePoint 2010 Service Architecture

• Create an External Content Type Using SQL Server Data
• Create a New SharePoint List Using an External Content Type
• Integrate SharePoint Server 2010 BCS with the Microsoft Office System
• Manage Claims-based Authentication

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Complete a basic configuration of the Business Connectivity Service.
• Connect a SharePoint 2010 server to an external content type.
• Connect a SharePoint 2010 server to an external data set.
• Demonstrate the best practices for using the BCS in SharePoint Server 2010 application integration.
• Address a specific security requirement for a BCS implementation using claims-based authentication.

Exercise 5: Managing System Security, Performance, and Data Protection

In this lab, students will gain hands-on experience with the administration tools available for managing SharePoint Server 2010 system security, performance and implementing reliable data protection.Lab : Managing System Security, Performance, and Data Protection

• Health and Monitoring
• Performance Controls
• SharePoint Server 2010 Administration Using Windows PowerShell
• Provision Managed Accounts
• Built-in Backup and Restore Functionality
• Automating Backup, Restore, and Disaster Recovery

After completing this module, students will be able to:

• Provide hands-on experience with the tools available for configuring system performance to optimize the user experience with SharePoint Server 2010.
• Provide hands-on experience with the diagnostic and reporting tools available for monitoring system performance with SharePoint Server 2010.
• Provide hands-on experience with Windows PowerShell to automate data backup and restore.
• Provide hands-on exposure to specific tools available within SharePoint Server 2010 for configuring and managing security.
• Provide hands-on experience with the tools available for providing data protection in SharePoint Server 2010.
• Provide hands-on exposure to the tools within SharePoint Server 2010 to provide backup, restore, performance, and data protection functionality.

Course attendees should have the following product and technology experience:

• At least two years experience implementing, administering, and troubleshooting Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 in the enterprise.
• At least two years experience implementing and supporting the Microsoft Office system.
• At least two years experience implementing, managing, and supporting Internet Information Services (IIS).
• A working knowledge of networking, such as TCP/IP and Domain Name System (DNS).

In addition to their professional experience, attendees should have the following technical skills and knowledge:

IT Skills:

• General Windows Server 2008 directory administration.
• General networking infrastructure configuration and management experience.
• General conceptual awareness of the Microsoft .NET Framework as it relates to SharePoint Server 2010.
• Understanding of network load-balancing for applications.
• Administration of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or Microsoft SQL Server 2008 for SharePoint Server 2010.
• One year experience using Windows PowerShell cmdlets.
• General security and authentication practices and procedures.
• Experience with backup and restoration of data.

Programming Skills:

• Familiarity and experience with Windows batch scripting and Windows PowerShell 2.
• General awareness of the Microsoft .NET Framework as it relates to SharePoint Server, but no experience developing applications or Web Parts is necessary.

Referenced Articles:

Official Microsoft Course Outline: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Course.aspx?ID=10176B&Locale=en-us#tab3