AZ-802 Secure Windows Server Infrastructure Practice Question
Exhibit
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select-Object -Property EnableSMBEncryption EnableSMBEncryption : False
Refer to the exhibit. You need to ensure that all data transmitted over SMB between your file server and domain-joined clients is encrypted. You set the configuration to True, but users report connectivity issues. What is the most likely cause?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Clients are using an SMB version lower than 3.0.
Enabling SMB encryption globally forces all connections to use encryption. Older clients or non-Windows systems that do not support SMB 3.0 or higher will fail to negotiate a connection, resulting in access errors. This transition requires careful planning, often involving auditing first or using per-share encryption instead of global settings to maintain backward compatibility while securing sensitive data transfers across the network infrastructure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The SMB server service must be restarted for the change to take effect.
Why it's wrong here
SMB configuration changes in Windows Server 2022 are applied dynamically by the kernel-mode SMB driver. Restarting the service is generally unnecessary for configuration properties like encryption. The connectivity issue points to a protocol mismatch or negotiation failure rather than a pending service restart requirement for the configuration update.
- ✓
Clients are using an SMB version lower than 3.0.
Why this is correct
SMB encryption was introduced in version 3.0. Clients attempting to connect using SMB 2.1 or earlier cannot perform the required cryptographic handshake when encryption is enforced globally. Consequently, the server terminates the connection attempt, preventing the client from accessing files, which explains the reported connectivity issues during the migration.
- ✗
The server's certificate for SMB encryption has expired.
Why it's wrong here
SMB encryption in Windows Server uses symmetric keys negotiated during the session setup, not X.509 certificates. Therefore, certificate expiration is irrelevant to SMB traffic. This is a common point of confusion with TLS-based protocols like HTTPS or LDAPS, which do rely on PKI infrastructure for session encryption.
- ✗
The firewall is blocking TCP port 445.
Why it's wrong here
The firewall blocking port 445 would prevent all SMB traffic regardless of whether encryption is enabled or disabled. Since users specifically reported issues after the configuration change to enable encryption, the connectivity problem is rooted in the protocol negotiation phase rather than a static network-level block by the firewall.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Microsoft exam blueprint
This AZ-802 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-802 exam.