MCTS: Active Directory Configuration

Friday, 25. July 2008

Today I nailed Microsoft 70-640 pretty well; ended up with a score of 981/1000.  I think that’s pretty good for only allowing 2 weeks to study.  On top of that, I lost the weekend since my truck died, forcing me to spend all Sunday at the auto dealer.  I can’t complain too much though as this week I got a new truck and a new cert.

Overall, the test had a fair amount of DNS questions on it.  This shouldn’t be terribly suprising for people familiar with A.D. since it’s based heavily on DNS.  There were also a fair amount of questions on PKI and Ceritificate Services.

Once again, the Microsoft Press “Self-Paced” book got the job done very well.

MCTS: Active Directory Configuration

Next, I plan to take test 70-646 which is the first Professional level exam for Server 2008.  I intend to pass this by August 8 for sure, but I’m considering cramming through it by the 1st.  We’ll see.

MCTS: Network Infrastructure Configuration

Friday, 11. July 2008

I took Microsoft Certification test 70-642 today.  This is one test of the MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) series for Windows Server 2008.  It specifically covers “Network Infrastructure Configuration”, which includes topics such as DNS and DHCP, as well as some new things like NAP, or Network Access Protection.

Overall, the test shouldnt be too difficult for a candidate who has some real-world experience regarding many of these topics, and who puts the time in to get up to speed on some of the new things Microsoft has added with Server 2008.

As you could probably tell, I passed this test; I finished with a score of 966/1000.  Not bad for only taking 2 weeks to sutdy.  And in case you were wondering, I used the official Microsoft Press Self-Paced study book for this test.

MCTS: Network Infrastructure Configuration

I’m already looking over the material for 70-640, which is MCTS: Active Directory Configuration.  Estimated test date is August 1, 2008.

Microsoft MCITP Certification

Wednesday, 2. July 2008

My most recent quest is to attain a respectable certification level for an IT professional. What better a cert to complete than an MCITP?

MCITP stands for “Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional” and is their current certification for Network Admins and Systems Engineers. The MCITP tests are the equivalent to the previous MCSA (Systems Administrator) and MCSE (Systems Engineer) certifications which were used during the WindowsNT through Windows Server 2003 days. The MCITP cert focuses on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista.

Over the next few months, I’ll update this page with my current progress towards this certification. First stop: Test 70-642… “Configuring Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure”. Estimated completion: 7/31/2008.

More information regarding the Microsoft MCITP Certification can be found here.

Welcome!

Tuesday, 1. July 2008

Somehow you’ve found this page.  There probably wont be too much activity here.  I intend to use this page to keep notes of interest in an organized manner and if somebody else benefits from them, great.  If you find something helpful, feel free to leave a comment.