Certification Prep – The 20 Minute Workout

So in my last post I offered my thoughts and opinions on the two tracks and what I would personally do if I was first starting out in the field at the end of 2009 or if I was already engaged and that would be to get or finish my MCSE and then move on to the MCITP certification. The folks over at Windows Server HQ which is a member of the family of sites run by TrainSignal.com have recently written three very good articles on the subject. Gosia Grabowska wrote an article back in August titled MCSE vs MCITP: Is the MCSE Still Worth It? in which she outlined her thoughts on which certification might be more valuable and worth the time and effort. She also took the time to outline the different certifications available and the tracks to get you there. Brian Nelson wrote a couple of articles this month (October) titled Why Getting Your MCSE Now Is Still A Good Idea and What’s The Next Step for MCSEs? Both of these articles offer some history and perspective of the venerable MCSE certi

I get asked pretty regularly by folks looking to get into the Information Technology field or even the ones in there a year or so what makes more sense – getting their MCSE or working toward getting their MCITP certification. The way I look at it is this – if you’re already started on the MCSE then it makes sense to finish it even if you’re just one or two exams in. The additional reasoning for this is that many corporate environments are still Server 2000 / 2003 mixes or fully blown 2003. There are some that are running Server 2003 with a mix of 2008 and a few that are totally 2008. The long and short of that is that many will need to have 2000 and 2003 expertise and you can validate that for perspective employers by getting that MCSE finished. This advise is true for people looking for new opportunities as well. Most places will need to know what your foundation of skills are and this will be shown on your resume and in your work history as well as any certifications you have o

Microsoft has an online learning catalog of training that is available at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ The site offers multiple types of learning environments which include including classroom training, e-learning, certification, Microsoft Press books, skills assessments, and more. Most of the sessions are moderately priced but there are often free “clinics” that are available especially for newly released products such as Windows 7. Most of these clinics are specifically geared for a presumed audience and predefined skill set. Clinic 10077: What's New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals is a free two-hour clinic that provides you with an overview of the new and enhanced deployment, security, manageability, and performance features in Windows 7. It describes how these features meet the day-to-day needs of IT professionals and covers the following topics. Overview of Deployment Enhancements Overview of Security Enhancements Overview of Manageability and Performance Enhancements

Microsoft has an online learning catalog of training that is available at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ The site offers multiple types of learning environments which include including classroom training, e-learning, certification, Microsoft Press books, skills assessments, and more. Most of the sessions are moderately priced but there are often free “clinics” that are available especially for newly released products such as Windows 7. Most of these clinics are specifically geared for a presumed audience and predefined skill set. Clinic 10088: What's New in Windows 7 for Information Workers is a free two-hour clinic that provides you with an overview of key enhancements in Windows 7, which help information workers to improve their productivity as well as work in a more secure environment. This clinic covers the following topics. Be More Productive with Windows 7 Be More Secure with Windows 7 Get Connected Faster and Easier with Window

As part of your effort to take the 70-680 Exam for Windows 7 you’ll need to make sure you have a good, solid understanding of all of the skills measured. This will need to be a combination of academic knowledge of the subject matter and real world experience. The exam itself is intended for technicians and desktop administrators that have at least one year of experience working with the most recent desktop operating system (Vista). You will also need to have about one year of experience implementing and administering systems in a networked environment. The first domain is “Perform a clean installation” and the first set of knowledge to have is “Identifying hardware requirements.” What this means is that you need to understand the base, primary system requirements for Windows 7 which are: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit) 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) DirectX 9 graphics device

So I had a couple of inquires as to what I might be doing other than the upcoming 70-680 exam overview so I thought I would post up some of my aggressive plans for the site since I seem to be getting a post up once a day (a lot more aggressive than I thought I was going to be able to). I will probably cap new items to five posts a week most weeks; the plan was at least three and I really didn’t have an upper limit because I didn’t think I’d have to worry about an upper limit but I can see how I might get on a roll from time to time. So anyway – I am planning to kick off 20 Minute Workout segments for all of the following exam tracks over the next couple of months: Exam 70-685: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician Exam 70-686: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator Exam 70-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring Exam 70-642: TS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring Exam 70-643: TS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastr

In my last post I outlined the 70-680 exam overview and which certification you’d earn by taking and passing the exam (MCTS – Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist) as well as the credit you would get towards the cumulative Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certifications: MCITP: Enterprise Administrator MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7 MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 In this post I will be reviewing the skills measured from each of the domains within the 70-680 exam TS: Windows 7, Configuring Installing, Upgrading, and Migrating to Windows 7 Perform a clean installation. Identifying hardware requirements Setting up Windows 7 as the sole operating system Setting up Windows 7 in a dual or multi boot configuration Leveraging different installation methods Booting the system from the source of installation (DVD, network, image, WDS, etc) Preparing the installation source (DVD, network, image, WDS, etc) Upgrade to Windows 7 from previous versions of Win

Published: June 01, 2009 Language: English Audience: IT Professionals Technology: Windows 7 Type: Proctored Exam Candidates for this exam should have a base set of skills working with the Windows 7 desktop operating system from a general use perspective as well as in an enterprise environment. They should have at least one year of practical experience in the IT field, as well as experience implementing, operating and administering current and previous Windows client operating systems in a networked environment. Examinees should be able to install, deploy, and upgrade to Windows 7 as well a troubleshoot pre-installation and post installation issues. Examinees should also be able to properly identify hardware and software compatibility and address and configure pre-installation and post-installation system settings, Windows security features, network connectivity and mobile computing. They should also be able to operate and update deployed systems, including monitoring for an

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog Certification Prep – The 20 Minute Workout. I suppose the best way to kick this off is to introduce myself to you, give you a little run down on who I am and what I'll be embarking on here on this blog and what you can expect going forward. My name is Jason Zandri; I have been working in the information technology field in one form or the other since 1996. I am currently employed full time at Microsoft as a Senior Technical Account manager. I also write technical articles for numerous other sites and I teach an MCSE class at a local technical education center here in Wallingford Connecticut, which is my hometown where I have lived my whole life. As for my own certifications they are: Microsoft Certified IT Professional Enterprise Administrator Apr 24, 2009 Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Jan 19, 2009 Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuration Feb 05, 2009 Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuration