Examinations
70-290: MCSE 2003 Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment. This exam, covering knowledge on this operating system, can compare to exam 70-215 of the Windows 2000 version. Its five themes: physical and logical devices, the management of users / computers / groups, resource access, the server environment and disaster recovery.
70-291: MCSE 2003 Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure. It focuses on the services provided by servers, equivalent to exam 70-216 of the Windows 2000 version. Its themes: DHCP, DNS, network security, RRAS and monitoring / troubleshooting.
70-293: MCSE 2003 Security Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure. If you change “Planning” into “Designing”, this exam is equivalent to 70-221 of the Windows 2000 version. Its themes seem to be more theoretical, as well as you must know how they link to the actual, while 70-291 (MCSE 2003 Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure) focuses on the servers that you know and are using. Themes: Server roles and security, planning for a TCP / IP network, RRAS, server availability, network security and security infrastructure.
70-294: MCSE Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 AD Infrastructure. It corresponds to 70-217 of the Windows 2000 version. This exam focuses on planning, realizing, managing and maintaining Active Directory, as well as Group Policy, a group of strategies that applied to users, computers and groups.
70-297: MCSE Designing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and Network Infrastructure. It is unavailable until August. It can be considered as a combination of updated 70-219 and 70-221. Themes of this exam: commercial and technological needs, logical and physical designs of Active Directory, as well as the logic and physical designs of network infrastructures.
Areas Focused
Many of the exam themes are cross-cutting. This not only gives us an allusion that these points are of great importance, but also provides us a method that can optimize the learning process. For example, if one knowledge point appeared in three exams, you should know clearly that you must put more time on it, and that you needn’t spend too much time on it for you next exam.
According to what we have mentioned above, we list ten themes that we should grip most. These can indicate your lever on the new operating system:
#1: Recognizing the Importance of IPSec Security
At almost any time, you can see the word “network security” as a part of a theme (domain or target). IPSec are one or more targets there. What you should acknowledge first is how to install an IPSec channel on Windows Server 2003. To install a security region, you should read the text of “Windows Server 2003 Security Innovation”
#2: Understanding PKI
Just as “Network Security” means IPSec, “Network infrastructure” refers to the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). First read “Windows Server 2003 Security Services Technology Overview”, then, the secedit commands.
#3: Acknowledge What Active Directory Can Do Now
All of the vendors wish to have their certification exams as a market instruments. The result is that they never ask questions like “Pointed out the shortcomings of network operating system”. Instead, they ask how advance are their products and how better than those of their competitors. With the presence of the new version Windows 2003, Active Directory gains some new tools and features that you must be familiar with.
#4: Understanding the Progress in Network
When the TCP / IP and its components become more and more easy to implement and configure, Microsoft is always in the search for progress. As the steps become easier, they often used as testing materials. You’d better download “technical overview of Windows Server 2003 networking and communications”.
#5: Recognizing the Necessary Steps to Upgrade
What is the result if a network management candidate for the new version operating system certification doesn’t know how to upgrade form the previous version? You could find out the difference between version 2000 and 3000 from the review guide. You can also get more information on how to upgrade Windows 2000 to Windows 2003.
#6: Understanding the Software and Upgrades
This theme contains software upgrade as well as security upgrade. Microsoft hopes to keep upgrading your software and bring security to the other. There will be a source of inspirations by reading “Windows Server 2003 Application Software Compatibility Changes Guide”.
#7: Knowing the Basic Principles of Terminal Services
Some new projects have been added to the terminal service, of which some features about XP are the abilities of being integrated. For more in-depth explanation, you can read “An Overview of Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Technology”.
#8: Familiar with the Disaster Recovery
The realization of the disk array is no longer compulsory, but you’d better understanding these levers. Now we have the Automated System Recovery (ASR). When the disaster comes, ASR allows the operating system, system status and hardware configuration to take a restoration in simple steps. There are no relevant references on Windows 2003 before this article came out. But ASR can be used in XP. You can learn these technologies by reading “How to create and use Automated System Recovery in Windows XP”.
#9: Aware of the “High Availability”
Most of the time, the high-availability represents the use of clusters and / or load balancing. But it is not enough to understand this concept. You have to know these tools and understand when to use them. Read “An Overview of Windows Server 2003 Clustering Service Technology” to get leap-style information.
#10: Understanding Group Policy
Although a matter of fact, it is just a subsystem of Active Directory, yet group policy has made outstanding contributions to the management of large systems. Microsoft is rather proud of this technology. You’d better begin you study from “White Book of Group Policy Infrastructure”, and download “Troubleshooting for Windows Server 2003’s Group Policy” as a reference.
Suggestions
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 is an operating system that will enter the network of most major enterprises in the following years. As it is accepted by more people, the demand for certified administrators will increase rapidly. Microsoft will provide beta version test of this technology this summer. Through the enormous amount of learning, you can prepare for your certification exam quickly.