In this article, we won't go through each objective but rather focus on six
of the most important things to know to be prepared for Exam 70-291. But first,
let's take a minute to determine whether you need to tackle the exam at all.
Do you need to take this exam?
Exam 70-291 is
intended to verify networking knowledge and skill with Windows Server 2003 for
those new to higher-level Microsoft certification. If you already hold a
networking certification from Microsoft above the MCP (Microsoft Certified
Professional) level, you may be able to bypass this exam altogether.
If you are certified as an MCSA, you can skip this exam as well as 70-290, Managing and
Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment, and just take exam
70-292, Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment for
an MCSA Certified on Windows 2000. Taking only exam 70-292, you can
upgrade your MCSA from Windows 2000 to Windows Server 2003 in just one test.
If you are certified as an MCSE, you can also bypass 70-290 and 70-291 by
taking 70-292, but you need to add exam 70-296, Planning,
Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment for an
MCSE Certified on Windows 2000. These two exams work together to upgrade your
certification and save you time in the testing center.
Tip one: Think conceptually
Yes, this is an exam in the Windows Server 2003 track, but it probably
focuses more on concepts, as opposed to products, than any other exam in the
track. The IP Addressing category expects you to know and understand IP
addressing (which is essentially the same as it has been for many years) and
DHCP. The Name Resolution category focuses on DNS, which has not changed much
since Windows 2000.
The Network Security category concentrates on security concepts with a
required knowledge of some of the oldest tools in the Microsoft arsenal—Event
Viewer and Network Monitor, to name two. When Windows NT became Windows 2000,
"Remote Access" became "Routing and Remote Access" (RRAS vs. RAS), and little is
new in the fourth category: You must understand the principles of TCP/IP
routing. The final category, Maintaining a Network Infrastructure, requires
commonsense knowledge of service dependencies (which are the same in almost
every operating system) and some Microsoft tools—Network Monitor and System
Monitor as well.
You do need a working knowledge of Windows Server 2003 to pass this exam. Far
more important, though, is a knowledge and understanding of the concepts of
networking and interacting with the Internet as an administrator.
Tip two: Buy the Resource Kit
As with every Microsoft exam, a dozen publishers will be putting out training
guides and study guides and exam prep guides—so many that your head will spin
just looking at the bookshelf. Those books are all helpful in studying for a
test, but much of the same material used in question creation overlaps content
used in one of the most definitive book series that Microsoft Press releases for
each operating system. This started with Windows 95 and has become truer with
each successive operating system and Resource Kit release, climaxing with
Windows 2000. (You almost had to have the Resource Kit to pass the exams.)
As of this writing, the Microsoft
Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit (ISBN: 0735614717) is not yet available but
is expected to be soon. Although the list price is $299.99, you can already find
it greatly discounted at many online retailers. When you factor in the cost of
failing an exam or two, along with the fact that this kit can be used to study
for every one of the Windows Server 2003 exams, you can see that the money it
costs is a great investment.
Tip three: Think 70-216
I know that I am not alone in saying that exam 70-216, Implementing
and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure, is one of the
most difficult that Microsoft's psychometricians ever conjured up. After sailing
through exam 70-210 (Windows 2000 Professional) and 70-215 (Windows 2000
Server), I confidently took 70-216 without much study. "How hard can an exam on
networking basics be?" I thought.
I don't mind saying that I failed the exam on more than one occasion. I
honestly believe that the pass rate on this exam was so low that it served as an
impetus in Microsoft's decision to create the much easier 70-218 exam, Managing
a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment.
If you look at the title of exam 70-291, you'll note
that it uses "Network Infrastructure" (from 70-216) instead of "Network
Environment" (from 70-218). If you look closely at the objectives, you'll see
that they mirror many of the counterparts on 70-216. Although the number of
objective categories has shrunk from 70-216 to 70-291, the difficulty level has
not. This is not an exam you can sail through just because you've been working
with networking concepts since the days when Peter Frampton had hair.
Tip four: Know that simple things can be difficult
Tying in with the last tip, you need to mentally acknowledge before taking
the exam that some easy things can be made more difficult than they should be
and be prepared for this. It is no secret that exam questions often focus on
minutiae, and that is difficult enough when taking a test. But be ready for
question formats—not just content—that try your nerves.
Brace yourself for marathon-length multiple-choice questions that list lots
of possible answers and ask you to "choose all that apply." The problem with
this format is that you still only get the question right or wrong. If there are
seven possible choices and three that are correct, you don't get partial credit
if you only chose two and the two that you chose are among those correct. You
missed the question. Miss enough of them, and you can plan on taking the exam
again, and again, and….
Microsoft has also added a new type of question that divides the information
among three screens that you have to maneuver and scroll through. There are not
a lot of these questions yet, but enough to make things frustrating. Before
signing up for this test, I would recommend calling the testing center of your
choice and asking what size monitors they administer the exams on; the bigger
the better for these questions.
Tip five: Focus on the Microsoft angle
The concepts are universal—networking, DHCP, etc.—but spend some time
concentrating on anything that Microsoft does with these items that make them
sales bullets for the company. For example, DNS has been around since the days
when it became apparent that scaling HOSTS files was impossible, but you need to
know how Microsoft intertwines Active Directory with DNS. In other words, don't
just know DNS, but know Microsoft's take on it.
Read the overview
of DNS posted on the Microsoft site, then delve deeper into selections about
understanding, installing, and securing.
Other items to similarly focus on include all the tools and utilities related
to the networking functions. Add ipconfig to the list and know all the
parameters/options that can be used with it.
Tip six: Spend some time with IAS
Microsoft's Internet Authentication Service (IAS) is its implementation of
Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS), and it forms a large
component of RRAS. Knowledge of this topic is crucial to passing the
Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining Routing and Remote Access portion of the
exam.
For studying, start with the overview,
and then read how the Network
Access Quarantine Control works with Windows Server 2003. After reading that
information, get as much experience with it as you possibly can.
Emmett's recommendation
The 70-291 exam is a step you must take to become MCSA or MCSE certified on
Windows Server 2003 if you don't hold those certs for Windows 2000. It is a much
more difficult exam than you would think, given the subject material. If you can
avoid taking it—and you can, if you're already MCSA/MCSE certified—that is the
best way to handle it.
