MCITP Server Admin hardware/

antc said:
Doesnt have an internal USB port, but guessing it should be fine to just plug it in the back port somewhere?
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Yep. It's just better to have an internal USB port for something that won't get unplugged that often; reduces the risk of it getting knocked out but hey-ho. :)

antc said:
Also just to confirm with the chap who mentioned about compatible hardware and MarcLister, im pretty sure we have both checked the the cpu and mobo both have the virtual extensions required to run vmware esxi or hyper-v?
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I have. Well I've bookmarked a few processors and motherboards and I think they all, if not most, support the virtual extensions as antc says. :)

When I get to the actual purchasing next year I'll double check then. ;)
 
Interesting that this thread should pop up again now, as I have been thinking about finally getting around to pursue an MCITP certification. I took the 70-681 exam last week and passed it, and I have booked the 70-640 exam for the 27th of Jan. Have any of you guys planned/booked any exams yet?

On the subject of hardware, I've noticed that my virtual machines don't seem to run any faster on my current system than they did on my old Core 2 Quad system. The discussion about disks caught my attention, as I have been running all of the VMs from a single 7200RPM hard drive. I assume that this is the bottleneck in my system. Is it worth getting an SSD for virtual machines, or should I just get a couple of 500GB 7200RPM drives instead?
 
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MarcLister said:
I don't think we are, we're just looking for the cheapest graphics card that will work with the motherboards we're looking at. I know we don't need even medium performance graphics cards. :)

You recommend either ESXi or Hyper-V?
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Well in some of the exams there are questions on Hyper-V so some knowledge would be good. Though if you're going down the VCP route (obviosuly you need to do the training for the exam to count) then you should play with ESXi.

I'd probably start with Hyper-V and get the exams done then if you want to continue on to VMware you can convert the machines.



M.
 
This MCITP interests me

I assume it can be bought with all the training materials, leaving you to learn and then take the exams when you're ready?

Where is the best place to look?
 
There are self paced training kits available from Microsoft; MCITP Windows Server 2008: Server Administrator and MCITP Windows Server 2008: Enterprise Administrator. If you want to achieve the MCITP: EA you'll also need to do a client exam, most people will do 70-680 which is Configuring Microsoft Windows 7 (I took 70-681 instead as my company needs it to retain their desktop partner status as of next year). There are also lots of 3rd party books, and also various instructor-lead classroom courses, and of course online videos such as those from Trainsignal etc.

In theory you could just buy these books/videos and study them to be able to achieve a MCITP, but I would expect that you'll need some real world experience to really get to grips with it.
 
Well I was brought in to my current job because of my development/networking skills - the windows/SQL admin stuff is a by-product that needs to be addressed.

I'm getting by OK picking stuff up as I go, but some real training would be really beneficial, not just to me in this job, but for future employment prospects, too.

That book you linked, does it include licences for the software needed to achieve the self-paced learning. Also, would this have been updated for R2?
 
In that case I am sure you'll be fine, I just didn't want to give the impression that an inexperienced person could simply pick up those books and guarantee passing the exams. The second edition of those kits (which I have linked to specifically) do include updates for R2 - the first edition is for Server 2008 non-R2, so be aware of that. I do own the first edition of the EA kit, but I never actually used it so I cannot comment on how effective it is! In that regard it was a complete waste of £150, but you live and learn :)

The difficulty with recommending training material is that people learn best in different ways. I am not especially good at following books, and I have found the pace of instructor led classroom courses to be quite frustrating in the past. Training videos seem to work best for me, as you can watch them in chunks and pause them when you need time to digest or work on what has been discussed. Would you be looking at getting the Enterprise Administrator certification, or just the Server Administrator one?
 
I think it's worth putting the additional leg work in and going for the Enterprise.

I also need to get up to speed on SQL Server 2008.

What is the cost of the actual exams?
 
They're £99 (£118.8 incl VAT), so getting an MCITP is going to cost almost £600. It gets more expensive if you fail and have to retake, though Microsoft sometimes offer a free retake promotion.

Edit: Further to my query regarding using an SSD for lab work, I tested it out on the Crucial M4 I have in my laptop, and the difference was dramatic to say the least. Running four VMs from a 7200RPM drive results in everything grinding to a halt, whereas running four off the SSD seems to result in no performance degradation at all. I decided that a dedicated SSD for my lab is the way forward after that, and so I've ordered a 256GB Crucial M4. I know it may seem obscene and wasteful, but it's a small price to pay if it makes labbing bearable and therefore allows me to secure the MCITP :)
 
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I've got a HP G6 and installed W2K8R2 on it.
I've got various textbooks on MCITP.
I've read the MS 70-680 cover to cover.

However I need a step by step guide on how to practically setup a domain and practice labs as I have no industry experience of Server.
 
get 2 or 3 dell 745 / 755 dual core machines from the bay, the ultra thin ones @ £60 each, upgrade the ram to 2gb make sure they have at least 80gb drives. even cheaper dual core 520's/620 optiplex's will do (620 has 2 more ram slots)

if its for labs disk space and ram are not important...

real machines means less messing about maybe get a cheap KVM so yu can hook them up to one screen..

cheap £20hub a few cables and you have a nice little test setup...

dont be convinced WS2008 need uber hardware, I have it running on 2gb/3ghz P4d dual core with 80gb sata its very fast...
 
HamZilla said:
I've got various textbooks on MCITP.

However I need a step by step guide on how to practically setup a domain and practice labs as I have no industry experience of Server.
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Read the book for 70-640, this will take you through actually creating the domain, creating objects in AD & managing them, applying Group Policy to them etc - basically everything you'd need to do in a real environment to get a forest up and running.

On that note, I'm taking the 70-640 exam on 27th. I've been using the Trainsignal video for it, which has so far been very good. I'm fairly confident that I should be ready for the exam and can pass it. Turns out I was mistaken about the cost of the exams - according to my credit card statement, Prometric charged me £99, though I am not sure if any of that is VAT.

My lab PC has been working extremely well for me, and with the SSD the VMs don't perform any differently to real systems. It's also really handy being able to get another machine deployed within a few minutes, rather than the 10-15 minutes it takes with a real machine.

I'll repeat my previous question; has anybody else booked any exams? :)
 
HI, I've had to put it on hold and go back to the Driving Instruction for a bit. My partner has Breast Cancer and that means I need more flexibility in my work which being self employed provides. I will continue with the studies and get the exams done this year :D
 
I run all my VMs for my Microsoft certs on my comp using Hyper-v.

i5 2500k
16gb
SSD for o/s
320gb for VMs

I passed 70-646 last month, I've now started on 70-640 - Server 2008 configuring A/D

MW
 
Dashik said:
HI, I've had to put it on hold and go back to the Driving Instruction for a bit. My partner has Breast Cancer and that means I need more flexibility in my work which being self employed provides. I will continue with the studies and get the exams done this year :D
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Sorry to hear about your Mrs dude :( Wishing her a rapid recovery
 
Dashik said:
HI, I've had to put it on hold and go back to the Driving Instruction for a bit. My partner has Breast Cancer and that means I need more flexibility in my work which being self employed provides. I will continue with the studies and get the exams done this year :D
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That's terrible news, I hope she has a swift recovery. Good luck on the exams :)

Mr-White said:
I run all my VMs for my Microsoft certs on my comp using Hyper-v.

i5 2500k
16gb
SSD for o/s
320gb for VMs

I passed 70-646 last month, I've now started on 70-640 - Server 2008 configuring A/D

MW
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How come you took 70-646 first?

Edit: In fact, I was under the impression that 70-640 is a pre-requisite for 70-646, so I don't understand how you took that first!
 
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Saundie said:
How come you took 70-646 first?

Edit: In fact, I was under the impression that 70-640 is a pre-requisite for 70-646, so I don't understand how you took that first!
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I did the 70-649 upgrade a while ago, I'm doing the 70-640 purely because I feel it's one of my weaker areas.

MW
 
Ah, you upgraded your MCSE, I understand now. What training material are you using to help you prepare for 70-640?
 
Bought the last Dimm to max out at 16Gb today, should arrive next week :D Thinking on replacing the standard Processor with a dual core i3-540 with hyper threading :D

Also I think I'll bite the bullet and take a Technet sub. Standard should do it. I can live without the pro version for Now :D

Then I'll get the Boson practice exam as that looks good and buy each one as I need them.
 
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