The Four One One

Apologies for the radio silence here.  I've been tied up with a work project and with failing and then subsequently passing the 70-411.  You read that right, there's two down and one to go.

The 70-411 was about how I expected it, to be honest.  The major pratfall in my initial attempt was that I just didn't study enough, with the other being the experiential nature of my learning.  Some of the topics covered on the exam, specifically NPS and VPN, are difficult to simulate in a lab, especially one with my limited resources.  Subsequently, my weakest sections were NPS and Network Access.

I could spend my time here making excuses for my initial failure, but you're not here for that are you?  I can't really discuss many details of the exam, but I can at least lay a few study tips on you to help you pass on the first go round.

First off, I know the Exam Refs for the 70-411 and 70-412 are not available as of this writing, but the Exam Ref for the 70-417 is and it is a valuable resource in the hunt for the MCSA.  The 417, for those who may not know, is the upgrade exam available to those who have earned various and sundry MCITP and MCSA certs in Server 2008.  The book for this exam covers much of the material on the 410,411, and 412 but not all of it.  Regardless of that, it is a huge help to those seeking to pass the separate tests as what it does cover is detailed and geared directly towards the exam objectives.  You cannot go wrong with borrowing/buying a copy of this book.

Secondly, know that until 6/30 Trainsignal is offering the video courses for the 410, 411, and 412 for free to those after the MCSA in 90 days as well as offering some Server 2008 and SQL courses.  I mentioned it in the last post, but it bears repeating.  After my first attempt, I watched the videos geared towards my biggest problem areas which provided the much needed visual in some of the demos.  I will add this disclaimer: DO NOT WATCH ONLY THESE VIDEOS AND EXPECT TO PASS.  The videos are geared more towards laying a foundation of understanding than providing an easy pass to TOTAL EXAM DOMINANCE.

Those plus what lab work I could do and going over the pertinent parts of my 70-680 notes were what I used to succeed.  For those of you already familiar with the exam objectives as they pertain to Server 2008, a refresher plus picking up on what's new in 2012 will be plenty for you to pass.  For those who know next to nothing, like I did, this plus reading Technet until your eyes bleed is a good start.  To both of you, know Powershell.

I hoped this helped some of you and good luck on your respective exams!

90 Days

Challenge accepted

I went on a bit of a certification bent last year around this time.  Mostly because I realized that I had a BA in History with nothing to legitimize my career in IT other than a minor in Computer Science and 8 years as a Sys Admin.  For most people, that would be enough, but there were gaps in my knowledge of many of the technologies I worked on regularly that I wanted to fill with sweet, delicious utility.  So I geared up and started working on my first Microsoft certification.  An MCTS in Windows 7, which coincided nicely with a Win7 migration my employer was doing at the time.

For those who haven't taken it, the Win7 test (70-680) is a bit of a bear.  I'll admit it took me two attempts to pass it, but I got it and was proud as punch.  Then, with no further impetus driving me, I went back to work with my shiny new acronym and called it good.  Fast forward to this year.  I've got a hankering for certs again and the field of battle has changed a bit.

Microsoft has gone away from the MCTS>MCITP structure and back to a MCSA>MCSE>MCSM structure.  Server 2012 and Windows 8 have both released.  Furthermore, I have a new job that wants me certified as much as I want to get certifications.  Enter one Michael Bender (@michaelbender) who has issued the 90 Days to MCSA challenge.  Basically, the challenge is to get your MCSA in Server 2012 (or SQL 2012) in 90 days.  Sounds simple enough, I accept your challenge, sir.

The MCSA in Server 2012 has 3 exams if you, like me, don't have any of the upgradeable certifications.

• Exam 70-410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012
• Exam 70-411: Administering Windows Server 2012
• Exam 70-412: Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services

I got something of a late start and didn't really get rolling on the 2012 curriculum until mid-April, but I have already successfully knocked out my 70-410.  As far as the exam goes, it's more difficult than it seems just looking at the objectives, but not as hard as I feared it would be.  Especially considering my only prior experience with Microsoft certification exams was the 70-680.  I passed with a reasonable score with the help of some computer based training, the Exam Ref for the 70-410, and this part can't be emphasized enough, a virtual lab running 2 Server 2012 VMs.  Basically, I read up on what was going to be on the test and followed along to the CBTs with my own lab.

Next up is the 70-411, and I'll readily admit that I'm a little leery of this one.  It has some of the specific technologies that you also find client-side on the 70-680 which I didn't fare so well on, like DirectAccess.  I have my 411 exam scheduled for next Thursday and will let you know how it goes.

Microsoft has provided a multitude of resources for the 90 Days to MCSA challenge, so if you're interested, go to http://90daystomcsa.com where you'll find discussion boards, wikis, and resources such as ways to download a trial version of 2012 for your home lab.  Also, for the next month and a half Trainsignal.com is offering their videos for these exams for free to participants in the 90 days to MCSA program.  You can also kick off a 90-day trial of Windows Azure, which let's you try out some of the latest cloud technology AND run your test lab at the same time.  You can find that here.

I hope you found this first post some sort of useful.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have some studying to do.

Welcome to The Regret Bucket

Ah, the end of the day.  Time to sit back with a glass of whatever and sift through what remains of the day's activities to see if anything is salvageable or if it is all destined to go into the long good night of the Regret Bucket.

Yup, I started a third blog.  This one is tech oriented with the ultimate goal of elucidating on all my adventures as an IT Mercenary and all that's new or rad in the world of tech.  We all wondered what things would be like in the future growing up, and good news everyone, we are living in it.  We live in a world where it's possible to take a photo of your dinner with your phone, which lives in your pocket by the way, apply a terrible sepia filter that makes it look like it was taken through the bottom of a bourbon bottle, and upload it to an interconnected network for all to see.  This can all be done while hurtling through the atmosphere in a pressurized metal tube at 30,000 feet.  Rad might not be a sufficient adjective in this case.

A little backstory on the name.  I was perusing Reddit one day when a redditor mentioned he always changed his Recycle Bin's name to Regret Bucket.  Finding this awesome, I immediately did the same on all my PCs and have since contended that it would be a smashing name for a rock band.  Turns out, it works as a name for a blog too, so here we are.

Look here for posts about various technologies, tips, and general tech journal stuff.  I intend to start with a series on my participation in the 90 Days to MCSA challenge as I strive to get my rotund posterior certified in Windows Server 2012 technologies.  If that sounds boring to you, it probably will be.  If it sounds interesting, it will probably still be boring.  Come hang out anyway and enjoy the show.