Recommended resources?

Kuroki

So I'm now electing to pursue the MCSA Win Server 2012 and I was wondering what resources you guys would highly recommend? I already have my eyes set on CBT Nuggets and got a virtual lab running on my PC.. Looking to reformat an only PC and stick windows server on it to practice HyperV

Thanks!

banzoola

Well i've watched all the CBT Nuggets videos and i got to say i'm not overly impressed. I've started on train signals videos now but they are not for R2 but i recommend them. I'm using Vmware workstation with server 2012 installed and its going pretty well. The book i'm currently reading is William Panek - MCSA complete study guide but i'm only a couple of chapters through. It seems detailed enough though.

Kuroki

banzoola wrote: »

Well i've watched all the CBT Nuggets videos and i got to say i'm not overly impressed. I've started on train signals videos now but they are not for R2 but i recommend them. I'm using Vmware workstation with server 2012 installed and its going pretty well. The book i'm currently reading is William Panek - MCSA complete study guide but i'm only a couple of chapters through. It seems detailed enough though.

CBT has always had that practical element to it as opposed to theoretical from some of the series I've seen.

With regards to the Panek book would that adequately prepare you for the MCSA? It just seems too condensed to cover the amount of information necessary across all 3 exams. Unless the questions are mostly case studies

Cisco Inferno

I really dont like James Conrad's voice and whiteboards after watching Jeremy for CCNA.

Pluralsight (whom acquired Trainsignal) actually just released an ENTIRELY new 70-410 series last month. It is entirely R2.
This comes 2 years after their non R2 release in 2013.

You might want to give them a try. I know I will. They even have a video on setting up your lab environment to follow along.

Here are the video Sections with links.
[h=1]1. Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-410) MCSA and the 70-410 Exam (Intro and Lab Setup)
2. Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-410) Install and Configure Servers
3. Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-410) Core Network Services
4. Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-410) Administer Active Directory
5. Windows Server 2012 R2 (70-410) Manage Group Policy[/h]

If anyone has any experience or review of this new series, please fill us in!

pandiculator

I haven't watched the new PluralSight 410 videos but I have watched the new 412 videos (published in November 2014), by the same author, Greg Shields. Highly recommended, really good explanations and not too much waffle.

I also found the videos on Microsoft Virtual Academy to be an excellent resource for deeper dives in to storage, clustering and virtualization. I watched the following videos:

Upgrading Skills to Windows Server 2012 Jump Start
Windows Server 2012 R2: Using IP Address Management
Windows Server 2012 R2: Active Directory Enhancements
Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Jump Start: New Choices
Failover Clustering in Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012 R2 Virtualization
Windows server 2012 R2 Implementing a Basic PKI