MCSA 410, 411, and 412 study material?

After doing some research in my area, I've decided to go for the MCSA. I've been looking around and it seems difficult to find decent study material. Here's what I have access to

CBTNuggets 70-410, 70-411, and 70-412 series
Mastering Windows Server 2012
Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 Exam Ref for the 70-410 by Craig Zacker
Windows Server 2012 R2 Administration for the 70-411 by William Panek
Windows Server 2012 R2 Configuring Advanced Services for the 70-412 by William Panek

Is this enough? All of these books have mixed reviews for passing the exams, especially Craig Zacker's book. Haven't heard much about the CBTNugget series, though. It would be appreciated if anyone could give some advice on study material. I've heard TechNet has everything you'll need to know for the exams, but it seems more like more of a reference, unless I've missed something.

Could anyone who's passed the CCNA and MCSA give me an idea of the difficulty comparison? Keep in mind I have no experience working with servers outside of a home lab and school. Just for a rough estimate, what's the average amount of time it takes to get the MCSA? I've heard a lot of people say they passed all three exams in three months, but also hear they're very hard tests.

Thanks

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Comments

techfiend

I think the 70-410 has become much more difficult lately from amazon reviews of books. I read the Panek and I don't think it's enough, mainly an overview, think lammle ccna. Now reading http://www.amazon.com/MCSA-70-410-Cert-Guide-Configuring/dp/0789748800/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440389021&sr=8-1 which really digs into the objectives, think Odom ccna.

I've heard good things about Mastering Windows Server 2012 but doesn't have much powershell, which microsoft is really pushing and I bet it's all over the tests. The exam refs apparently don't cover everything.

poolmanjim

CBT will offer a decent overview with a little depth. Same goes for PluralSight.

You have a good selection of books based on reviews and what I have heard. I can tell you that the Exam Ref books are high level overviews and do not go into the detail you need to pass on them alone. Furthermore, the Panek books, while good, do leave some areas a little underdeveloped (BitLocker for example is a few pages and doesn't really cover anything). However, the Mastering book does dive into things nicely. It isn't written with the exam in mind though so finding the content is challenging.

All of that bundled together is a great start but you will certainly want to read as many technets as you can find on the subject material. Microsoft tests mostly off of TechNet resources (so I have heard) so that is where the content is. Another thing you need is some sort of lab environment. I hear virtual labs are good and very helpful. I am a fan of creating my own lab. Labs will help far more than reading books will as it forces you to look and experiment with the content.

Louie1277

I would have to agree labs is always good. That's how you learn the material. I had the same issue on which books to buy from reviews, or from what members used. I have 3 books out of the 4 you mention plus some other training material. Some times it's way to much material that I get confuse or feel like i'm not moving on. Some books into to much detail puts me to sleep. Other books are not enough on certain things. The whole powershell stuff is a lot of stuff and so much material on that it drives me crazy. Trying to remember the powershell is a task. I kind of told myself to stick with one book then move forward. This will be my third time taking the exam. I took about 6 months off because I was upset and piss off at myself for the low score I received. My test is on the 30th of next month. All i need now is to find me a good pre-test exam site i could practice taking the test. taking a pre-exam test is always good I believe. haven't tried them the last 2 test i took but this time around I want to try some sites out but haven't really found one that is close to the exam questions.