Back at it

ed_003

Back it, going to start again on the 410.. I want to learn so many things that i cant do it all. since my last post i have changed jobs and i am in a better position. Looking to set up a lab at work (we have 2 circuits) so that i can study and access it remotely, I don't want to run my light bill.. or do you think I'm exaggerating? let me know. Would like a up to date tutorial on setting up a lab. THx techies have a good day

GSXR750K2

I hear you on the light bill. I have a few test servers that I jokingly tell my friends will cause the lights to flicker from the draw and will create a partial vacuum due to the amount of fans.

For the lab...there's really no need to have five, six, or seven servers stacked up in a spare bedroom anymore if that's what you have pictured in your mind. Get a decent box, install Hyper-V, learn. It's easier to build/destroy stuff in a virtual environment, you can get several virtual machines running on a single physical box, and it is relevant to some of the exam concepts. Later on you can get another box or two and a shared storage device and play with clustering.

-EDIT-

I guess I should say what "decent" box means. As much RAM as possible (8+ GB), a quick quad-core (or two), and several NICs so you can experiment hooking the VMs up to a real switch, router, etc. You can get by with less specs, and Hyper-V will work with you on memory allocation if you're short in that area, but in general moar is better when it comes to a virtualization host.

ed_003

I don't want more than 2 physical machines and right now im just going for one definitely.. i was also thinking of virtual box. I have an i7 with 20GB of ram

GSXR750K2

That oughta' do it.

Just a side note in case you meant you were thinking of the program "Virtual Box". It's apples and oranges when compared with Hyper-V. In a nutshell Virtual Box has to go through the host OS to get resources, Hyper-V provides VMs access to hardware without passing through the host OS (you may hear "Type 1" and "Type 2" hypervisors in your studies, and this is a main difference between them. Hyper-V is Type 1, VBox is Type-2). VB will work, but you won't get the leather seats and Bose stereo that Hyper-V will provide.

ed_003

I see thx.. i want to study for this exam using all Microsoft technology. I have 410 Cert guide - Don Poulton

GSXR750K2

Sounds like a plan. Good luck.

ed_003

THX, how many hrs a day is good ?

GSXR750K2

That depends on much coffee you have and how little you like seeing the outside world. As many hours as possible is the default answer. There is no "study for x-hours a day and you'll pass in y-months" formula. Some people like myself who have worked with WinServ for years completed the MCSA in a month. Others have been working on their MCSA for over a year as they find the time to study. Remember you're not competing with anyone but yourself, and a person can be their own worst enemy when it comes to goals and time.

Any prior experience will help. Many things haven't changed in Windows Server over the years, so if you have some experience you won't be learning everything over from scratch. Active Directory essentially works the same as it always has though you have the option for a newer interface, DHCP/DNS are the same, Group Policy, etc.

Repetition is the key. Like anything if you don't exercise it, you'll lose it. Take notes as you study and read them on lunch to keep the concepts fresh in your head. Don't be afraid to wonder/wander...the real world isn't ideal, so performing a few "what if" experiments can teach you some things and build your confidence.

poolmanjim

ed_003 wrote: »

THX, how many hrs a day is good ?

First, there isn't a hard and fast measurement for how much to study. Each person is different and each topic interests different people.

Second, you shouldn't think of it as "how little do I have to study to get a 700". The exams and studying only cover so much. If you're curious and explore the objectives and the technologies you'll be more comfortable doing it even if you haven't quite learned how to pass the tests yet. This is vital to the exam and its part of why Microsoft made them open ended on content some. Good IT Professionals have a passion and a curiosity for technology. If you can pass a test but don't have the passion, you're not going to like doing the jobs an MCSA will net you.

Lastly, on studying in general, I advise people to study as much as they can but not to over do it. Some nights I would study for 5-8 hours starting from the moment I got home to the moment I went to bed. Other nights, I was tired and distracted and maybe got 1-2 hours of good studying in. You have to listen to and go with what your brain can handle. If you notice you're getting tired or feeling worn out, call it a night and watch some TV and pick up the next day. In the end you'll retain more this way and waste less time having to go over stuff you were too tired to absorb.

Good luck!

AndersonSmith

I used VirtualBox for the entirety of my MCSA journey and it worked just fine for me. I did have to tweak a few things to get them to work with VirtualBox and since for the most part I only used 2 or 3 virtual machines but I was able to get it all to work relatively easily on a laptop with 16GB RAM and a 226GB SSD. Probably could've still done it with less RAM but obviously the more the better

ed_003

Thank u, confidence is very important