MCSA Course: passed 70-410, but failed 70-411 twice

heix75

I passed MCSA Server 2012 full training.

70-410 was easy, but attempted 70-411 twice. Failed both. First time the score was 580, at the second 480.

I studied hard - very hard.
Used 70-411 study guide and also taken some Transcender practice exams. Also watched all the videos by James Conrad at CBT Nuggets.

It was strange, that my score was greater at first time than second. I think if I could join right answers from both exams then it could be passed.
Scorecard showed some weak topics at the first time. But the second time all the first time's weak topics are got slightly better score, but also the first time's strong topics got scored almost zero at the second attempt :-O

Actually I felt confident before second attempt, the exam itself felt more easier, but the score was lower.

Do you have any recommendations or advices how to kill this beast?

I found that the CBT nuggets made the new videos for 70-411. Are those videos worth of watching - every single video, starting from really beginning?

I don't have lab right now - it is pretty hard to set the lab up to cover all the topics. I have lots of experience in real life and production systems.

But still don't giving up - I feel that every day I discover something new in the Windows servers.

Is the 70-412 more easier? Because I must take this exam at the end of April. Is it more reasonable to study for 70-412 at now and attempt 70-411 after some time in the future?

poolmanjim

Industry experience is helpful but unfortunately it is unlikely that you will have touched all components presented in the exams in the kind of detail that Microsoft is wanting. Microsoft wants you to have experience with the solutions being tested. In other words -- you need a lab. It doesn't need to be fancy with a bunch of servers screaming in your living room.

If you have Windows 10, you can install Hyper-V on your home computer. You can realistically lab this exam if you are able to get 4-5 VMs running at a time and overlap the roles and features some. If you don't have Windows 10, look at VirtualBox, it is decent option to work through many of the exam objectives.

I also recommend checking out some of the MVA videos from Microsoft. I found the DirectAccess ones in particular to be very helpful as I have struggled getting that to work in my lab for a number of reasons. Watch the videos, pay attention, and try to duplicate as much as you can in your home lab. It will help.

Good luck.

AvgITGeek

It took me 3 tries to pass the 411. What areas did you score low? Concentrate on those areas and LAB them but be clear that you will still need to lab everything your scored well in. Also, TechNet is your friend as is Google.

AndersonSmith

The 411 was a lot tougher than the 410 in my opinion. I was able to pass on the first attempt by just by the skin of my nose. My recommendation would just be to study every spare second you get. Lab everything you can, make sure you know how to do everything in Powershell as well as the GUI and Command Line. I found the Transcender exams very helpful for the 410 but somewhat lacking for the 411 unfortunately. Google/research everything you don't have a solid understanding on. You can usually find a lot of useful information on forums, blogs, etc. Even if it's just a checkbox in a screen you're not sure of, look it up and see what it does. Learn how to manipulate it with Powershell and see what it does. Good luck, with continued dedication you'll beat this for sure!

Louie1277

I thought the 410 was hard. Can't wait to see what my score is for the 411. Start your lab small like I did and move forward . Right now I just started the 411 so far it's good. A lot of powershell command i will have to remember.