Starting MCSA Windows Server 2016

Got my MCSA in Windows 10 last week so now I am starting on my Server 2016. I'm not going to do Server 2012 because I like to study for up coming and new technologies.

Sybex haven't released their books yet and CBT Nuggets videos haven't been completed.

I have the dreaded green study guides as that's the only book available plus I had vouchers for an educational book shop, so I ordered 70-740, 741 and 742. I will start with 70-740 first.

Any tips from anyone who has passed or attempted any of them?

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nachodba

Do yourself a favor and do the MCSA Server 2012. It will look just as good on the resume as the MCSA Server 2016 and it's a good idea to be certified in the OS a majority companies are currently using. Also, one upgrade exam will get you to the MCSA Server 2016.

malachi1612

I understand but reason why I am doing Server 2016 instead of 2012 because I currently live in the UK and want to move to another country in 2 years. I'm not sure where yet but I need to make sure I stand out more compared others. Best way to do that is to be certificated in up coming technologies, get it out the way now instead of later on when Server 2016 is main stream, by that time I could be focusing on other things.

Same reason I did Windows 10 cert over the past 9 months instead of Windows 7. Many people have Windows 7 certs and 2012 certs, not many have Windows 10 and definitely not Server 2016. Will help me get my foot in the door easier, especially if I move to a country were their primary language isn't English.

CertifiedMonkey

I agree with the above. Nothing wrong with getting an MCSA in 2012 and then taking an exam to upgrade. I think that having both would show a progression of server and technology experience/knowledge. Also, the objectives aren't radically different. I don't think MCSA 2016 will be unique in 2 years. Also, if you take the 2016 now and you're not working with it on a daily basis, you'll waste a time trying to refresh the info constantly for 2 years. If you study for the MCSA 2012 for 1 year then upgrade to 2016 6 months later, your knowledge should still be fresh.

nachodba

Trust me, you won't stand out with the MCSA 2016 certification.

greg9891

Congrats !

spongeym

Personally I'd say go for the latest and greatest, if your CV has a proven history of working with the previous OS's.

I'm a contractor in the UK and have worked for multiple companies who are working on older OS's (2000 still!!) but looking towards the future, be it a MS OS, or a Cloud platform of some description, so knowing how to manage your old estate and migrate to the new is essential and having proof of that on you CV even more so.

With the recent Ransomware attack and it now being highlighted how out of date many organisations are, rollouts to Windows 10 and Server 2012/16 will become more frequent as will keeping closer to date with the latest and greatest OS.

malachi1612

greg9891 wrote: »

Congrats !

Thanks, Windows 10 was a killer, especially 70-697.

spongeym wrote: »

Personally I'd say go for the latest and greatest, if your CV has a proven history of working with the previous OS's.

I'm a contractor in the UK and have worked for multiple companies who are working on older OS's (2000 still!!) but looking towards the future, be it a MS OS, or a Cloud platform of some description, so knowing how to manage your old estate and migrate to the new is essential and having proof of that on you CV even more so.

With the recent Ransomware attack and it now being highlighted how out of date many organisations are, rollouts to Windows 10 and Server 2012/16 will become more frequent as will keeping closer to date with the latest and greatest OS.

That's my point, its all good me studying for Server 2012 but when organizations start to moving to Server 2016. I be there ready and waiting with the skills, while everyone else is spending hours or months Googling how to do it. The Ransomware attack had my organization running around in circles because we still have Server 2003 and 2008 here unpatched.

Anyway, don't want to derail from my original question.

So again, any tips from anyone who has passed or attempted any of the Server 2016 exams?

poolmanjim

The differences between Server 2012 and Server 2016 are not drastic by any means. I, personally, would recommended getting a MCSA 2012 with a followup upgrade to Server 2016. Most organizations are using Server 2012 and will be for a while still. By getting the MCSA 2012 you will have enough understanding of Windows Server to even be able to accurately support Server 2016 with the occasional google to help you figure out what's going on.

My last, and probably biggest, reason for suggesting Server 2012 is the sheer amount of content available for study makes passing the 2012 so much easier. The MCSA 2016 is still being vetted so you will have to find a lot of your own study resources which will add to the time it takes to study.

blargoe

I agree with everyone above - you will be better served learning 2012 R2 now. It should be an easy upgrade to 2016.

nachodba

Good luck with your career.

ssnyderu2

I would go with 2012, then upgrade to 2016. My company (in USA) has hundreds of servers, most running 2008 R2 and 2012. We only have a couple running 2016 and those are just for testing. It will be at least a year or two before we start to deploy any 2016 servers. Most companies don't deploy cutting edge stuff right away, so 2012 will be standard for some time. Hell, we are just now getting Windows 10 validated and wont deploy it for at lest 6 months or longer.

kaiju

The exams are not that difficult if you have experience with 2012 R2. 70-741 is the most difficult of the three exams so make sure you put some extra effort into studying whatever books are purchased. I will be doing 70-743 next week to complete my MCSE.

Having a current MCSA/E is what matters so having the 2016 MCSA will not hurt you.

nachodba

No one is saying having a MCSA 2016 will hurt, but it offers no benefit over using the OS that a majority of companies are still using as their primary server OS.

malachi1612 wrote: »

That's my point, its all good me studying for Server 2012 but when organizations start to moving to Server 2016. I be there ready and waiting with the skills, while everyone else is spending hours or months Googling how to do it.

OP will be their knight in shining armor saving the company from all those sysadmins who need to google.

blargoe

As a point of reference my current company's Windows Server footprint is still about 60% Windows 2008 R2, with 2012 R2 being the standard for new deployments. I have some test 2016 servers, but all of our standard apps are not certified or have compatibility issues, so we will not be rolling it out in production until late this year at the earliest.

I think this is the norm for established environments.

knownhero

Agree with everyone else. I would do 2012 then upgrade to 16 once more material comes out.

I've never been in a company that updates to the latest and greatest software. I mean we had to fight everyone just to get SharePoint 2016 deployed instead of 13... Because it's too new.

ssnyderu2

We just finally replaced all our old 2003 servers. For now 2008 R2 is on most of our serves with 2012 starting to catch up. So it will be sometime before moving to 2016.

Cisco Inferno

How will you migrate my servers to 2016 if you dont know 2012?

malachi1612

Cisco Inferno wrote: »

How will you migrate my servers to 2016 if you dont know 2012?

How will you migrate my servers to 2012 if you dont know 2008?
How will you migrate my servers to 2008 if you dont know 2003?
How will you migrate my servers to 2003 if you dont know 2000?

See the pattern?

Same for desktop versions, no matter how you look at it. Everyone will be coming into these certs at different time frames, regardless of knowing the previous OS or not. Every MS desktop and server exam objectives covers migration from previous OS's. Server 70-740 covers migration from both server 2012 and 2008. I cant remember the last time I used an server 2008 system. Either way, the process is not difficult. Even if it was difficult , that's why we take these certs. To study, learn new skills and validate them.

knownhero

@malachi1612 at the end of the day it's really up to you how to proceed in your career. But I would personally really consider the 2012 route then upgrade to 2016 having both on your CV would be more of a stand out thing than just 2016.

Again that's my personal opinion.

poolmanjim

Speaking of Migrations, in the 70-413 study material they want me to know migration scenarios for certain Server 2000 cases and then every case beyond that at least a little. Migrations are not an easy topic.

malachi1612 wrote: »

Every MS desktop and server exam objectives covers migration from previous OS's. Server 70-740 covers migration from both server 2012 and 2008. I cant remember the last time I used an server 2008 system.

Server 2008 isn't even completely EOL yet. I know my company is likely going to skip migrating to Server 2012/R2 for most of our systems and go straight from 2008 to 2016. A lot of companies haven't gone all the way to Server 2012 yet and will potentially just hop up to 2016 when Server 2008 is done for.

Glyphic83

I agree with the others here regarding Server 2012. My company installs and supports call center software for large enterprise environments and it's rare we see anyone using Server 2016, or even with any plans to upgrade to it in the near future.

At the end of the day I don't think it really matters all that much though. If you learn 2016 it's not like you'll be totally lost when you sit down in front of a 2012 machine and the really important thing is that you know your **** in a Windows environment, not so much what version is on your cert.

That said, just know that you're not all that likely to see Server 2016 in widespread use in enterprise environments for a while yet.

Eightn9ne

I'd go the MCSA 2012 route. I just obtained mine and I'm already considering doing the upgrade path. There was so much that the MCSA 2012 taught me that I never knew about (again assumed knowledge) and by the looks of things the 2016 upgrade path doesn't seem to be that much of a difference from 2012 R2 but then again, we can only advise you.

We only just recently started moving servers over 2012 over the past couple of months. We're about 70% Server 2012 R2, 30% 2008 R2 and this is just as of the start of this year.

stunnedsoup

Agree w/ the comments on learning 2012, first.

I deal with dozens of customers who are still on 2012 and several who are on 2008 (had one last week). Only one customer I've dealt w/ is using 2016 and they're doing it for testing purposes and won't even think about migrating for at least another year or two.

2036789

I just came across this thread from last year just wanted to know id the stuff said here still applicable, are most companies still using server 2012.
do you guys still recommend doing server 2012 and then upgrading, considering its 2018 and I heard server 2019 is soon to be out. If I do server 2016 exams will I be comfortable working with server 2012. I currently work as a desktop engineer and want to the server certs to help me land a server admin role, thanks, any feedback will be greatly appreciated

bornwith

I work for a fortune 100 company. Our servers are 2012r2.

2036789

i think in uk most people are still usin 2012 so might just do that and also the upgrade exam

malachi1612

I asked this same question last year and I repeat myself now. If you want to study 2012r2 that's fine but at the end of the day you are working in IT you need to stay ahead of the game. 2016 is the way to go if you are starting from scratch. Even with Server 2019 due out in October.

Server 2012r2 then upgrade exam to 2016 for MCSA Server 2016. That's 4 exams in total.
Server 2016 from scratch for MCSA Server 2016, that's 3 exams in total.

Why take the hardest/longest path which has more exams, if you are study studying also costs more money?!?! Common sense right???!?!

Many are still using 2012r2...so..let them. Just like many are still using Windows 7, didn't stop me studying for MCSA Windows 10 last year. Came in useful now as I'm on the Windows 10 rollout project in my job. I expect the same when the upgrade to 2016 from 2012r2 will happen (if I am still there)

Study for the future, not for the past or current! You will standout from the crowd and I am talking from personal experience not because of "business needs"

2036789

thanks for the advise. can I ask if I take the server 2016 will it give me a good grasp of server 2012 also, must not be much different?

malachi1612

Yes, all the stuff I learnt in Server 2016 and can do in Server 2012. What makes it better some technologies in Server 2016 are deprecated/discontinued in Server 2012. So you know what not to bother using anymore going forward.

herath

I would say Go for 2016.