road to MCSA....

boogyland

Hi! I'm planning on getting a MCSA certification. I already have A+ and Network+ certification, therefore I don't have to take an elective exam. I only have to take the 3 core exam. 70-215 and 70-218 for the Network part and 70-210 or 70-270 for the Client OS part. My question is......which Client OS should i take? Win2k Pro? or WinXP Pro?

The Network part are both based on Win2K.......does it matter which Client OS i pick?

Confused........

bellboy

i hear the 270 is a bit more in-depth than 210 (it's to do with the extra features like firewall et al, i imagine), so it's your call.

if you have xp on your own computer, i might suggest giving 270 a try. i have started to study 210, but as i have had more experience with windows 2000 professional of late, i might consider a swap

cheeblie

Personally I would take 70-270, which I did take. XP Professional has all of the features of Windows 2000 Professional, plus some added features that only XP has. This way if you pass 70-270 you can also safely say that you know 70-210 because they have so much in common. You would not , however, be able to say that you know XP Professional by passing 70-210 because of the added features that XP has. Therefore, I think taking 70-270 would be the best move for you.

Cheeblie

boogyland

Thanx for the advice Cheeblie.

I've decided to take 70-270. It makes a lot more sense than taking 70-210.

spicc7

Hey Boogy I think I am in the same situation you're in. I wasn't aware that if you had A+ & Network+ you jut needed those 2 core exams to get MCSA. How is it for MCSE?

boogyland

According to microsoft website the only 3rd party certification they will accept as elective for MCSE is Security+.

http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcse/requirements.asp

The good thing is if you're going for MCSA, the required exams are the same. So after MCSA you only have to take 4 more exams.

jrowe

A+ and Network+ can be used as an elective for MCSA but not for MCSE

Drakonblayde

I'm taking 210 just because there's more resources available for it and I've seen no evidence the exam is going to retire anytime soon. I know alot of folks in this area and I've asked them which it would be better to take. Seems that most of the major corporations and government agencies that are running MS products are still running 2k with absolutely no intention of upgrading to XP. Apparently they have issues about paying for site licenses and they're not interested in paying for entirely new site licenses for what basically amounts to a pretty version of 2k hehe