Passed 70-411 This Week!
drdeany
Member Posts: 11 ■■□□□□□□□□
I've been studying, labbing, and taking practice test since mid-March 2017 and passed 70-411 first time on first take on Wednesday, July 5th! 
MY Independence Day!!!
Wanted to share the keys to my success.
1. Find a good source for video learning. My company provided SkillSoft (sucks). I personally used CBT Nuggets. Awesome series.
2. Supplement with textual information. I used two books that I found at a discount bookstore...there are a number of universities in the town so I found Mastering Windows Server 2012R2 and the MCSA Windows 2012R2 Study Guide both used. I would also read the technet articles recommended.
3. LAB! My company supplied me with a Win10 Enterprise laptop, so I installed Hyper-V and created 2012R2 VMs. Then I installed each service as I learned about it and used exercises from both books and CBT Nuggets.
4. Be systematic. As I learned about a service (ie: DNS) I watched videos, then did my reading/research on it, then labbed it. I tried to learn as much about it as possible before I went on the to next item.
5. Practice tests! I used Transcender practice exams to get used to the testing environment. And I like their flashcard ability. When I got a question wrong, I went back to my VMs and my research to understand why I chose wrong and why the correct answer was correct.
Please understand that I am not a server administrator in my daily work--I install software applications on Windows Servers for a business services company. I need to know Win2012R2 because that is the server environment in which I install our software products.
I hope what I have shared with you helps you.
MY Independence Day!!!Wanted to share the keys to my success.
1. Find a good source for video learning. My company provided SkillSoft (sucks). I personally used CBT Nuggets. Awesome series.
2. Supplement with textual information. I used two books that I found at a discount bookstore...there are a number of universities in the town so I found Mastering Windows Server 2012R2 and the MCSA Windows 2012R2 Study Guide both used. I would also read the technet articles recommended.
3. LAB! My company supplied me with a Win10 Enterprise laptop, so I installed Hyper-V and created 2012R2 VMs. Then I installed each service as I learned about it and used exercises from both books and CBT Nuggets.
4. Be systematic. As I learned about a service (ie: DNS) I watched videos, then did my reading/research on it, then labbed it. I tried to learn as much about it as possible before I went on the to next item.
5. Practice tests! I used Transcender practice exams to get used to the testing environment. And I like their flashcard ability. When I got a question wrong, I went back to my VMs and my research to understand why I chose wrong and why the correct answer was correct.
Please understand that I am not a server administrator in my daily work--I install software applications on Windows Servers for a business services company. I need to know Win2012R2 because that is the server environment in which I install our software products.
I hope what I have shared with you helps you.