Exchange 2007 studies - surprised!

I'm doing a little reading/studying for the Exchange 2007 MCTS, in between my Enterprise Admin upgrade (which I'm finding pretty dull, hence the mixing up of the studies a bit

).

My application experience is heavily SQL server based and I've never regarded Exchange as anything I wanted to learn - I thought I'd find it boring to be honest.

The thing is, I'm really enjoying this and learning powershell in the process. I've got a few books coming (How to **** at Exchange 2007/MS book for the 70-236 exam) and am watching the CBT's and playing with a few VM's but I just wanted to ask you Exchange super-freaks (you know who you are) if there is anything else you would advise for a keen Exchange n00b?

This is going to be quite important as it's becoming increasingly likely that I'll get several Exchange systems dumped on me and my team in the near future.

Thanks!

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Comments

HeroPsycho

I just got an ad from Trainsignal for an Exchange 2007 CBT package that looks pretty good. You get E2k7 admin, backup and recovery, and Powershell CBTs plus the 70-236 Transcender for $591.

Never looked at any of their Exchange ones, but I have gone through the ISA one, and going through their Visio one, and it's pretty good quality.

Claymoore

I'm glad HP spoke up - I didn't want to be the first to stick my neck out there and claim to be an Exchange super-freak.

My approach depends on if I am trying to learn the product or I am trying to pass the exam. There is certainly some overlap between the two goals, but I don't think the MSTK + exam cram + transcender is the best way to learn the product. However, just reading admin guides isn't the best way to ensure a safe passing score (see my 236 exam review)

I started with Mastering Exchange 2007 a year and a half ago, but I only got through the design chapters before moving on to other exams. There is an updated version out that includes SP1 information. I really relied on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007: Implementation and Administration since I had previous experience with 2003.

The best thing you can do is load up some VMs and practice.

bertieb

I'll check out those materials, this is going to be a long project and not something I want to rush, though I will be doing the 236 exam once I've got some solid experience under my belt. I don't have any set timescales, this is more of a side topic to mix up the studies but I guess this all depends when work decides that we need to support some Exchange 2007 installations, in which case I'll have to bump up the priority and spend a lot more time on it.

Thanks guys, I appreciate your input