Passed 443

I passed the 70-443 and I have to say I found it the most challenging exam I have taken to date. I'm not sure hard is a good word to describe it. It's a typical design/case study exam and all of the answers are there, but you have to have a good understanding of many topics to get the correct answer. I felt I would not have had a chance had I not studied for MCSE, Server+, Security+ and of course specific SQL server information. You really have to have a handle on backup/restore for SQL Server. Very important. Labs in this area really helped me. Recovery Models are also a big deal and how they influence not only recoverability but also various availability options. This was a very long test as well.

Final score: 805. I used lots of Internet resources and articles, SQL Server 2005 Unleashed (which is nearly destroyed after two tests), MCITP SQL All-In-One, and MS Press. I did not use any other test prep material like transcender or selftest (too poor). Of course I reviewed a lot using TestOut for the 431. 1 month of test prep, six months of work experience as one of my primary functions, a year of general study, lab and work.

I plan on taking the 444 within the next 3 months depending on my budget. Then on to the 2008 upgrade.

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Comments

drewkeg

congratulations. Keep up the good work and good luck on your next exam. Sounds as though you have found what works for you.
I am currently prepping for the 431. I'm hoping to sit it this month. I'm using microsoft books, my notes, measure up for their simulations, transcender for the mc, and d-loading some testout stuff as well. Also setting up a VM for practicing.

dynamik

Congrats!

I'd like to go down this path in the near future, so it's nice to have you leading the way

bertieb

Congrats

+1 to hard work, practise and thorough exam prep I'd say

Good luck with the last one in this track. I *should* have done these but have so much other stuff to do I'll be jumping on the 2008 stuff in Q1 next year.

tribe_menx

well done !

RobertKaucher

Thanks for the congratulations, all.

@Dynamik - It is my pleasure to assist you. I'm going to be calling on you in the next few days, though. My test lab has blown up. After a reboot from Windows Update on the host machine my VMs wouldn't load their network drivers any more. I recreated the virtual networks repeatedly, no dice... I am now doing a full reinstall of the host. Starting to wonder if something is up with this box...

@Bertieb - Businesses who use SQL are so slow to upgrade due to the issues involved. We are still on 2000 and only now considering the possibility of upgrading to 2005, which is what we actually have licenses for (using the downgrade rights). Don't you think the 2005 certs would be good for you? And it looks like I am going to be contacting you, too. I need some info on Commvault and look at what you have listed in your certs...

bertieb

RobertKaucher wrote: »

@Bertieb - Businesses who use SQL are so slow to upgrade due to the issues involved. We are still on 2000 and only now considering the possibility of upgrading to 2005, which is what we actually have licenses for (using the downgrade rights). Don't you think the 2005 certs would be good for you?

Maybe, but by the time I get through my list of other stuff it'll be well into 2010 and I doubt I could be bothered with doing the full SQL2005 path seeing as it'll be towards the end of mainstream support (april 2011). I *may* sneak in the 70-431 if I can get a couple of months to study for it, we'll see. I agree with the whole 'slow to upgrade' thing though, I've got a lot of SQL2000/2005 servers and only a couple of SQL2008 ones at the moment.

RobertKaucher wrote: »

And it looks like I am going to be contacting you, too. I need some info on Commvault and look at what you have listed in your certs...

No problem, I'll do my best to answer any specific queries you may have

RobertKaucher

I doubt you would need a couple of months to study for it. The hard part is the sim portion of the test and if you have been running 2005 and 2008 servers for a while it should be easier for you. I actually used 2008 Developer Edition while studying for the 431 and had no serious issues with compatability.

It's all about the value. If it will give you a helping hand in your career, then take it. But it doesn't seem like it would. You have the experience cert!