My current plan

Toubis

Hey all,
I have decided to start studying for my MCITP For Windows 2008. I am (or was) a CNE for Netware version 4.1, i guess throughout the years i just went with the flow, and learned along the way windows server from my jobs. My current employer has a mix of windows 2000 (for the ERP application), Windows 2003, Exchange and other stuff. I stared last year playing with virtual PC an am amazed at how it works.
A friend of mine gave me his Trainsignal CBTs for Windows 2008, and i am looking at continuing with Hyper-V (someone suggested i also look at VMware).
Are there free resources for practice exams? What would i need if i wanted to set up a test network in my home?

Thanks

MentholMoose

Toubis wrote: »

Hey all,
I have decided to start studying for my MCITP For Windows 2008. I am (or was) a CNE for Netware version 4.1, i guess throughout the years i just went with the flow, and learned along the way windows server from my jobs. My current employer has a mix of windows 2000 (for the ERP application), Windows 2003, Exchange and other stuff.

Welcome!

Toubis wrote: »

I stared last year playing with virtual PC an am amazed at how it works. A friend of mine gave me his Trainsignal CBTs for Windows 2008, and i am looking at continuing with Hyper-V (someone suggested i also look at VMware).
Are there free resources for practice exams? What would i need if i wanted to set up a test network in my home?

Most study guides for the exams include practice questions. The MS Press books include MeasureUp practice exam(s), and the Sybex books have questions at the end of each chapter.

To get started with a test network you just need a decently powerful workstation and virtualization software. If you want to use Hyper-V you will need a 64-bit CPU that supports DEP and includes support for Intel VT-x or AMD-V. Of course with Hyper-V you will have to install Server 2008 on the workstation, so it might be troublesome if it's your main system.

Other popular options are Sun VirtualBox, which is currently free, and VMware Workstation, which isn't free. Both can install on a Windows or Linux workstation and support older hardware. This may be more convenient since it's less necessary to have a dedicated machine for your test network. You can just upgrade your existing workstation, if necessary, and get started with building your test network.

For the test network I've used for the MS exams I've taken, I'm using VMware Workstation on a reasonably fast workstation (quad core Intel CPU, 8GB RAM, 4 hard drives in RAID 10). It has worked well for me, I can definitely run enough VMs to learn with.