Exam 70-660: Win Internals for IT - Resources

RobertKaucher · July 2011

This thread will be a resource for the 70-660 exam. Here is how I expect to structure it:

Part I - Prereqs
* tutorials on the Fundamentsl of Memory Management, I/O etc.
* Understanding how to work with the Sysinternals tools. Practical tutiorials on how to use the major Sysinternals tools.
* Tutorials/artciles corresponding to material in the 50155A course.

Part II 70-660 Objectives.
I'll cover the objectives detailled in the MS page for the exam.

Audience ProfileCandidates for this exam are engineers, developers, or IT staff who work with Windows at a level that requires Windows Internals knowledge. Candidates for this exam are typically in the upper echelon of the technical staff at their companies. These individuals typically hold such positions as escalation engineer, technical lead, and software design engineer. Their level of knowledge spans products both inside and outside the Microsoft Corporation. These individuals are involved in resolving problems that require deep understanding of Windows Internals rather than problems about planning and infrastructure development or how to use or configure a product that runs on Windows.

Here are some items that do not really belong in any either section:
Windows Internals 4 [PDF]
Mark Russinovich's Blog
AskPerf Blog

Another exceptionally useful tool for debugging non-crash related issues is WireShark. It is not covered by the exam but from a practical perspective should be a part of your toolkit.
Introduction to Wireshark (Part 1 of 3)
Cookies and Grabbing Passwords with Wireshark (Part 2 of 3)
Data Mining using Wireshark (Part 3 of 3)

If you prefer print material, I suggest the following:
C All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies [The purpose is not to turn you into a programmer but to give you a basic grasp of C Programming - skim the book]
The Art of Assembly Language - [The purpose, again, is not to turn you into a developer but to give you an idea of what Assembly is and the basics of the language - skim the book]
Windows® Internals: Including Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, Fifth Edition (Pro Developer) - [Required Reading]
Advanced Windows Debugging - [Highly Recommended]

RobertKaucher · July 2011

powerfool · July 2011

Thanks for starting this. This is one of the exams I have had on my consideration list. I have the Windows Internals 5th Edition just because I thought it would be a good book; it reminded me of Inside Windows 2000 Server by New Riders Publishing that I used to have and I thought it was a great book. Being a packet analysis junkie, doing system traces and such (like strace on *nix and Process Monitor on Windows) is like packet capture on the system bus.

RobertKaucher · July 2011

powerfool wrote: »

Thanks for starting this. This is one of the exams I have had on my consideration list. I have the Windows Internals 5th Edition just because I thought it would be a good book; it reminded me of Inside Windows 2000 Server by New Riders Publishing that I used to have and I thought it was a great book. Being a packet analysis junkie, doing system traces and such (like strace on *nix and Process Monitor on Windows) is like packet capture on the system bus.

No problem. The Internals book is infact the successor of the Inside Windows book.

I agree with you about the packet capture analogy. For systems guys like me I think they go kind of hand in glove and I was going to do a section on packet analysis (for practical purposes rather than for the exam) but I think it might be better if you add a post on that.

RobertKaucher · July 2011

I have added a few more links for the SysInternals tools. As I am reading over the Windows Internals book I am really becoming convinced that it represents the single best prep material that is in print for this exam. Currently I am looking for some test prep material that is for the 660. I've looked on SelfTest and MeasureUp, but I have found nothing.

the_Grinch · August 2011

To confirm, you don't need a programming background for the exam? So a cusory knowledge of C should do the trick?

veritas_libertas · August 2011

I'm kind of excited about this exam. I like how deeply it delves into the OS.

RobertKaucher · August 2011

the_Grinch wrote: »

To confirm, you don't need a programming background for the exam? So a cusory knowledge of C should do the trick?

Correct. It is for two types: people developing drivers who need strong debugging skills and IT pros who work at a very high level debugging issues with Exchange, SQL Server, etc. Developers are only a part of the audience and it is not a dev cert.

It is like a very high-lelver certification for a professional mechanic. While you will need to understand and know about the physics and architecture of the internal combustion engine you are not required to be an engineer and actually know how to design one.

the_Grinch · August 2011

Awesome, thanks for all the info. May look at this down the line...

the_Grinch · September 2011

Rob:

Saw this and figured I should post it here:

Amazon.com: Windows Internals: Covering Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 (9780735648739): Mark E. Russinovich, David A. Solomon, Alex Ionescu: Books

Looks like the 6th edition will be out before Christmas (yay!)

Also, what are your thoughts on 2008 vs 2008 R2 as far as the exam is concerned? Are there really that big of a different between the two?

the_Grinch · September 2011

Also, should one add this to their list of things to read?

Amazon.com: Memory **** Analysis Anthology, Volume 2 (v. 2) (9780955832871): Dmitry Vostokov: Books

RobertKaucher · September 2011

the_Grinch wrote: »

Also, should one add this to their list of things to read?

Amazon.com: Memory **** Analysis Anthology, Volume 2 (v. 2) (9780955832871): Dmitry Vostokov: Books

I think hos stuff is pretty good on a practical level. I'm not so certain about how it might help on the exam. All of his books are on Safari, if you have a subscription.

Thanks for pointing out the Vol 6 of the Internals book. I have pre-ordered it.

Exam 70-660: Win Internals for IT - Resources

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