Passed - 70-680

phonetic.man

I sat the 70-680 test for WGU today and passed with a 836. I'm debating taking the 685 test in two weeks, though I will probably cave sometime tonight or tomorrow and schedule the test.

Because I have experience with many of the things covered by the test, even if just obliquely, I didn't think the test was too terribly hard. I can see it causing problems for people not familiar with AD or GP or some of the deployment tools. If anyone is planning on taking this as part of the MCITP:SA or EA, it might be a good idea to cover the server tech first and ease into this later (I know this has been mentioned many times on here but I just want to say it again).

I used the following resources to study for the test
Sybex 70-680 - MCTS Windows 7 Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-680 by William Panek
I thought this book was good. I would supplement it with another resource though.

Sybex 70-685/686 - Windows 7 Desktop Support and Administration by Darril Gibson
This was a solid book. I highly recommend this on its own for the 685 and 686 tests or as a supplement for other material. And really how can you go wrong with a book from Gibson?

Sybex Mastering Win7 deployment - Mastering Windows 7 Deployment by Aidan Finn, Darril Gibson, Kenneth van Surksum
Another really good book. Its focus is rather narrow, but it covers deployment in such detail you can't help but learn what you need along with much more. I read the WDS chapters twice and ended up making my WDS server at work much nicer.

Professor Messer's 70-680 videos - Professor Messer's Microsoft 70-680 Certification Training
These were great. I would say that they were at least as good if not better than the comparable nuggets.

LabSim - This was what WGU uses. I didn't click with me and so I didn't like it. It was personal rather than an actual problem with it (LabSim seemed to cover everything necessary and ask a lot of tough questions to reinforce what is being taught). What I did do with it was only what my mentor required. YMMV

And the Google/TechNet combo to round things off. Great resources to study up on weak areas or check on little things.

Next up for me is a possible 685 test (I will know for sure in a day or two) and the CCNA as that is what I have on deck at WGU come September and my new semester.

whatthehell

Congratz on the pass, and, moreso, thanks for the resource listing!

cyberguypr

Congrats. Nice materials combo. Another example of the benefit of using different resources. As you mentioned, doing server exams first is very helpful. Highly recommended for those determined to tackle MCITP SA or EA.

benmark

I'm just starting out on the 70-680 and this will be my first Microsoft cert. Which server exam do you recommend to take first? Wondering since I'm only 4 chapters (person book) in to studying if i should abandon the 680 and start the server ones. Does it make a huge difference. How do the server exams compare in difficulty to the 680? Or is it all just down to preparation?

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!

phonetic.man

Thanks for the congratulations.

benmark wrote: »

I'm just starting out on the 70-680 and this will be my first Microsoft cert. Which server exam do you recommend to take first? Wondering since I'm only 4 chapters (person book) in to studying if i should abandon the 680 and start the server ones. Does it make a huge difference. How do the server exams compare in difficulty to the 680? Or is it all just down to preparation?

So here are my thoughts on this.
Is it necessary to take the server exams first? No, I didn't take the server exams first. I will say that if someone has little to no experience with things used by and in a Windows domain you may struggle a little more than someone who has some experience. I wouldn't consider myself a wiz with any of that, but I have administered a Windows domain for for just shy of 5 years now (thereby being exposed to many of the tools and situations covered by the test). If you choose not to do the server exams first, just make sure to take copious notes and lab, lab, lab. I was also very careful to use many different resources to make sure I covered everything.

I think that this test, and really all tests, come down to preparation. If you are willing to invest the time and effort then you should do fine. I always try to over prepare, and I think my list of materials demonstrates this. If you cut one thing from my list, I would say that the Mastering Win7 Deployment might be overkill, unless you are really struggling or wanting to play with deployment tools and advanced features.

No matter what you end up choosing to do, best of luck benmark.

benmark

Hi Phonetic

Thanks for the reply. I haven't had much experience with server 08 just basic AD: adding users, deleting users, password resets. After some thinking I feel that the 70-640 might be best for me. It's my weakest area and thus while preparing for it will bolster my knowledge and would be something new to add to my resume. I've seen a few jobs requiring active directory knowledge and I've always shied away from them. I'm thinking preparing for and getting this cert (hopefully) will add to my resume whereas the 70-680 might just reinforce my Windows 7 work experience.

Thanks for the well wishes!

LAN_Guru

benmark wrote: »

Hi Phonetic

Thanks for the reply. I haven't had much experience with server 08 just basic AD: adding users, deleting users, password resets. After some thinking I feel that the 70-640 might be best for me. It's my weakest area and thus while preparing for it will bolster my knowledge and would be something new to add to my resume. I've seen a few jobs requiring active directory knowledge and I've always shied away from them. I'm thinking preparing for and getting this cert (hopefully) will add to my resume whereas the 70-680 might just reinforce my Windows 7 work experience.

Thanks for the well wishes!

I'm not going to sugar-coat this, 70-640 will be difficult for someone with limited AD experience or knowledge. However, it will form an excellent foundational knowledgebase for other Microsoft exams. Microsoft should require 70-640 as a pre-req to the other exams.

Don't underestimate the 70-640 exam (I did and barely passed with a 740/1000). Study, study, study. Lab, lab, lab. And then study and lab some. Then, do it again...

You will be rewarded with knowledge and skills that you will use the rest of your career working with Microsoft networking technologies...

benmark

Thanks LanGuru. I think I'm going to take the 70-640 more seriously than I did with the 70-680. I purchased some parts to upgrade my desktop to be capable of running server 08 and multiple virtual machines. I'm actually really excited to get into server 2008. It's like getting a new toy for Christmas.