MCITP Journal.

kj0

Hey All.

I've been reading and following many other people's journals on their progress and what not. So I thought I might start my own - Hopefully this will help me get really motivated.

History:
I started studying by watching the CBT Nugget Video's back in October/November last year. So far I'm only just finishing up with them and I feel as though I haven't gotten to much out. The hardest part was trying to stay focused on the Federation Services and Certificates, which at this point I feel 2% confident that I can answer a question (Unless it is on how to install the roles).

At the end of December I bought the MS Press books and started to read them for an hour before bed each night. However, that only lasted a week and the book kept getting moved from the table where I left it to remind me. Now I'm only up to chapter 6: group policy.

I am running a LAB with 4 Servers and a Client. I am looking into investing in a 3 host VM Cluster for servers and getting them off my Desktop.

I have a fair amount of Server Knowledge, having to use a bit in everyday activity at work. A lot is limited though.
I am attempting this all myself without the help of anyone which has caused me to slow down and not dedicate myself as much as I would like.


Plan:
Since joining TechExams I have been reading through various journals and success stories and have become even more motivated to hit this certification on the head (And occasionally Swayed to go do CCNA instead)


This week so far I have done approx 4 hours of Reading over two nights and an hour at work during break times (15minute breaks).

Tomorrow I am aiming to Attempt a 4 hour study period while the wife is at work and just focus on finishing my CBT nugget videos and writing up a study guide/Plan on how I can stay focused and the best way I can attack this and get the most out of it.



Thanks for your time. I look forward to updating this with my Progress and hopefully post a final message to say "Horray!"

kj0

Today didn't go as well as I thought. My 4 hours ended up being more like 2 1/2 after starting late due to dropping the wife off at work and then having to shop for extra stuff for dinner. I started with an hour of non-stop reading of Chapter 6 Lesson 1: Group Policy. I stopped to fill up my cup with Water and kept going. I moved over to do an hour of CBT Nuggets Episode 25 and 26 focusing on Group Policy: Account Policy, Software Installation, and Templates.

I had planned on doing some Labbing afterwards, but I ran into a few issues with computers and users not turning up in my GPO Management and not being able to find them to do the task set by CBT. I have had a few DNS issues and AD errors occur recently and I am not sure what is going on and where I have gone wrong. I originally had Network issues using VirtualBox but I am considering setting up a Vm Cluster with ESXi and run it that way with better network setup.

Right now, I am installing Visio and about to draw up the layout of my VMs so I can document and keep track of the design and network.


What is every perception on how long 70-640 should take from Day 1of study? I know this number may fluctuate, depending.


Thanks

cg1967

Hi kj0,

I managed to crack 70-640 in about 2 months, although I took a whole week off work before the exam to get all of my study and lab time in. I'd worked with AD before so some of the material was very familar, although as you've mentioned CS, FS and RMS were all new to me. Even now, ask me a question about those topics and I'd probably go straight for the book. Study time was at least an hour a night, two hours when I didn't have to do any ironing (wrong I know, but someone's got to do it) and 3-4 hours over the weekend. I used a trial version of VM Workstation with about 3 or 4 VM's for the labbing and CBT Nuggets and Technet to suppliment the MS Press book. On the whole, I found it an enjoyable experience as I like working with AD.

70-642, however I'm finding a very different kettle of fish. Subnetting et al, are strange beasts indeed. DHCP and DNS I'm happy enough with, but DNSSEC, could the Press book get me anymore confused? I think not. I've given myself an extra 6 weeks for this one and I'm just over a third of the way through the book with 7 more weeks until the exam.

Learning is a very individual thing, I just went with what I think works best for me and that's lab, lab and lab again and again and again

All the best with your studies, you will get there in the end.

pumbaa_g

I started out last year in August/Sep and just went through the Nuggets/Trainsignal Videos. I also started collecting the material Books/Videos/Self Study Guides which I will require for the exam. After going through everything by Dec/Jan decided that I will focus on CBT Nuggets rather then Trainsignal as I felt that the content was more in depth. Then one month of study through nuggets/MCTS Book and 2008 R2 Unleashed to give each exam. It has worked for me so far, cleared the 70-640 and 70-642.
Finding 70-643 a bit of a drag plus I had to move my timeline ahead to take advantage for MS 2 for 1 offer so planning 70-643 by end of this week then 70-680 at the end of this month.
Just a tip to keep motivated, I keep my Desktop Wallpaper with a simple table which shows the exams cleared and exams pending. As soon as I open my work Laptop/Home PC it reminds me of what I need to complete
All the best mate!