Exchange cert

sizeon

DO i need to know about active directory before getting exchange cert?>

Iristheangel

I've never pursued the Exchange certifications but from the actual Exchange work experience I have, I would say you need 70-680 level of knowledge at the very least

netsysllc

I have not done an Exchange cert since 5.5, however i would expect that you will need to know AD, DNS, Powershell, IIS and many other Windows Server technologies.

Ether_4

you will need a fundamental understanding of ad sites and dns and site resiliency for both

fly2dw

If you are doing 70-662 I would say you need at minimum the amount of knowledge Ether_4 mentioned above to have an appreciation of how AD and Exchange interact. Exchange relies on AD and DNS to work correctly and efficiently so you need to know how to lay (Or at least understand) the foundations that your Exchange infrastructure sits on. 70-663 will require 70-640 knowledge level of AD as it is on the design and placement of servers. Therefore you need to have a solid understanding of AD roles, attributes, global catalog placement, RODC, etc, to know when and when not, to use them. Certifications aside, troubleshooting Exchange would also be greatly hindered without good AD/DNS knowledge, as it would be difficult to do this methodically and thoroughly.

jibbajabba

For the first exam I'd be inclined to say you'd be able to pass the exam without AD knowledge if you master the rest. 663 - not so much, as it is aimed at design.

Having said that - if you tell anyone you got an Exchange exam but also say you know nothing about AD, it just shows that you are a paper guy only as everyone knows, to even install Exchange, some basic AD knowledge (sites / dns etc.) is required. Even simple user administration is so tied into AD that you cannot REALLY get by without any knowledge.

Start to learn how to walk, then learn how to run

Everyone

^^ This. You don't need to be a master of AD to pass the Exchange tests. You don't even need to be able to pass any of the AD cert tests. You do need to know how Exchange relies on AD, and what parts of AD it needs.