List of lab ideas

nmarlowe

I am just starting to work on the 70-640 exam.

Does anyone have or know of a fairly comprehensive list of suggested lab exercises that directly relate to the exam? I don't necessarily want instructions, just a list of end goals, such as:

Setup DNS from the command line
Unattended install of Server 2008

By not having any instructions I believe this will force me to find the answers. Of course, the downside to this is I won't know if I am doing it the MS way, so this may not even be the best of ideas.

Next year I will be designing and installing a completely fresh windows domain with Server 2008, using AD, DNS, DHCP, WSUS. So, my training is not just for the exam, but to get myself ready for the migration.

And for just a little more not-all-that-necessary background. The current windows domain was setup by our old Novell engineer back in 2001. The guy was a Novell guru (ours was his first Windows domain setup), but years of maintaining and learning the ins and outs of our domain has shown that there is a lot of less than perfect design decisions (and some that are downright wrong) that we have carried over to our last 2003 migration. I have cleaned it up the best I can, but I am convinced that the best course of action is to start anew when we install the new domain controllers next year. And as luck would have it, I have been able to convince management of the same.

So, with that, I thank you in advance for any resources you can share.

Psoasman

I'd download the exam objectives and lab through them. Make sure you can do everything they require. For the exam, it is good to know how to do the "Microsoft way"
You can also make up labs based on practice questions. I found it useful to follow along with the labs in the 640 book. By the time I got done with the labs, I had 2 forests with all the roles going, minus Direct Access.

cruwl

the following are some that help me:

Setup DNS from the command line: DNS on server core, DNS in AD integrated, DNS in standalone
Multiple forests, forest trusts, multiple sites, RODCs. Backup and restores of AD: several of them. Do each method more then once.
I would also recommend working through all the labs in the 70-640 book, once you see how the books want you to do it, you can sit down and develop you own labs.

Hope that helps and good luck.

DEC901

Which 640 book(s) did you guys use? I have the MS Training Kit Guides but I've heard that they can be sleep inducing!!!

nmarlowe

Thanks for the tips. Planning on doing the labs in the training kit, but also want to work on things without step by step instructions to make sure I know what I'm doing vs memorizing steps.

ITMonkey

I have found the Microsoft's Training Kits to be helpful as a first-time hands-on aid. Over time, you'll learn there is a large amount of detail the Training Kits turn a blind eye to. Once I've "cherry-picked" the basic configuration options, my curiosity gets the better of me. So then I turn to two sources to guide me in a deeper knowledge of the technology.

Microsoft Resource Kits tend to describe the underlying architecture and components - how they interact, and the sequence of events to better read event log traces, etc. Not many Resrouce Kits exist, but they are gems of knowledge.

The second aid are the step-by-step test labs found in TechNet: Test Lab Guides - TechNet Articles - United States (English) - TechNet Wiki . The configuration steps in these labs can be a little different (and more enlightening) than those found in the Training Kits.

theodoxa

dnscmd, ntdsutil, and repadmin were the three command line tools I saw most frequently on the actual test. Practice these extensively, along with wbadmin and csvde/ldifde. Become familiar with what each one does, when to use it, and the various switches/options. You WILL be asked about which tool to use and at least for dnscmd and possibly repadmin you will likely receive questions about some of the switches also. Play around with the various Powershell cmdlets. While, I don't see any possible way [save for those with photographic memory] you could memorize all the cmdlets, understanding how MS tends to name them will make it easier to make an educated guess if you come across a question about one you don't know or a script question.

Backup and Restore (including command line), offline defragmentation of the AD DS database, when to use DSRM vs. simply stopping the AD DS Service, moving the AD DS Database and AD LDS Partitions (hint: you will be using ntdsutil extensively), delegating control, Group Policy, Promoting and Demoting DCs, Removing failed DCs. Definitely practice setting up various PKIs (AD CS) such as an offline root with an issuing CA, enterprise vs. standalone CA, publishing certificates in Active Directory, web enrollment (read this technet post carefully as there is a bug in web enrollment that might be on your test - 2008 Web Enrollment and Version 3 Templates - Active Directory Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs), and certificate templates.

As for non-lab concepts: FSMO Roles, Forest and Domain Functional Levels / What Version of Server is required for such and such, and Builtin Groups and what they can do.