Server 2008 certs vs Server 2012 (Cloud Certs)

sharpy56

Hi Guys/Girls,

Is it still worth pursing the Server 2008 certs? It's older technology and everything seems to be going into the "cloud" these days? So my question is, is there really any point in spending hours and hours studying something that will just be retired?

Also can server 2012 be used like Server 2008? Eg. on a physical box and just have people using it locally or does it only give a cloud option? Are there certifications from same Microsoft that teach about the Cloud that go hand in hand with say Cisco?

Any additional information would be awesome.

Ask any questions that will help you answer this better....

Essendon

It isnt older technology really, I dont think many companies have started migrating to 2012. A search on Seek yields way more hits for 2008 than 2012. Besides if things are going into this thing called "cloud", someone's still going to need to manage the contents of the cloud.

As far as certs go, 2008 ones are still relevant and will probably be for atleast another year or so. If you havent started on any 2008 ones yet, going straight to the 2012 ones may make sense. There are a few flavours of the new MCSE, check them out and see which one fits the kind of work you want to be doing or are doing. The EA/SA certs will no longer be available to to be taken after July 31 (I think), so if you can pass all of them and take the upgrade to be an MCSE :SI and an EA/SA. If you dont think you can pass them, take the 2012 ones instead.

Yeah 2012 can be used just like 2008. I dont think there are any MS certs that go hand in hand with Cisco, why would MS develop such a cert? They'll focus on their own products. The MCSE: Private Cloud focuses on Hyper-v and System Center 2012, the SCVMM suite will help build a cloud for ya.

What do you work on currently (I mean servers) and where are you located?

New2IT

Microsoft is having an event on Cloud Certifications

Microsoft Certified Career Day Live Event

I posted a thread but don't know how to link to it

sharpy56

Hi Essendon,

Working on the GC. Also I was more meaning the technologies that go hand in hand eg. they work with each other (stop others from needing to get involved with settings things up).

I work on servers remotely - study most of the time. Mostly just adding users, just starting to get into GPO but want to get deeper into everything and learn much more. Working on the service desk it's mostly just desktop support with a little bit of server on the side etc.

Essendon

Awesome area, Gold Coast. Not too many jobs I'd imagine, but I'm sure the weather and surf make up for it!

It may be time to switch jobs if your current one doesnt let you work on servers much mate. Work on a server cert or two to show them you are interested in working on servers. That's how I moved from Desktop Support to Server Support at my previous job. Sometimes employers take the lack of certs as the person not wanting to move up. Work on ITIL if you can, this cert is quite in demand too these days. Have you considered moving to networking, the CCNA type stuff?

sharpy56

Hi Essendon,

There are many places to move "up" in my company just need to find the correct path etc. With how fast IT changes it sometimes difficult to keep up. I'm not really interested in networking much but a CCNA would be nice to have so I can do "basic" etc Cisco stuff in case I need to resolve a problem with a device (however Cisco support is so good not sure its required unless building the config from scratch?)

What exactly do you do?

Currently I hold Win7 and some CompTia Certs - wanting to earn more just working full time and stdying takes an extra toll on everyday life (yup no excuses I need to get back into the server 200.

Essendon

That's no excuse, you are right. I am somehow finding 2-3 hours every weekday to prep for the VCAP-DCA, I wake up at 3.30-4 every morning, study for about 2 hours, go to work, come home and try to put in another hour before helping the missus with housework (gotta keep the balance, right!).

I work for a large cloud provider here in Melbourne and I work on vSphere (VMware), backups, System Center. Design and implementation work mostly, with support till we hand it over to the other teams for daily support. I also assist the other teams with backups-related escalations.

DPG

2008R2 will be relevant for at least 3-4 more years. There are many organizations that are still on 2003.