Microsoft "Upgrade" Exams

About7Narwhal

Can anyone tell me what taking an "Upgrade your skills to..." exam is like? Are they generally harder to pass? How much time do you usually get? Are they split into two parts? etc. I am thinking about 70-689 after my MCITP but I have no idea how they work. I am aware of NDA so please keep your responses within the limits. Thanks!

Asif Dasl

If it's hard or easy depends on the person, but 70-689 and upgrade exams in general split the exam in to pieces. So 70-689 will split the exam in to 2 parts - 70-687 & 70-688 - and you have to pass both parts to pass. No sure how much time you get but it's not enough to wait around anyway.

Arod95

I took 70-417 for upgrading your skills to server 2012. Basically I felt as though it was an exam covering all the new objectives in the 3 New test. 60 questions so it was about 20 Qs for each separate exam, and I found it so much easier than go through 3 exams all over again. Think of it like the CCNA composite exam except instead of covering everything it only covers new material. I saw maybe one or two old objective questions but they were easy. Hope this helps

About7Narwhal

Ok. Thanks for the input.

Slowhand

Make sure you check the exam objectives and blueprints for any test you take. In the case of Microsoft's upgrade exams, the composite test doesn't always cover all topics from the stand-alone exams. For example, the 70-648 and 70-649 exams don't cover the basics of setting up and administrating Active Directory with the same level of detail that 70-640 does.