This morning I stared into the eyes of the Beast...

.... and in the end the Beast was left purring at my feet.

Scored an 810, my 2nd 800+ MS score, whoo hoo!!! It feels so much better to pass when it means a new cert. is earned too!

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and help! The study notes were awesome Wedge.

I'd also like to add to everyone who is still working on this exam; The real Beast is the studying itself. The test itself wasn't hard but that's only because I worked hard to understand the concepts involved. My recommendation is to research/read/learn DNS/DHCP from multiple sources until you find a viewpoint that makes sense to you.

Tomorrow night I start class for the 70-291 exam (paid for by the State of MN) so I figure working on the 70-293 next is appropriate. Good luck to everyone and I'll see you on the 70-293 forum!

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

aquageek

The real Beast is the studying itself

You said it all right there.

Congratulations Gen! and a nice score too!

Johnny Johnson

Congratulations, Gen! What were your study resources?

NetAdmin2436

Congrats!

aquageek

Johnny Johnson wrote: »

Congratulations, Gen! What were your study resources?

I know you were asking him but I just passed recently and figured you might be interested in what I used. MSPress and TestOut. TestOut really helped ALOT.

Megadeth4168

Congrats!

Big Jizay

Hey Congratulations Gen!!

What a nice score too! And congrats on becoming MCSA!!

I'll see you in the 293 forum!

Slowhand

Congrats on taming that Beast, and good luck with it's big brother (70-293).

motogpman

Congrats on the pass!!!! So what is that now, 3-4 of us in March, with just a couple people following up right behind in April. At this rate, we should all be finishing up around the same time and at least adding to the experience/questions/sources. TO those finishing up this one, see you in the 293 forums.

genXrcist

Johnny Johnson wrote: »

Congratulations, Gen! What were your study resources?

I used the Sybex 70-291 book as my primary resource. I've been using all Sybex since I started studying/earning certifications last Sept. and they've done me well thus far. In it I read the DNS chapter x3, DHCP x2, IPSec x2 and RRAS x2. But, before I read IPSec/DNS I watched the CBT Nugget videos by James Conrad. Good primer in my opinion but the guy went way too fast for the info to really sink in for me. Once I watched the videos, then read the chapter, then watched the video again and finally ready the chapter again... I finally felt like I had it down.

For lab I ran my Server 2003 Std box to implement a Dcpromo, installed DNS & DHCP, ran network monitor and setup RRAS. This was also nice for getting a feel for where the different settings are located. I think it's silly for MS to test on stuff like this because if you know the general area of where to find something, you can always find it. Having tab content memorized isn't that useful in the real world, imo.

As for Subnetting/routing, I used the knowledge I gained studying for my CCNA. I didn't really put any additional effort into these areas.

Topping all that off though I read some Technet articles, this article (DNS Stub Zones in Windows Server 2003) on WindowsNetworking.com and reading through the 291 forum posts, including Wedge's awesome notes!

In addition I used Transcender this time, for the first time ever. The class I'm in paid for it so I thought I would give it a try. Perhaps it's just me or maybe it's because I've never used these before but I didn't find them all that helpful. In fact, it was more discouraging than anything as those tests are far more difficicult than the exam. If you want to know the material at a far deeper level than what it takes to pass the exam, it's great. But for exam prep, I didn't value it as much as my Sybex practice exams. Needless to say I won't be paying for that product in the future, at least for MS exams anyway.

So there you have it! I feel like I've got a firm enough foundation now to tackle the 70-293! It even feels different to study for the MCSE! I look at my new Sybex book which says 'MCSE' on it instead of 'MCSA/MCSE' & I grin. Minor difference I know but hey, I like it.

Thank you to everyone for the congrats, it''s much appreciated!!! And I agree, we should start contributing. They say the best way to learn something is to teach it.

Adios for now!

Johnny Johnson

aquageek wrote: »

I know you were asking him but I just passed recently and figured you might be interested in what I used. MSPress and TestOut. TestOut really helped ALOT.

Thanks aquageek! I've never used TestOut before. I may have to check them out.

Johnny Johnson

And to Gen, thank you for the detailed reply! I appreciate it!

You're right about contributing. That's what's so awesome about Techexams! I've found this site extremely useful!

dynamik

Nice job

Good luck with 293!