70-640 - Pass

Finally passed with an 800.

I took it in early December and failed with 550 or so.. I've been super busy with work (I work with AD all day) but I don't get much exposure to AD RMS, AD FS, AD LDS or Certificate Services. We just don't use them. Its more Forest/Domain Config, Trusts, GPO's, Sites, User configs and ways to automate AD with vbs, wmi and PowerShell.

Its funny because the things the 70-640 tests you on is NOT what I do on a daily basis with AD... and it would be the majority of the questions I get haha.

After the learning experience of going and taking the test (I personally recommend if you are thinking about taking the exam, just go take it whether you are ready or not. It will give you an idea of what to expect and the fear will be gone. - If you don't have the funds Microsoft's second shot is a good way to do this.) it really showed me what I needed to focus on.

The second time around there were a lot more questions about Group Policy, Password policies, NTDSUTIL, and Trusts. The stuff I knew. Not too much on DNS or LDS or even AD FS.

Be sure you study up. All in all I gave this one about 4 months total of time, but experience is what really drives it all home in the end. If you are not actively working with AD, be sure to setup a lab of your own, make a real effort at it to. Just dont spin up VMs and expect to understand the material. Create different networks with different subnets, configure your sites to see how replication actually works (and what happens if you turn off one DC in the site.) This stuff can get complicated when its a big deployment.

Study material I used was as follows.

TechNet - Thanks to whoever posted the sticky!
Microsoft Self-Paced Second edition 70-640 Book
On the Job Experience
CBT Nuggets
VMware Workstation - ESXi 5.0 Lab - Spun up multiple VMs to test against (Labs from the selfpaced book)
Evernote - If you are an IT Professional. Keep track of all your notes with this tool. INVALUABLE.

If you are struggling - keep your head up!! Just remember that you are investing in your future and its worth every penny.

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Comments

cruwl

COngrats on the pass!

zombie fred

cruwl wrote: »

COngrats on the pass!

Congratulations man! When I had my exam for 640 most of my questions were on DNS/FMS/CS so had a lucky draw there and I failed on mine. But your suggestion for Evernote is a great shout out, I have got that downloaded to go with the other stuff so that should help

Dr IT

Congrats on the Pass

N2IT

Great certification - I'm sure this one will really make you resume pop!

Psoasman

Nicely done, congrats on the pass.

Dakinggamer87

Very nice, congrats on pass!!

Maverick918

Yes its a very good tool to use in the field. There is also Microsoft OneNote but its a little difficult to get used to after using Evernote. One of the main reasons I use it is because I script a lot and I've used scripts from previous jobs in my current job. Its a good way to keep organized professionally.

Chev Chellios

Congrats on the pass dude, nice work

You've worried me a little bit though as I've bitten the bullet and booked the exam next month and hoping to just spend as much of my spare time as possible working towards it. It sounds like we are in a similar experience work wise I use AD daily but havent really touched AD RMS, AD FS, AD LDS or Certificate Services so I know I need to concentrate on these areas particularly with some lab work. As you say though I've booked it as otherwise I wouldn't and I really want to bag the MCSA Server 2008 certification track before July!

Lunchbocks

Congrats on the pass. The 640 exam is a tough exam because it covers so much material.

I also agree to bite the bullet and take the exam. After about 2 months of serious studying, I took the exam and passed. I thought I was going to fail, so when I passed, I was so happy. If I hadn't made that decision, I probably would still be studying.

Oddly enough I didn't see hardly anything on CS, FS, RMS, or LDS. Most everything was DNS and GP.

Again, congrats!

GDL-LC

Congrats, and thank you for the evernote name drop, never heard of it, but now use it daily.

AnFgar

Congrats!!!

crashdump

Congrats for passing Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring.

how much time did you spend for preparation?

_calvin_

Congrats. Failed this test in October and have been BS'in. Got to get back on it.