Lexluethar wrote: » If you aren't studying the R2 material - no you won't pass. Unless you've been using the new features that R2 brings on a daily basis in your job. I think the downfall of a lot of people on these boards (myself included) are they expect to read the book and pass the exam. People forget that MS expects the person taking this exam to have 12ish months of experience on the job working with this technology on a daily basis. A lot of the people failing these exams (myself included) are not using the technology daily and are just studying and reading. In order to fill the gap associated with not working on the technology people really have to lab on a daily basis to become comfortable enough with the technology to pass these exams. I'm not saying that someone can't read the book and pass the exam - but those people are either extremely book smart and can memorize things or they are doing these tasks daily with their job. In short, the exams are not hard if you know the material like inside and out - the issue is most people believe they can pass these exams with some studying and labs or without any on the job experience. These exams generally take a lot more knowledge than that to pass.
Lexluethar wrote: » It's kinda goofy because microsoft expects you to use the server tools in order to pass the exam - but in real life that isn't realistic. You aren't going to use NAT in a production environment, or RRAS. Even with NAP people generally use 3rd party tools to accomplish these things. So the rub is - in order to pass these exams MS expects you to be using all of the tools server 2008 r2 has to offer (branch cache, direct access, FSRM, backup, etc) on a daily basis to pass the exam. In your situation you are probably much more comfortable with AD integration since you are using it daily, so focus on other things for the 640. You do not need to study 642 to pass the 640. I would suggest picking up a 640 R2 book and study that. Lab scenarios you see in the book or make up your own. In order to lab you'll need to be running 2008 R2 in some type of environment, either physical, virtual or you can use the lab's MS provides.
Lexluethar wrote: » Sure it is. I would say if you really commit yourself and study 3ish hours a day 7 days a week you could pass one of these exams in about a month.
Lexluethar wrote: » It's kinda goofy because microsoft expects you to use the server tools in order to pass the exam - but in real life that isn't realistic. You aren't going to use NAT in a production environment, or RRAS. Even with NAP people generally use 3rd party tools to accomplish these things.
unfbilly11 wrote: » Don't be too discouraged by my post earlier when I said I failed the 70-640 for the 3rd time. The first time I was woefully underprepared (I had only taken CompTIA tests up till then and Microsoft is a lot different). The 2nd time was only 3 weeks later and I didn't feel ready. My boss wanted me to take it to see if I had progressed any. This last time was the only time I really felt prepared and I was only 45 points from passing. You can definitely pass these exams, a lot of people do. Don't take them lightly like I did the first time because the 70-640 is difficult. It shouldn't scare you though, I have never once felt like it wasn't a passable exam. Edit: Definitely get the R2 books because a lot of it is different and it is all 2008 R2 on the exam.
unfbilly11 wrote: » I have been studying for probably a total of 3 months, but that first month I wouldn't call what I was doing really studying. I would read the book, then take a day or 2 off, then come back to it and read a bit more. I kinda took the exam lightly because I work with AD all the time in the office. I didn't realize how much material was covered until I took the test the first time. After that, I spent a week or so building a really nice lab setup and I have been studying hard for the past 6 weeks. I plan on taking this and passing it on Dec 6. All in total, that will be close to 4 months of study time (2 months of real hard study time 2 hours a day). I could've done it quicker but it's not a race and I need to really learn the material.
Lexluethar wrote: » My point with RRAS is there are things that you will be tested on that aren't generally used.
