Server 2012 Exam 70-410 books?

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to get a solid study book for the new 70-410 exam. I thought Gibson had a book coming out, but I can't seem to find it anywhere, online or in store. Was this my imaginiation, or is he really putting out a book for the new 70-410 exam? If he is, any idea when? If he isn't what do you fellow IT people think is the most reliable for passing this exam? I've taken the official MS course, but while it was a good overview, it didn't teach things like amount of RAM, or the little "Got ya" items that you need to know.

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locastro

Hi Jwads, safaribooksonline has the latest 70-410 R2 exam ref. That, technet and some lab time should be enough to get you through the exam.

Exam Ref 70-410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2: Safari Books Online

MSSoftie

Exam Ref 70-410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2 - O'Reilly Media also has it

jwads

Does anyone know if Darill Gibson will be putting out a book on this? I'll buy the one mentioned, but I doubt that will be enough to get me through the exam...

unfbilly11

I'll tell ya right now...although it's not specifically tailored for the 70-410, Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 is the best book I've read on the topic. It goes over everything and is very easy to read with many examples. It's only like, $38 on Amazon too. It's a really, really great book IMO.

Koroviev

unfbilly11 wrote: »

I'll tell ya right now...although it's not specifically tailored for the 70-410, Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 is the best book I've read on the topic. It goes over everything and is very easy to read with many examples. It's only like, $38 on Amazon too. It's a really, really great book IMO.

I think it's even cheaper through O'Reilly with a voucher, and they offer the book in EPUB format.

Not really any point in bothering with the Exam Ref since Asif created a thread with all of the objectives (which John Savill covers very thoroughly on Infinite Skills). Of course it's always good to have a book for any insights/details that it is difficult to include in < 10 hours of video content.

jwads

unfbilly11 wrote: »

I'll tell ya right now...although it's not specifically tailored for the 70-410, Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 is the best book I've read on the topic. It goes over everything and is very easy to read with many examples. It's only like, $38 on Amazon too. It's a really, really great book IMO.

Can you provide a link to this book you speak so highly of?

omi2123

I've just started studying for MCSE 2012 & bought the training guide by Mitch Tulloch for 70-410 published by Microsoft Press....At the introduction of the book the author mentioned that this book won't be enough to pass the test....The Exam ref. book that ppl r talking bout in this thread, has a lot of negetive reviews bout it....seems like it's really hard to find a book that will teach bout the system as well as get u ready for the test unlike the 70-640(2008 R2) exam book......shouting out to MSSoftie, why don't u give us ur 2 cents bout how to prepare for the MCSE 2012 exams since u already did ur MCSA?

jwads

omi2123 wrote: »

I've just started studying for MCSE 2012 & bought the training guide by Mitch Tulloch for 70-410 published by Microsoft Press....At the introduction of the book the author mentioned that this book won't be enough to pass the test....The Exam ref. book that ppl r talking bout in this thread, has a lot of negetive reviews bout it....seems like it's really hard to find a book that will teach bout the system as well as get u ready for the test unlike the 70-640(2008 R2) exam book......shouting out to MSSoftie, why don't u give us ur 2 cents bout how to prepare for the MCSE 2012 exams since u already did ur MCSA?

Ya, I bought the Ref book for lack of anything else out there at the moment...negative reviews..but I've never ever EVER found a book that will teach you exactly for the exam..I took over a year and three books to study for my Win 7 MCTS exam..

unfbilly11

Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2: Mark Minasi, Kevin Greene, Christian Booth, Robert Butler, John McCabe, Robert Panek, Michael Rice, Stefan Roth: 9781118289426: Amazon.com: Books

It is definitely a VERY large book, but I highly recommend it. I think you'd obviously stand to gain the most knowledge by just reading through it, but another approach could be to sit down with a copy of the exam objectives, find the section in the book that covers them, and read through it a couple of times.

I have also read the Exam Reference book, which I think gives a great overview if you have never worked with servers before, but it is severely lacking in a lot of sections.

JBrown

Minasi's books are not meant to be used as an exam cram. His books are usually packed with knowledge that you need to get work done and understand why it works one way or another.
PS the latest one is Paperback: at 1704 pages

)
Now carry that around:)

unfbilly11 wrote: »

Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2: Mark Minasi, Kevin Greene, Christian Booth, Robert Butler, John McCabe, Robert Panek, Michael Rice, Stefan Roth: 9781118289426: Amazon.com: Books

It is definitely a VERY large book, but I highly recommend it. I think you'd obviously stand to gain the most knowledge by just reading through it, but another approach could be to sit down with a copy of the exam objectives, find the section in the book that covers them, and read through it a couple of times.

I have also read the Exam Reference book, which I think gives a great overview if you have never worked with servers before, but it is severely lacking in a lot of sections.

Koroviev

JBrown wrote: »

Minasi's books are not meant to be used as an exam cram. His books are usually packed with knowledge that you need to get work done and understand why it works one way or another.
PS the latest one is Paperback: at 1704 pages )
Now carry that around

EPUB

I carry it around with all of the other technical references

goldenlight

I agree the Reference guides are for those that use the technology everyday.. I myself am waiting for some good books to come out..

I purchased MCSA Windows Server 2012 Complete Study Guide: by William Panek.

PearsonIT was comming out with some MCSA cert books, Just dont know much about them though

The only thing I hated about this book is that the topics overlap each other for the 3 exams which is confusing. One reason I stop reading.
[h=1][/h]

6502

I've had Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 for a couple of weeks. Great book that I plan to use a lot at work.

I don't have any advice for the test itself. I found the Exam Ref lacking. The test I thought was a broad mess of questions without focus. I'm just glad I passed so I can move on.

sasnimrod

goldenlight wrote: »

The only thing I hated about this book is that the topics overlap each other for the 3 exams which is confusing. One reason I stop reading.

That pretty much sums up William Panek's book. It's simply not targeted for those that will tackle the MCSA exams one-by-one. I also bought it but stopped reading it because the layout of the book is awful - other than that the material and the way the content is explained is not bad.

astrogeek

The original Exam Ref book seems to have a lot of bad reviews, but Amazon is now carrying the new R2 version.

I have no idea if this book is any good, but I'm ordering it anyway. Hopefully this and a lab setup should be enough for the exam, or at least a good starting point for a server noob like myself. I have enough reading to do on my Cisco certs and I really don't want to invest in a 1500 page behemoth right at the moment

jwads

astrogeek wrote: »

The original Exam Ref book seems to have a lot of bad reviews, but Amazon is now carrying the new R2 version.

I have no idea if this book is any good, but I'm ordering it anyway. Hopefully this and a lab setup should be enough for the exam, or at least a good starting point for a server noob like myself. I have enough reading to do on my Cisco certs and I really don't want to invest in a 1500 page behemoth right at the moment

I bought the same book, should be here Tuesday. I'm a server noob myself, hoping this will at least give me a starting point to get my foot in the door and learn more hands on server work.

aia87

From Exam Ref Introduction
"Most books take a very low-level approach, teaching you how to use basic concepts to
accomplish fine-grained tasks. Like the Microsoft 70-410 certification exam, this book takes a
high-level approach, building on your existing knowledge of lower-level Microsoft Windows
system administration and extending it into higher-level server concepts needed for Windows
Server 2012. "

for someone like me this is the first Microsoft certification and i don't have prior knowledge about servers !!

can someone guide to to a book that takes low level approach so i can build my foundations right?

Koroviev

aia87 wrote: »

From Exam Ref Introduction
"Most books take a very low-level approach, teaching you how to use basic concepts to
accomplish fine-grained tasks. Like the Microsoft 70-410 certification exam, this book takes a
high-level approach, building on your existing knowledge of lower-level Microsoft Windows
system administration and extending it into higher-level server concepts needed for Windows
Server 2012. "

for someone like me this is the first Microsoft certification and i don't have prior knowledge about servers !!

can someone guide to to a book that takes low level approach so i can build my foundations right?

I would actually start with videos. Have a look at MTA Security series by Don Jones and 410 series by John Savill. However, I strongly recommend the ICND1 reference by Wendell Odom for building a foundation for networking.

GLaDOS11

The Exam Reference is very low level for the information that it is covering. I know if might not be low level for some, but compared to the actual 410 exam, that book is definitely low level. The best way I have found to study for the server exams is this:

1. If you are COMPLETELY new to servers and computing technology, I would start with Microsoft's MTA or CompTIA exams. CompTIA exams like the A+, Network+ and Security+ will give you a good base and are probably more widely accepted than the MTA exams.

2. If you have a good foundation in computer technology and Microsoft OSs and you're trying to get the MCSA: Server 2012, I would recommend starting with the Exam Reference book. I know it may say that it's high level but if that's what constitutes high-level, I'm a server genius (which I most definitely am not!!). The exam reference gives a great overview of everything on the exam.

3. Videos really helped me reinforce the topics covered in the exam reference book. Pluralsight is a great site that has thousands of videos to help you. I would watch the series on the 70-410 exam and, honestly, the 70-411 videos help a lot for the 410 exam as well. There are also great videos on Hyper-V that can help. CBTNuggets videos are more in depth, but they are $99.99 a month as opposed to Pluralsight's $29.99. They are very good though if you can afford them.

4. After you read the exam reference and watched any videos you should have a good idea of what is covered. I would now build a test lab and go through the 70-410 exam training guide. This should allow you to work on everything you just read or watched.

5. The last thing I would do is try to go deeper into each topic covered on the exam. The actual tests are not going to give you simple questions like "What is DNS used for?" You really need to know each topic inside and out. To do this, I'd use Technet or the Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 book unfbilly11 linked above. Technet is free and you can target each exam area specifically. Asif Dasl has a really great thread on the 70-410 that has links to everything you'll need to know for the exam. It helped me tremendously. Remember to continue to lab everything as you go.

6. Before you sit for the exam, I would recommend taking a practice test or 2. The best ones I have found are Transcender and MeasureUp. The consensus I have seen on here is that MeasureUp is in a more similar format to the real exam, but Transcender is harder and thus, prepares you better. I took both before the 410 exam and I liked the Transcender better. Don't try to use the practice tests as study guides or else you'll end up memorizing all the answers. Take a test, go back and review the ones you missed (read the explanations at the bottom) and then study up on your weak areas and retest. It is way more important to know why the wrong answers are wrong than to just know the correct answer.

This was a long post, and it is all just my humble opinion and might not help you, but it is what I found worked best for me. All of my knowledge comes from reading the advice of the more helpful senior members on here and making my own mistakes. I do feel very confident that if someone follows this advice, they can develop a good knowledge and pass the MCSA exams.

Louie1277

unfbilly11 wrote: »

I'll tell ya right now...although it's not specifically tailored for the 70-410, Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 is the best book I've read on the topic. It goes over everything and is very easy to read with many examples. It's only like, $38 on Amazon too. It's a really, really great book IMO.

Well congrats on passing it but question for you. I just bought the same book "mastering windows server 2012 r2" this book is huge so my question is which sections did you study for the 70-410 exam?