Passed the 70-410!!!

shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
Well I finally took the 70-410 today and passed with a 737. This was my first attempt at the exam. Here's what I did to prepare over the last 2.5 months:

Books
-Read the Exam Ref cover to cover. This book was ok as an introduction to the objectives but does not go into the depth required for the exam.
-Skipped around to relevant chapters in the Sybex Mastering 2012 R2 book. This is a great resource and I'd recommend it as a reference even if you're not preparing for certification.
-I bought the training guide late in the game. I read and labbed a few of the chapters. It could be helpful but most of my labbing was based off of reading the objectives and performing what they listed. It does go into greater detail than the exam ref and shows powershell examples as well.

Training Videos
-Watched some of the Pluralsight/Trainsignal videos. These are good for an overview of the objectives but don't go into great detail. The group policy and hyper-v sections were helpful though.
-Watched all of the CBT Nugget videos for this exam. These were a great resource and the instructor had a great way of keeping things interesting. I enjoyed this set of videos and would recommend checking them out. They offer a free 7 day trial.

Practice Tests
-I used selftestsoftware.com for my first set of practice tests. They offer a pretty challenging bank of questions that I think were very helpful for preparation. The provided great detail as to why answers were right/wrong and gave links to relevant technet articles. Some of the questions were pretty in depth and had a lot of answer choices which could take a while to sort everything out.

-I also received free access to Measureup.com when I purchased my test voucher. These tests were pretty good as well though some of the explanations for the answers were not quite as good as selftestsoftware in my opinion. They do also provide links to relevant articles.

Web
When I hit something I needed more information on, I'd run to google and start researching. Often times landing on technet articles, blogs or forums. I read a lot of posts in the techexams.net forum and asked some questions of my own. The sticky post with all the technet articles is a great resource. I also read about of a lot of successes and failures regarding the exam and found the most common reason for failures seems to be to be lack of hands on.

This is a test that would be tough (if not impossible) to pass without working with the 2012 R2 OS and its features. There are many ways to perform a lot of functions and its critical to practice and know them all (GUI, Powershell, and CMD in a lot of cases). If you have Windows 8.1, install Hyper-V to host your VMs. It's not the same as server Hyper-V but you can do a lot with it in a test setting and you will get to know a lot of its features hands on. If you've got a spare machine or server, that's even better! Personally, I installed Hyper-V on Windows 8.1 on a machine with only 4GB of RAM. I installed a 256GB SSD to improve performance and was able to run 4-5 thin provisioned machines with minimum RAM at a time.

Thanks to those who responded to my questions in this forum and good luck on the exam!
«1

Comments

  • thatguy67thatguy67 Member Posts: 344 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats man! I know Microsoft exams can be a pain. Lots of folks have a bear of a time with that exam...feel good and treat yourself.
    2017 Goals: []PCNSE7 []CCNP:Security []CCNP:R&S []LCDE []WCNA
  • aia87aia87 Member Posts: 16 ■□□□□□□□□□
    that's an awesome review - congratulations
    I just started my mcsa journey using cbt nuggets and sybex mastering server 2012 r2 book
    what chapters you used from the book for the 410 exam ?
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    aia87 wrote: »
    that's an awesome review - congratulations
    I just started my mcsa journey using cbt nuggets and sybex mastering server 2012 r2 book
    what chapters you used from the book for the 410 exam ?

    Thanks guys! As for the chapters in mastering:
    1-9,11-14,16,17,26,27

    I skipped around in some of the chapters but these are the ones I covered. Good luck!
  • nachodbanachodba Member Posts: 201 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats on the pass!
    2020 Goals
    work-life balance
  • impelseimpelse Member Posts: 1,237 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats
    Stop RDP Brute Force Attack with our RDP Firewall : http://www.thehost1.com
    It is your personal IPS to stop the attack.

  • xocityxocity Member Posts: 230
    Congrats! Its a long journey to MCSA/MCSE. Good Job
  • cs8400cs8400 Member Posts: 90 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats! Thanks for the resource list. My 70-410 is scheduled for next week. Hoping I don't ass it up :)
  • ItrimbleItrimble Member Posts: 221
    Congratulations . I know first hand how difficult the 70-410 test can be!!
    Goals for 2015 : Finish BS Network Administration at WGU
    Become CCNA, CISSP, CEH, VCP5-10 Certified
    Possible Start Masters in Information Security
  • Louie1277Louie1277 Member Posts: 505 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats on passing the exam. I'm in the same boat reading the same material.
    2018 Goals: 70-410 [X], 70-411 [],70-412 [] :bow: 410- Passed!!!!!!

    My Goal for the Future
    2012 - *MCSA*(WHO KNOWS WHEN) KEEP FAILING!!!! Not enough time to pass the last 2 exams.
    2021 - *Security+*
    2022 - * Pen Tester*
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Thanks everybody! I'm off to the 70-461 now!
  • nachodbanachodba Member Posts: 201 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Excellent, another SQL guy! Let me highly recommend Ben-Gan's training kit. http://www.amazon.com/Training-70-461-Querying-Microsoft-Server/dp/0735666059
    2020 Goals
    work-life balance
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Thanks Nacho, I'll check it out!
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    shaun5263 wrote: »
    Thanks Nacho, I'll check it out!

    Actually, already ordered it. Should arrive on my doorstep today
  • Dakinggamer87Dakinggamer87 Member Posts: 4,016 ■■■■■■■■□□
    Congrats!!
    *Associate's of Applied Sciences degree in Information Technology-Network Systems Administration
    *Bachelor's of Science: Information Technology - Security, Master's of Science: Information Technology - Management
    Matthew 6:33 - "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

    Certs/Business Licenses In Progress: AWS Solutions Architect, Series 6, Series 63
  • sanujsanuj Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Hey congo for passing the exam.......


    Can you please advise me that if I am having 8 Gb Ram , on that Ram how many virtual machines with server 2012 r2 I can install and how much ram i can allocate to each of them:)
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    sanuj wrote: »
    Hey congo for passing the exam.......


    Can you please advise me that if I am having 8 Gb Ram , on that Ram how many virtual machines with server 2012 r2 I can install and how much ram i can allocate to each of them:)


    Minimum requirements for a 2012 R2 guest would be 512MB RAM per VM, which is doable in a test environment. If you reserved 2GB for your host OS and used the remaining 6GB for VMs, you would have enough memory in theory to run 12. However, unless you're running on good hardware, preferably a decent server, your performance may be undesirable running this many VMs simultaneously. Disk IO will probably be what gets you unless you have a handful of high performance disks to split up the load. If you're studying for the 70-410, there's no need to run this many VMs at a time. I was able to do the majority of my labbing running 2-3 at a time.
  • bub9001bub9001 Member Posts: 229 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Congrats!!!

    Thanks for putting the time in and replying back to others on the material you used to pass the 70-410.
    “You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” - Zig Ziglar

    Goals for 2019: CEH, and CND
    Goals for 2019: CCNA or ECSA
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    bub9001 wrote: »
    Congrats!!!

    Thanks for putting the time in and replying back to others on the material you used to pass the 70-410.

    No prob! That's what we're all here for!
  • shawnie66shawnie66 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    hey all
    been 5 years in doing IT job. passed itil 2 years ago.
    wanted to change job so decided to go for Microsoft certs, particularly this. just passed mta 98-366 networking fundamentals.
    jus needed some advice, went thru trainsignal's videos, exam ref books, helped alot :)
    but when i go thru practice exam questions on the internet, looked so different from what's covered in the books and videos.
    am worried will i pass the exam. planned to take it this thursday.
    please advice. tqvm
  • Louie1277Louie1277 Member Posts: 505 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Well that's what i thought so too... I believe all test are like that. I myself question the material i was studying when i took the exam. some of the stuff I was lost because the book i had didn't have the information. Don't worry so much just take your time on the exam.
    2018 Goals: 70-410 [X], 70-411 [],70-412 [] :bow: 410- Passed!!!!!!

    My Goal for the Future
    2012 - *MCSA*(WHO KNOWS WHEN) KEEP FAILING!!!! Not enough time to pass the last 2 exams.
    2021 - *Security+*
    2022 - * Pen Tester*
  • shawnie66shawnie66 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    louie1277
    thanks so much for prompt reply. just curious what i'm missing coz so much information not in the exam ref book.
    i guess doing practice exams is very important to get the gauge of the exam.
    jus registered n scheduled this Wednesday noon.
    going thru all d practice exam questions now, during working hours when boss is not around :)
    hope i can pass :)
  • Louie1277Louie1277 Member Posts: 505 ■■■□□□□□□□
    shawnie66 wrote: »
    louie1277
    thanks so much for prompt reply. just curious what i'm missing coz so much information not in the exam ref book.
    i guess doing practice exams is very important to get the gauge of the exam.
    jus registered n scheduled this Wednesday noon.
    going thru all d practice exam questions now, during working hours when boss is not around :)
    hope i can pass :)


    Well good for you . I have my exam in march ... Trying to pass this time the exam again. What material are you studying if you don't mind me asking...

    Good luck and keep up updated.
    2018 Goals: 70-410 [X], 70-411 [],70-412 [] :bow: 410- Passed!!!!!!

    My Goal for the Future
    2012 - *MCSA*(WHO KNOWS WHEN) KEEP FAILING!!!! Not enough time to pass the last 2 exams.
    2021 - *Security+*
    2022 - * Pen Tester*
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Just my 2 cents: The exam ref is a good way to scratch the surface on this exam but is nowhere near enough information to pass. The trainsignal videos contain a bit more info, but will not get you to where you need to be. The practice tests are good to gauge your readiness to an extent, but don't abuse them to the point that you memorize the question bank. Use the exam objectives as a guide. Go through each of them and make sure you understand the gui, powershell, and cmd(if it applies) ways of satisfying the objective. You will have to do a lot of hands on practice in order to be successful. I can't stress enough how hands on experience is vital to passing. Also, read some technet articles on subjects you may be struggling with. I also highly recommend the Mastering Windows 2012 R2 book that Sybex offers. For a review of the materials I used, read the first post in this thread. Good luck!
  • Louie1277Louie1277 Member Posts: 505 ■■■□□□□□□□
    shaun5263 wrote: »
    Just my 2 cents: The exam ref is a good way to scratch the surface on this exam but is nowhere near enough information to pass. The trainsignal videos contain a bit more info, but will not get you to where you need to be. The practice tests are good to gauge your readiness to an extent, but don't abuse them to the point that you memorize the question bank. Use the exam objectives as a guide. Go through each of them and make sure you understand the gui, powershell, and cmd(if it applies) ways of satisfying the objective. You will have to do a lot of hands on practice in order to be successful. I can't stress enough how hands on experience is vital to passing. Also, read some technet articles on subjects you may be struggling with. I also highly recommend the Mastering Windows 2012 R2 book that Sybex offers. For a review of the materials I used, read the first post in this thread. Good luck!


    I have to agree try different material to study on and videos. I know when I tried to pass both time the server 2012 book wasn't out yet. I now have it and studying it. Now when it comes down to practice that's where I got lost since i like to follow steps on how to do things. I get the whole install of software, and certain things. But for me it's active directory and GPO, and that stuff.

    I guess i will continue with the book i have and learn ...
    2018 Goals: 70-410 [X], 70-411 [],70-412 [] :bow: 410- Passed!!!!!!

    My Goal for the Future
    2012 - *MCSA*(WHO KNOWS WHEN) KEEP FAILING!!!! Not enough time to pass the last 2 exams.
    2021 - *Security+*
    2022 - * Pen Tester*
  • shawnie66shawnie66 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    louie1277, sorry late reply. i'm studying the exam-ref guide book that's the official recomendation for this exam. i downloaded the softcopy hehe.
    haha yea, gud luck to all of us students :)
    agree with shaun5263 too, exam ref n trainsignal videos are gud for starters. as u go deeper, hands-on is very important.
    tks all for d encouragements :)
  • Louie1277Louie1277 Member Posts: 505 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Wish i had access to those videos. My company gave me access to the cbt nugget ones. It's okay but I hear must people like the trainsignal video better.
    2018 Goals: 70-410 [X], 70-411 [],70-412 [] :bow: 410- Passed!!!!!!

    My Goal for the Future
    2012 - *MCSA*(WHO KNOWS WHEN) KEEP FAILING!!!! Not enough time to pass the last 2 exams.
    2021 - *Security+*
    2022 - * Pen Tester*
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Louie1277 wrote: »
    Wish i had access to those videos. My company gave me access to the cbt nugget ones. It's okay but I hear must people like the trainsignal video better.

    I watched some of the trainsignal videos and in my opinion, the CBT videos were better. Just my opinion though. You can sign up for a free trial at pluralsight.com and see for yourself.
  • shaun5263shaun5263 Member Posts: 120 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Snow.bros wrote: »
    Congrats!!! icon_thumright.gif

    Thanks!
  • shawnie66shawnie66 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    failed my 70-410 today wit a score or 515.
    weak areas are
    -configure local storage
    -configure security policies
    -configure windows firewall

    weird thing is i did practice questions so many times. quite a number of previous questions came out n i'm certain of the answers.
    i do have the second shot.before i go for that, i realy realy need alot of advices. please help. tks alot
Sign In or Register to comment.