Status: ✅

I’ve recently been hired for a company that does consulting for small businesses. Naturally, I haven’t had a huge exposure to SBS. My employer asked me to take the SBS MCP Certification, and this afternoon, I passed. The exam was pretty easy – I think Microsoft basically took the easy questions spread out across the MCSE and dumped them into the SBS exam (some of the questions were very similar). My tips to anybody taking the exam:

• Really know the benefits and drawbacks of SBS; for instance, it has to be the root of the forest, Premium vs. Standard, it comes with Exchange/SQL/ISA, always use the wizards first…
• The exam is a showcase for SBS, and then a showcase for 2003.
• There is usually a logical answer.

Well, I know that isn’t helpful at all. But a start.

Exam 70-282: Designing, Deploying, and Managing a Network Solution for a Small- and Medium-Sized Business

You can easily see that I am a big Linux fan, I’ve mentioned this over and over. I’ve also mentioned that I’m finishing up my MCSE, which started as a dare with my buddy, Ian. In the process of studying for my MCSE I’ve developed a certain amount of respect for Windows Server 2003, yet I’ll comment more on this later.

What I really wanted to write two paragraphs about was an interesting discovery I made today. I happened to stumble over to Microsoft’s hardware site, and noticed in my little Server Spy monitor that it was running IIS/7 – the first time I have seen this anywhere. Upon further investigation I perused their GoLive program, which details several ways to test drive IIS7. There are some details about Microsoft’s setup, which one would expect to be impressive. And it is. So, if you are a Microsoft person, you may want to grab a test drive of Beta3 while you still can.

Status: ✅

My buddy Ian and myself have decided to get our MCSEs. However, Ian is a Mac lover, and I can’t seem to stay away from Linux (and I’m too cheap right now to buy a MacBook). The irony might be subtle, yet we are still studying and making progress. For the most part, I have decided to take the tests in the following order:

70-290, Security+, 70-270, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294, 70-298, 70-299

Update: So, now I’m MCSE. I’m still debating whether or not to do the final Security test. I really need to get caught up with Exchange, so I might do the Messaging test at some point, but who knows. At this point I’m calling it good.

Core Exams: Networking System

✅ Exam 70-290: Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment

✅ Exam 70-291: Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure (notes)

✅ Exam 70-293: Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

✅ Exam 70-294: Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure

Core Exams: Client Operating System

✅ Exam 70-270: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Security Specialization: Core Design

✅ Exam 70-298: Designing Security for a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network

Security Specialization:Core Security

✅ Exam 70-299: Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network

✅ CompTIA Security+