Doing the Knowledge

Doing the Knowledge

• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) Series Relates to a specific Microsoft technology. Requires at least one year’s experience.
• Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) Series Professional credentials validate the skill set required for a particular job. Requires around three years’ experience.
• Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) Series Master certifications identify individuals with the deepest technical skills available on a particular Microsoft product. Requires five or more years’ experience of specific product.
• Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) Series An elite certification that identifies experienced IT architects with 10 or more years’ experience, including three or more in an architect role.

For the MCTS level the emphasis is on demonstrating in-depth knowledge and expertise in a key Microsoft technology or product. Possession of the certification indicates that someone is “consistently capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting and debugging a particular Microsoft technology”. Currently more than 30 MCTS certifications are available. Table 1 (download here) lists those that are most relevant to readers of Server Management, with the area of expertise covered and the exams required. It also includes three types of resources for exam preparation:

• Courses in the Microsoft Official Curriculum These are available from many training providers who are Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning Solutions, including QA-IQ, Firebrand (formerly Training Camp), Xpertise, F1 and Pygmalion.
• Microsoft e-learning collections These are subscriptions that can be purchased and downloaded from the Microsoft web site.
• Self-paced training kits These comprise books and CDs that can be purchased from Amazon.

Many companies sell practice tests to help you prepare, but products from Self Test Software and MeasureUp are approved to simulate the complexity of the real exam and feature a variety of performance-based simulations that reflect those in the actual Microsoft exams.

Also useful is Learning Manager, a workspace on Microsoft.com that can help you devise and follow a Learning Plan by finding, accessing and managing learning resources, such as e-learning, Microsoft Press books, exams and certifications.

Certifications in the Professional Series validate the set of skills required to be successful “on the job”. For this reason, the various MCITP options are related to different job roles. They represent the second rung on a ladder and therefore a prerequisite is to gain one or more MCTS certifications first. The second-level exams are more wide ranging and, although you only need to pass a single extra exam, preparation may require several courses or e-learning collections (download table here)

Many experienced IT professionals will be able to achieve MCITP status without going through the MCTS stage – by virtue of having existing credentials. Although there are no new MCSA, MCSE and MCDST certifications being introduced, some are ongoing and they still have a currency. There are several options for updating existing certifications into their new generation counterparts. In some cases sitting a single examination will earn multiple certifications. So holders of the Windows Server 2003 MCSE are eligible to tackle Exam 70-649, an upgrade exam that is a composite of three standalone exams (70-640, 70-642 and 70-643) covering the core technology features and functionality of Windows Server 2008 and building upon the experience and knowledge base gained in the Windows Server 2003 environment. Preparation consists of two classroom courses: Course 6416: Updating Your Network Infrastructure and Active Directory Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008 (five days); and Course 6417: Updating Your Application Platform Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008 (three days).

There are three Microsoft e-learning collections specifically for updating from Windows Server 2003 – Collection 6528: Updating Your Network Infrastructure Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008; Collection 6517: Updating Your Active Directory Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008; and Collection 6417: Updating Your Applications Infrastructure Technology Skills to Windows Server 2008. The self-paced training kits for exams 70-640 and 70-642 are also relevant.

Success in 70-649 gains Windows Server 2008 MCTS certifications, ie covering Active Directory, Network Infrastructure, and is well on the way to either Server Administrator MCITP, for which Exam 70-646 is required, or Enterprise Administrator MCITP, for which two further exams are required: either Exam 70-620 (earning the Windows Vista MCTS) or Exam 70-624 (Business Desktop Deployment MCTS) plus Exam 70-647.

Those in possession of Windows Server MCSA also have advantageous transition opportunities. A single hurdle, Exam 70-648, encompasses the scope of 70-640 and 70-642, gaining both the Active Directory and the Network Infrastructure MCTS, and again only 70-646 remains to be taken to achieve the Server Administrator MCITP. Those with their sights on Enterprise Administrator MCITP have to pass Exam 70-643 and the two further exams as outlined above.

Another upgrade route is available from Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) to MCITP Enterprise Support via a single exam and also earns the Windows Vista – Configuration MCTS as a bonus. The test in this instance is Exam 70-621 and suitable preparation is by way of Collection 5103: Upgrade Skills to Configure Windows Vista (16 hours) or by attending the two Vista courses, 5118 and 5116 (see Table 2).

There are also upgrade routes for the new SQL Server 2008 certifications. For example, anyone holding the MCITP Database Administrator certification on SQL Server 2005 can earn the 2008 equivalent by passing one transition exam, 70-453.

Going Higher
The newest rung in Microsoft’s certification ladder is Master. At this level classroom training isn’t optional but is part of the accreditation process and candidates undergo three weeks of mandatory training in their chosen track and have to do written and lab exams. MCMs have been announced for Exchange Server 2007, SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, with other server products being added in the future. Currently the training is only available in Redmond but from next year it should be more widely available.

MCM certification is now a prerequisite for the MCA certification, which has to be regarded as an elite badge of distinction. There are two certification tracks – Solutions and Infrastructure – and for the latter Microsoft currently offers MCA training and certification in Messaging (Exchange Server) and Database (SQL Server focused on online transaction processing). Candidates currently have to go to Redmond for four weeks of mandatory technical training, which includes weekly written exams. Those who pass this are eligible to participate in  certification, which consists of an online lab-based exam and a Review Board interview.

Further Reading
Certification Framework http://tinyurl.com/ko87k
Learning Manager http://tinyurl.com/3eg2e8
MCTS http://tinyurl.com/ofnyo
MCITP http://tinyurl.com/392ahr
MCM http://tinyurl.com/3vwwll
MCA http://tinyurl.com/5l4j7c