Microsoft Certification 101

• Susan Ibach• Technical Evangelist • Microsoft Canada• Sibach@microsoft.co

m• @hockeygeekgirl

Who am I

Session Objectives And Takeaways

• Session Objectiveso Identify certification that matches your skillso Identify resources to help you prepare for your

first certification examo Identify strategies to help you take your first

certification exam

• Takeaways o Action plan to select, prepare for, and take your

first step towards becoming Microsoft certified

• Getting certified builds your skills

• Getting certified shows your employer (or potential employer) you are taking initative to keep up with technology

You want a successful career

You already know a lot!

SQL

Active DirectoryExchange

How do you turn that knowledge into certification

SQL

Active DirectoryExchange

There are 4 steps to certification

1 - Choose certification

goal

2 - Find gaps

3 - Fill gaps

4 - Take exam

1 - Choose certification goal

1 - Choose certification

goal

Which best describes you?

• I have hands-on experience • I design solutions using the product• I am a Product Guru (I want to be the

expert!)

Expert

Associate

• Master: Master series

• Expert: MCSE, MCSD, MCPD, MCITP

• Associate: MCTS, MCSA

Your answer determines your target certification level

• Shows you know “how” to work with the product• MCSA

o Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8, SQL Server 2012

o Require 2-3 exams

• MCTS (some of these exams retire in July 2013)o Exchange, Lync, Project Server, SharePointo Require 1-2 exams

Regardless of your final goal, start with associate exams

• Experts know why and when to use products• Has one or more pre-requisites from Associate level certifications• MCSE

o Desktop, Server, Private Cloud, SQL Server, Messaging, SharePoint, Communication

• MCITP (many of these exams retire in July 2013)o Windows 7, Window Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Project Server 2007,

Exchange 2007, SharePoint, Lync

• MCSDo Windows Store, Web Applications

• MCPD (many of these exams retire in July 2013)o Windows Developer, Web Developer, Azure Developer

If you are a designer/architect, next, tackle the “Expert”

• Masters identify individuals with the deepest technical skills available on a particular Microsoft technology

• Expert Series is a pre-requisite• Requires completing a 2-3 week course (or

self-study) + a lab exam and computer based tests

Finally, if you want to be a guru, set Masters as a long term goal

TIP: You can get a Masters in:Exchange 2012, Lync 2010, SharePoint

Server 2010, SQL Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008

• Visit Microsoft Learning site for a list of all the MCSA and MCTS Certifications and the corresponding exams

Find the Associate Certification that best matches your skills

• Windows Server o 2012: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 (Exam

70-410)o 2008: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring

(Exam 70-640)

• Windows Cliento Windows 8: Configuring Windows 8 (Exam 70-687)o Windows 7: Windows 7, Configuring (Exam 70-680)

• Exchange 2010o MCTS Exchange Server 2010, Configuring (Exam 70-662)

Which exam should you try first?

• SharePoint 2010o MCTS Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring (Exam 70-667)

• SQL Servero 2012: Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (Exam 70-461)o 2008: SQL Server 2008 Installation and Maintenance (Exam

70-432)

• Visual Studio 2010o MCTS .NET Framework 4, Web Applications (Exam 70-515)

Which exam should you try first?

• Web developer• Visual Studio 2010 MCTS .NET Framework 4,

Web Applications (Exam 70-515)

• Windows 8 developero Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and

CSS3 (Exam 70-480)o Programming in C# (Exam 70-483)

Which exam should you try first?

2 – Find gaps

1 - Choose certification

goal

2 - Find gaps

Check the exam preparation guide to see what is covered

• The Skills Measured tab gives a list of the topics on the exam and the % weight on each topic

TIP: Expect questions on new features and command line tools

Take a practice test to find out what you don’t know

• Microsoft has two partners that create practice tests you can use to study SelfTest Software and MeasureUp

• You have to pay for them, but personally I find it worth a few bucks.

• At the end of the practice test, use score sheet to identify areas for further study

• For the newest certifications, there may not be practice exams yet, but when you are ready to study, go check to see if they have been released.

TIP: Use Study/Learning mode to learn as you go through the practice test

3 – Fill gaps

1 - Choose certification

goal

2 - Find gaps

3 - Fill gaps

Identify study materials

• The Exam Preparation Guide includes a Preparation Materials Tab which lists recommended materials for study

What types of resources will be listed?

• Learning Plans (free) – these are created by Microsoft Learning to point you to articles and materials for a particular technology or exam

• E-Learning ($) – these are online courses you can take to learn a particular technology

• Books (free/$) – MSPress and other publishers will produce good books you can study, e-books are sometimes free

• MSDN (free) – MSDN articles and whitepapers• TechNet (free) – TechNet articles and whitepapers• MSPress Exam guides ($) – For the more popular exams,

MSPress actually produces books to help you prepare

What if there are no resources listed!!!

• Then you use the Skills Measured tab as your checklist

• Download the software and try features for yourself

• Then for study materials I recommend you just *Bing it!*o MSDN o TechNet o Blog Postso Dev.windows.com (has tons of Windows 8 developer content)o You can often get free e-books for new content like Windows 8

and Windows Server 2012 keep an eye on the Born To Learn blog

Here’s good free e-books for the MCSD & MCSE

www.aka.ms/ws2012ebook

Search for online labs like this one

www.aka.ms/servervlabs

Check for a Learning Plan

• Search the Learning Catalog for a Learning Plan that corresponds to your exam or technology

Customize a practice test to quiz you on weak areas

• Both Self Test Software and MeasureUp allow you to customize the practice tests to give you questions on a specific topic or subject area

4 – Take exam

1 - Choose certification

goal

2 - Find gaps

3 - Fill gaps

4 - Take exam

Second Shot is your friend

• Watch for second shot promotions that can give you a free second try if you fail the first time.

• Register for this BEFORE you schedule your exam.

Register for the exam

• Register at www.prometric.com• When you register you choose the testing centre

where you want to take your exam, as well as the date and time.

• Your best bet is to book the exam and then plan your study time. Booking the exam gives you a deadline.

• A few of these exams are still in beta, so you may not be able to schedule them today. Most of them are live by end of October.

What to expect when you arrive

• Arrive 15-30 minutes before exam starts• Bring Photo ID• Get a good night’s sleep• Closed book exam• Cell phones must be turned off• You will receive a sheet for note taking

during the exam TIP: Have to memorize something? Review before walking in, then write it down as soon as you enter exam room

When you start the exam

o DON’T PANIC You will not know all the answers Don’t give up half way through

All exams have similarities

• 40-60 questions• 700 to pass (700 <> 70%)• 1-4 hours to complete exam• Some exams have simulations• You must scroll through entire question and

answers before going to next question• Yes, when you finish you get an opportunity to

review or go back to change answers• 80/80 Rule

Exam questions follow a standard structure

• Background: Existing technology environment and business scenario

• Problem Statement “You need to…”• One or more correct answers• Multiple incorrect answers

Answers can be provided in different ways

• Multiple-choice, single-answer questions• Multiple-choice, multiple-answer questions• Hot area questions• Drag and drop questions• Build list and reorder questions • Case studies

There are some strategies you can use for answering questions

• Eliminate wrong answers• Spot the difference• Look for two answers that can’t both be right (you

can’t set Security=Public and Security=Private at the same time!)

• When in doubt, it’s probably the new feature• Guess! You don’t lose points for wrong answers• Your first guess is probably right• Mark answers you don’t know for review, a later

question might help

You are a database administrator for your company. Your company stores all its product data in a SQL Server 2008 database named Products. Eric, a user in your database, complains that he is not able to access the tables created by another user, Adam, through a stored procedure. However, Adam is able to access the tables through the stored procedure. You need to ensure that Eric is able to access the data while minimizing excessive permissions.

Sample question

* Question courtesy of SelfTest Software

• What should you do? o A. Grant the CREATE TABLE permission to Eric so that he can

create new tables.o B. Ask Adam to recreate the stored procedure with the

RECOMPILE option.o C. Grant the db_owner role to Eric.o D. Ask Adam to recompile the stored procedure with the

EXECUTE AS OWNER clause.

Sample question

* Question courtesy of SelfTest Software

TIP: Can you eliminate any wrong answers?

You are the administrator of the Verigon Corporation. All user workstations have been upgraded to Windows 7. You want to control the .dll files that users are allowed to load on their workstations. What can you do to allow only approved .dll files to be loaded onto workstations

Sample question

* Question courtesy of SelfTest Software

• Choose two. Each correct answer is part of the solutiono A. Enable the DLL rule collection in AppLocker in the Local Security Policy

MMC snap-ino B. Create allow rules for each DLL that is used by any allowed applications

in AppLockero C. Create a new Internet Zone rule for each .dllo D. Set the security level to Disallowed in the Local Security Policy MMC

snap-ino E. Set the security level to Unrestricted in the Local Security Policy MMC

snap-in

Sample question

* Question courtesy of SelfTest Software

TIP: Look for new features

You are the Exchange Administrator for the Nutex Corporation’s Exchange 2010 organization. Your company has acquired a state-of-the-art high definition projector that can be used in meetings. You want to create a mailbox for the projector so that users in the company can request its use.What must you do to create a mailbox with the least number of possible steps?

Sample question

* Question courtesy of SelfTest Software

A. Use Active Directory Users and Computers to create an account named Projector, then run the following script New-Mailbox –Name ‘Projector’ –Alias ‘Projector’ –UserPrincipalName ‘Projector@nutex.com’ - -Database ‘DB01’ -Equipment

B. Use Active Directory Users and Computers to create an account named Projector, then run the following script New-Mailbox –Name ‘Projector’ –Alias ‘Projector’ –UserPrincipalName ‘Projector@nutex.com’ - -Database ‘DB01’ -Room

C. Run the following script: New-Mailbox –Name ‘Projector’ –Alias ‘Projector’ –UserPrincipalName ‘Projector@nutex.com’ –SamAccountName ‘projector’ –Firstname ‘projector’ – Initials ‘’ –Lastname ‘’ - -Database ‘DB01’ -Equipment

D. Run the following script: New-Mailbox –Name ‘Projector’ –Alias ‘Projector’ –UserPrincipalName ‘Projector@nutex.com’ –SamAccountName ‘projector’ –Firstname ‘projector’ – Initials ‘’ –Lastname ‘’ - -Database ‘DB01’ -Room

Sample question

TIP: Play spot the differences when looking at code snippets

What happens at the end of the exam?

• You have the opportunity to review questions and change answers

• When you end the test you complete an online evaluation then you see your final score

• Pick up a printout of your final score before you leave the exam room (even if you don’t pass)

• When you pass you will receive an e-mail within the next two weeks with your MCP registration information and certification information

When you pass are you certified forever?

• The newest certifications (MCSE & MCSD) do require you to complete a recertification exam every three years.

Follow the steps

1 - Choose certification

goal

2 - Find gaps

3 - Fill gaps

4 - Take exam

Get Certified!

Good Luck!

Microsoft Certification 101

Susan IbachTechnical Evangelist, CanadaSusan.ibach@microsoft.com@hockeygeekgirl