I have completed week eight of studying for my MCSE exams. I started and completed all of Chapter 4, and finished the lessons in Chapter 5 in the 70-410 Training Guide. I continued the 70-410 Live Learning course from KnowledgeNet, and listened to four more PowerScripting Podcast episodes. I especially enjoyed the PowerScripting podcast episode with ScriptRock (272), and the interview with Jeffrey Snover (274). There was a lot of eye opening information revealed in these episodes. I also ordered myself a PowerShell coffee mug. It really spoke to me, and I had to have it!
Cool Stuff
This past week has been more of a review in terms of the subject matter covered. Approximately 75% of my training this week has been review of things I had learned quite some time ago, some of it almost two decades ago. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that reviewing these topics is a bad thing, it's just a little hard to pick out something cool when it all feels like review.
The best information came from two of the PowerScripting Podcast episodes. Episode #272 with ScriptRock covering their GuardRail product. It helped me understand a little more about configuration management and how, with the right tools, almost magical things can be done. The second episode of note was #274, an interview with Jeffrey Snover, the creator of PowerShell. The most significant thing I learned about was JEA (Just Enough Admin), which from what I understand, is a way to reduce the attack surface of the sysadmins. This is accomplished by reducing the number of tasks that require elevated privileges, thereby reducing the chance that an attacker will be able to glean admin credentials from a compromised system. Both were very interesting topics, but I really cannot do them justice here. Just go listen to them!
Stats
Total time studying: 14 hrs. 30 min.
- Exam 70-410: 9 hrs. 35 min.
- PowerShell: 4 hrs. 55 min.
Resources used:
Training Guide: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2: Mitch Tulloch
KnowledgeNet Live Learning Course: Installing and Configuring Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
Training Guide: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 R2: Mitch Tulloch
KnowledgeNet Live Learning Course: Installing and Configuring Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
PowerScripting Podcast - Episodes 271, 272, 273 & 274
* I have decided not to include all of the TechNet articles I read throughout the week, as they are quite numerous. I will however, still list them in the Learning Resources post.
In Closing
I am planning to focus a little more in the coming week on 70-410, and PowerShell. I did not get anywhere near enough PowerShell training into the mix this past week, which has been a little disappointing. There have been many distractions throughout the week, not the least of which seems to be that I'm spending most of my days at work just putting out fires. I think the problem comes down to not having enough hours in the week, but I think that's a problem everyone seems to have.
Have a great week everyone!
* I have decided not to include all of the TechNet articles I read throughout the week, as they are quite numerous. I will however, still list them in the Learning Resources post.
In Closing
I am planning to focus a little more in the coming week on 70-410, and PowerShell. I did not get anywhere near enough PowerShell training into the mix this past week, which has been a little disappointing. There have been many distractions throughout the week, not the least of which seems to be that I'm spending most of my days at work just putting out fires. I think the problem comes down to not having enough hours in the week, but I think that's a problem everyone seems to have.
Have a great week everyone!
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