MCSE Studying - Week 13

Overview
I have completed week thirteen of studying for my MCSE exams. This summary will be a little short, since I was on vacation this week. Despite being on vacation, I managed to complete the KnowledgeNet 70-411 Live sessions and had an opportunity to sit in on a one hour 70-410 Exam Cram session.

Cool Stuff
There really wasn't anything that stands out from this past week. Just about everything learned served to reinforce existing knowledge while adding little hints and tips.

Stats
Total time studying: 7 hrs. 5 min.

• Exam 70-411: 6 hrs. 5 min.
• Exam 70-410: 1 hr.

Resources used:
KnowledgeNet Live Learning Course: Administering Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2

In Closing
Now that I'm back off of vacation it will be nice to get back into the books and continue on with my studies. This week, I plan to complete the chapter on networking, get into the chapter on virtualization, and continue adding more PowerShell skills.


Have a great week everyone!

MCSE Studying - Week 12

Overview
I have completed week twelve of studying for my MCSE exams. With it still being quite hectic, I decided to focus on the KnowledgeNet courses this past week. I finished sessions 3 & 4 of the 70-411 Live Learning course from KnowledgeNet. I did, however, take time to listen to the PowerScripting Podcast episodes 277 & 278.

Cool Stuff
The cool stuff learned this past week was not specifically from a course, but did require quite a lot of research and testing in order to get it to work right. I had to figure out how to setup a Windows Server 2012 R2 PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) with a Standalone Root CA (Certificate Authority) and an Enterprise Issuing CA. The biggest hurdle came when trying to import the certificate for the Issuing CAs from the Root CA. An error was generated that indicated that the Issuing CA could not contact the CRL (Certificate Revocation List) for the Root CA. The key  to solving this problem was in this TechNet article, that detailed how to import the CRL and root certificate into Active Directory. It was very cool to see that certificate import without an error after correctly configuring the environment.

Stats
Total time studying: 10 hrs. 15 min.

• Exam 70-411: 6 hrs. 5 min.
• Certificate Services (70-412): ~2 hrs.
• PowerShell: 2 hrs. 10 min.

Resources used:
KnowledgeNet Live Learning Course: Administering Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2

TechNet Article - AD CS Step by Step Guide: Two Tier PKI Hierarchy Deployment 
PowerScripting Podcast - Episodes 267 & 278

In Closing
Once again, it was nice to be able to apply some of my recent training to real world problems. Studying is still progressing at a slow, but steady pace, which is definitely better than it coming to a screeching halt. Learning to balance my study time with home life and work has been as important as learning how to configure a DNS server.

I am also taking advantage of the broader IT community to enhance my skills. I have an opportunity this upcoming Friday to attend a short one hour study session with a couple of mentors and some other students that are also taking the 70-410 exam. I am really looking forward to that!


Have a great week everyone!

MCSE Studying - Weeks 10 & 11

I apologize for missing last week's post, but things have been a little hectic at work, which of course spills over into home life. More to follow on that later in this post.

Overview
I have completed weeks ten and eleven of studying for my MCSE exams. I continued Chapter 6 in the 70-410 Training Guide, started the 70-411 Live Learning course from KnowledgeNet, and reviewed the Session 3 section on Work Folders in the 70-410 Live Learning course.

Cool Stuff
The coolest and most useful thing I learned from the past two weeks was how to immediately synchronize an entire Active Directory Domain. Simply run repadmin /syncall from the command line. Magic! This is going to be a real time saver in the future when I need to replicate changes rapidly.

I also discovered what has to be the longest PowerShell cmdlet name I have seen to date:
move-addirectoryserveroperationmasterrole

Stats
Total time studying: 7 hrs. 40 min.

• Exam 70-410: 1 hr. 35 min.
• Exam 70-411: 6 hrs. 5 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

KnowledgeNet Live Learning Course: Administering Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2

In Closing
The past two weeks have been extremely challenging at work. Due to a couple of recent issues, my work schedule was thrown into a state of extreme flux. I have had to remain quite flexible with respect to my work hours, and it has had an impact of training. Training has taken a bit of a back seat to other things, like eating, sleeping, and spending some time with the family.

One benefit to the recent issues is that I have had an opportunity to bust out some of my newly acquired PowerShell skills to help lighten the administrative load. I have also had an opportunity to use some of the new knowledge about Windows Server 2012 R2 to assist in the daily work. It's nice to see how quickly the training pays off.

Thankfully, now that the issues are largely behind us, I can start to get back on schedule with my studies. There's a lot more to learn, and I cannot wait to learn about it, and then apply to my daily work.


Have a great week everyone!