Exam Profile: MCITP: Windows Server 2008, Server Administration (70-646)
Date: May 12, 2011
The 70-646 exam is intended for IT professionals who are or wish to become a server administrator in a Windows 2008 R2 environment. An administrator in this environment will typically perform work such as managing the server operating system, file, and directory services, software distribution and updates, profiling and monitoring assigned servers, and troubleshooting. Microsoft states that a server administrator’s job involves 60 percent operations, 20 percent engineering, and 20 percent support tasks. After you pass the Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator exam, you will be on your way to having the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Server Administrator certification.
There are three exam requirements for the MCITP Server Administrator certification and they can be taken in any order:
- Exam: 70-642 Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring
- Exam: 70-640 Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
- Exam: 70-646 Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator
Exam Details
- Types and Number of Questions: It appears that Microsoft has started giving this test in a hybrid mode of multiple choice and testlets.
- Passing Score: 700 out of 1000
- Time Limit: 120 minutes
- How to Register: Prometric
Testlets are scenario based and you will use one scenario to answer multiple questions. There are approximately 30-35 questions and then 3-5 testlets that contain 7-11 questions each. (Since Microsoft does not publish this information, the number of exam questions and format may change without notice.)
This test consists mainly of multiple choice questions, but can also contain drag and drop, build list and reorder questions.
Trouble Spots
As with any exam, it will vary from person to person as to what is deemed to be difficult. While one person may have trouble with groups, another will find RAID configurations to be hard to understand. Hands-on experience that deals with managing and maintaining a Windows network will be of immense value. As this exam will probably involve testlets, it will present some challenges. The key is to make sure you understand what you have read in the scenario before answering questions. Try to find the key point quickly and make a note of them. Lingering too long on one scenario can cause you to run out of time. There are some terms with which you need to be familiar.
- Bitlocker—BitLocker performs a number of functions, depending on the hardware support of the system on which Windows Server 2008 is running. BitLocker can encrypt entire disk volumes so that the operating system files and user data cannot be accessed if the computer or drives are lost or stolen. Also, a key is written to a USB flash drive during the BitLocker configuration process. This flash drive must be inserted into a USB port on the computer at system startup in order to gain access to the system.
- Backup—To backup with the least amount of administrative effort, use Group Policy objects (GPO) to apply folder redirection and then back up the folder redirection target. Folder Redirection allows you to redirect the system folders containing the profile of a user on the network. This will allow the users to access their data.
- ServerManagerCMD—This enables users to perform automated installations or removals of roles, role services, and features. When you want to install or to remove more than one role, role service, or feature on a server by using a single command instance, use an XML answer file. It must be run from a command prompt that has elevated privileges.
- Windows Server Update Service (WSUS)—This provides a software update service for Microsoft Windows operating systems and other Microsoft software. WSUS allows administrators to manage the distribution of Microsoft hotfixes and updates released through Automatic Updates to computers in a corporate environment. Administrators can choose which updates to install and when they will be installed. It is a good practice to use a test group of computers to install first before implementing an update to all computers in your corporate environment. You can use more than one WSUS server. One server will be the upstream server responsible for specifying the updates to be installed. The downstream servers synchronize updates from the upstream WSUS server. There are two forms of downstream servers: autonomous and replica. An autonomous server synchronizes the same updates as the upstream server; however, it can create its own target groups and manage its own approvals.
- High Availability—This is making sure that your Windows servers that provide mission critical applications are always available. This can be accomplished using Failover Clustering, Network Load Balancing, Windows Hardware Error Architecture, Dynamic Hardware Partitioning, Fault Tolerant Hardware, Shadow Copy and Windows Backup and Restore.
Preparation Hints
Review the Exam Objectives below and make sure that you are familiar with them. If you do have access to a Windows 2008 network, hands-on practice in that environment will help you to connect the theory with real life. Always check the Microsoft site for the specific exam you are going to take. In this instance, the site is http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-646&locale=en-us. There are many web sites and blogs that can help you to research topics, but be careful to fully research the information you read. It is not advisable to try to find sites that list questions and answers for several reasons. First, you don’t know if you will be asked a specific question; second, the answers given in a blog may be inaccurate; and third, you need to understand the information to adequately prepare.
When taking the exam, read each question carefully. Microsoft is notorious for adding a lot of unneeded information in their questions. Make sure that when you click on a choice, that it is really marked. Be careful clicking anywhere on the screen. I found that by inadvertently clicking near the scroll bar on the right of the screen, I actually changed an answer. You get a single piece of paper and a marker for writing. You can use a small amount of time before you even start the exam to make notes once you enter the test area. Sometimes there is even a questionnaire at the beginning of the test that does not count against your test time. You can even use this time to write down notes, facts, tables or other information by taking your time between answers. Since this particular exam is just two hours, you will have to make sure you don’t waste any time as you make it through the multiple choice and testlet questions.
Recommended Study Resources
Windows Server 2008 Portable Command Guide: MCTS 70-640, 70-642, 70-643, and MCITP 70-646, 70-647 by Darril Gibson ISBN13: 9780789747372 due to publish May 2011
MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-646): Windows Server Administration by Orin Thomas and Ian McLean
Exam Objectives
This exam is broken up into five different categories:
Planning for Server Deployment (19 percent)
- Plan server installations and upgrades.
- Plan for automated server deployment.
- Plan infrastructure services server roles.
- Plan application servers and services.
- Plan file and print server roles.
May include but is not limited to: Windows Server 2008 edition selection, rollback planning, Bitlocker implementation requirements
May include but is not limited to: standard server image, automation and scheduling of server deployments
May include but is not limited to: address assignment, name resolution, network access control, directory services, application services, certificate services
May include but is not limited to: virtualization server planning, availability, resilience, and accessibility
May include but is not limited to: access permissions, storage quotas, replication, indexing, file storage policy, availability, printer publishing
Planning for Server Management (23 percent)
- Plan server management strategies.
- Plan for delegated administration.
- Plan and implement group policy strategy.
May include but is not limited to: remote administration, remote desktop, server management technologies, Server Manager and ServerManagerCMD, delegation policies and procedures
May include but is not limited to: delegate authority, delegate Active Directory objects, application management
May include but is not limited to: GPO management, GPO backup and recovery, group policy troubleshooting, group policy planning
Monitoring and Maintaining Servers (20 percent)
- Implement patch management strategy.
- Monitor servers for performance evaluation and optimization.
- Monitor and maintain security and policies.
May include but is not limited to: operating system patch level maintenance, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), application patch level maintenance
May include but is not limited to: server and service monitoring, optimization, event management, trending and baseline analysis
May include but is not limited to: remote access, monitor and maintain NPAS, network access, server security, firewall rules and policies, authentication and authorization, data security, auditing
Planning Application and Data Provisioning (19 percent)
- Provision applications.
- Provision data.
May include but is not limited to: presentation virtualization, terminal server infrastructure, resource allocation, application virtualization alternatives, application deployment, System Center Configuration Manager
May include but is not limited to: shared resources, offline data access
Planning for Business Continuity and High Availability (19 percent)
- Plan storage.
- Plan high availability.
- Plan for backup and recovery.
May include but is not limited to: storage solutions, storage management
May include but is not limited to: service redundancy, service availability
May include but is not limited to: data recovery strategy, server recovery strategy, directory service recovery strategy, object level recovery
Where to Go from Here
If you are working toward your Windows 2008 MCITP: Server Administrator, after passing the Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator exam (70-646) exam, you have two more exams to pass:
- Exam 70-640: TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
- Exam 70-642: TS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring