Exam Profile: Windows Server Administration Fundamentals (MTA 98-365)
Date: Jun 3, 2011
Many people would like to pursue a career in technology, but lack the foundational knowledge necessary to pursue one of our Technology Specialist or Professional certifications. The Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) certification creates a new entry point to help those who have little practical experience get into the career field. The MTA is a new, entry-level certification designed to help individuals take the first step toward a career as an IT professional or developer. In order to achieve your MTA, you must pass the 98-365 exam, which tests your basic understanding of Server Installation, Server Roles, Active Directory, Storage, Server Performance Management, and Server Maintenance. After you pass the Windows Server Administration Fundamentals exam, you will have earned your MTA Certification.
When you earn an MTA Certification, you become a member of the Microsoft Certified Professional community. You will get access to members-only benefits such as special offers, the MCP transcript tool, and private newsgroups where you can network, find peer support, and share your accomplishments other certified professionals worldwide. This exam is also the first step towards becoming a Microsoft Technology Specialist (MCTS).
At this time, MTA is only available to students, faculty, and staff of an accredited academic institution that is an approved MTA testing center. MTA exams are only available at academic institutions that have purchased an MTA Campus License or MTA vouchers. MTA exams are delivered through an internet-based testing platform that allows delivery of exams anytime in any computer connected to the internet at a licensed academic institution. Educators are empowered as exam proctors.
The MTA validates 80% knowledge and 20% skills. The next step in the Microsoft certification path is Microsoft Technology Specialist (MCTS), which requires hands-on experience with the Microsoft technology platform. Microsoft makes its complete developer toolset available for students to download and install at no cost through the DreamSpark Program.
Each MTA Certification exam will cover a broad technology area, including:
- Software Development Fundamentals
- Web Development fundamentals
- Windows Development Fundamentals
- Database Fundamentals
- System Administrator Fundamentals
- Networking Fundamentals
- Security Fundamentals
In order to earn an MTA Certification, candidates only need to pass one exam. The MTA Certification will expire after five years.
Exam Details
- Number of Questions: Approximately 30-50 questions
- Types of Questions: Multiple choice
- Passing Score: 70
- Time Limit: 50 minutes
- How to Register: Certiport
Since Microsoft does not publish this information, the number of exam questions may change without notice.)
This passing score does not mean that you must answer 70 percent of the items correctly in order to pass the exam. The actual percentage varies from exam to exam and may be more or less than 70 percent. There is no penalty for guessing. No points are deducted for incorrect answers. If a question specifies that you must choose multiple correct answers, you must choose the exact number of correct answers specified in the question in order to earn a point for that item. Some of the questions on the exam may not count toward the calculation of your score. Microsoft will often throw a question in that is meant to gather data that will help them improve the exam.
Trouble Spots
As with any exam, it will vary from person to person as to what is deemed to be difficult. Some of the topics you may have trouble with are Server Roles, Services, Active Directory, RAID, Performance Monitoring, and Windows Server Update Service. Each of these topics is outlined below.
Server Roles
After you install Windows operating system on a server, you can choose a role to install. A role is a function that the server is responsible for doing. Some roles, such as DHCP Server, should only be installed on one server in your network. Depending on the resources in your server, it may be capable of performing several different roles such as DHCP server and DNS Server. The different server roles that can be installed are
- Active Directory Certificate Services
- Active Directory Domain Services
- Active Directory Federation Services
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services
- Active Directory Rights Management Services
- Application Server
- DHCP Server
- DNS Server
- Fax Server
- File Services
- Hyper-V
- Network Policy and Access Services
- Print Services
- Terminal Services
- Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration Services
- Web Server
- Windows Deployment Services
- Windows Server Update Services
Services
By default, when you install Windows, it will run services. A Windows service is a program that performs specific functions and which is designed not to require user intervention. A service can run even if a user is not logged into the computer. You can choose to have services run automatically or only when you start them. A service can be paused, stopped, or disabled if not needed. Some services, such as Internet Information Service, are considered security risks and can be disabled after installation. Depending on the task a computer is performing, some services are required to be started.
Active Directory
Active Directory was developed by Microsoft to provide a variety of network services. Active Directory stores all information and settings about your network structure in a central database. It allows an administrator to assign policies, create objects, manage organization units, deploy and update software. Active Directory networks can be comprised of a few computers and users or have thousands of computers and users, such as an enterprise system that spans a large geographical area. Some of the services provided by Active Directory are
- Central location for network administration and security
- Single sign-on for user access to networked resources
- Scalability
- Synchronization of directory updates across servers
- Ability to delegate authority in order to decentralize administration
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)
Setting your server disks in a RAID configuration can provide benefits such as fault tolerance and/or speed. Some servers allow the RAID to be controlled by the hardware of the server itself. You can also use the Windows Operating System to setup your RAID configuration. Some of the different types of RAID configurations are outlined below.
Disk Striping without Parity (RAID level 0) provides no data redundancy and is not fault-tolerant. It requires a minimum of two disks and can be formatted with FAT or NTFS partitions. It offers the highest level of read and write performance of any available disk management strategy by allowing concurrent requests to be processed on all drives simultaneously.
Disk mirroring (RAID level 1) supports only two hard drives. Mirror sets are the only form of fault tolerance that can include system and boot partitions. It has both drives running off the same controller. Disk duplexing is the same as mirroring, except it uses two disk controllers instead of one (a hardware enhancement vs. a software enhancement). Disk mirroring is the least cost effective disk management strategy because you lose half of your disk capacity.
Disk Striping with Parity (RAID level 5) provides fault tolerance. It requires a minimum of three physical disks and can have as many as 32 disks. All partitions in a stripe set are the same size. If you select free disk areas of different sizes when you create a stripe set, no stripe will be larger than the smallest free disk area. For instance, if you have 200MB, 400MB, 600MB, and 800MB free on each of four drives, only 200MB is used on each drive. The entire stripe set will be 800MB in size. The space equivalent to one partition is used for parity information. So, in this case, one fourth is used for storing parity information (200MB), and only 600MB of data can be stored on the stripe set. Regardless of how many disks are used in a stripe set with parity, data is recoverable only if no more than one disk is lost. If two or more disks are lost, the data is unrecoverable.
A volume set allows you to combine free space from 1 to 32 disks and create a single volume with a single drive letter that is transparent to the user. Volume sets provide no fault tolerance; if even one area of disk space in the set is lost, all the data is lost. Volume sets are the only Windows NT disk partition management option that allows more than one area of disk space in the set to reside on the same physical hard disk. Volume sets are the only Windows NT disk partition management option that allows the individual areas of disk space making up the volume to be of different sizes. The main advantage is that they allow the most efficient use of hard disk space. System and boot partitions cannot be part of a volume set, while all other partitions can. Because disk access is performed by only one drive at a time, a volume set is the slowest access method of any.
Performance Monitoring
Monitoring your server’s performance is an important part of maintaining and administering your Windows installation. Performance data can help you understand your workload and the effect it has on your system’s resources. You can observe changes and trends over time, which will help you plan for future upgrades. Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that combines the functionality of previous stand-alone tools including Performance Logs and Alerts, Server Performance Advisor, and System Monitor. It provides a graphical interface for customizing performance data collection and Event Trace Sessions. Some counters in Performance Monitor will help you diagnose problems and target components or processes for optimization. You should configure the Performance Logs and Alerts to report data for the counters at regular interval. The logs should be retained over an extended period of time. This data can be used by a database to perform queries. You should not run Performance Monitor in graph view all of the time. Monitoring too many counters at once or sampling at intervals less than three seconds apart can degrade system performance.
Windows Server Update Service (WSUS)
In order to keep your servers up to date with the latest patches, hotfixes, and service packs, Microsoft offers a solution in their Windows Server Update Service (WSUS). Loading WSUS on a server allows it to be a central point of contact for Microsoft updates. This server would receive the updates and then distribute them across your network to the other servers you have specified.
Preparation Hints
Review the Exam Objectives below and make sure that you are familiar with them. The MTA exams are designed for those who do not have practical experience with a Windows network. 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=98-365&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 and 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, 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 use this time to write down notes, facts, tables, or other information you may need.
Recommended Study Resources
98-365: Windows Server Administration Fundamentals
Exam Objectives
The exam objectives are broken up into six different categories.
Understanding Server Installation
- Understand device drivers.
- Understand services.
- Understand server installation options. This objective may include but is not limited to: choosing correct OS version; partitioning; F8 options; server core vs. full; interactive install; unattended install; automated install using WDS; upgrade vs. clean install; firmware updates including BIOS
This objective may include but is not limited to: installation; removal; disabling; update/upgrade; rollback; troubleshooting; Plug & Play; IRQ; interrupts; driver signing
This objective may include but is not limited to: what services are; which statuses a service can be in; startup types; recovery options; delayed startup; Run As settings for a service; stopping or pausing a service; service accounts, dependencies
Understanding Server Roles
- Identify application servers. This objective may include but is not limited to: mail servers; database servers; collaboration servers; monitoring servers; threat management
- Understand Web services.
- Understand remote access.
- Understand the file and print services.
- Understand server virtualization.
This objective may include but is not limited to: IIS, WWW, and FTP; separate worker processes; adding components; sites; ports; SSL; certificates
This objective may include but is not limited to: remote assistance; remote administration tools; Remote Desktop Services; licensing; RD Gateway; VPN; application virtualization; multiple ports
This objective may include but is not limited to: local printers; network printers; printer pools; web printing; web management; driver deployment; file, folder, and share permissions vs. rights; auditing; print job management
This objective may include but is not limited to: virtualization modes; VHDs; virtual memory; virtual networks; snapshots and saved states; physical to virtual; virtual to physical
Understanding Active Directory
- Understand accounts and groups.
- Understand organizational units and containers.
- Understand Active Directory infrastructure.
- Understand group policy.
This objective may include but is not limited to: domain accounts; local accounts; user profiles; group types; group scopes; group nesting; AGDLP
This objective may include but is not limited to: purpose of organizational units; purpose of containers; delegation; default
This objective may include but is not limited to: domain controllers; forests; operation masters roles; domain vs. workgroup; child domains; trusts; functional levels; namespace; sites; replication
This objective may include but is not limited to: group policy processing; Group Policy Management Console; computer policies; user policies; local policies
Understanding Storage
- Identify storage technologies.
- Understand RAID.
- Understand disk types.
This objective may include but is not limited to: advantages and disadvantages of different storage types; local (SATA, SCSI, IDE); NAS; SAN; fibre channel; iSCSI; NFS; FC HBA and FC switches; iSCSI hardware
This objective may include but is not limited to: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and combinations; hardware and software RAID
This objective may include but is not limited to: ATA; basic disk; dynamic disk; mount points; file systems; mounting a virtual hard disk; distributed file systems; optical disks
Understanding Server Performance Management
- Identify major server hardware components.
- Understand performance monitoring.
- Understand logs and alerts.
This objective may include but is not limited to: memory; disk; processor; network; 32 / 64 bits; removable drives; graphic cards; cooling; power usage; ports
This objective may include but is not limited to: methodology; procedures; effect of network, CPU, memory and disk; creating a baseline; perfmon; resmon; Task Manager; performance counters
This objective may include but is not limited to: purpose of performance logs and alerts
Understanding Server Maintenance
- Identify steps in the startup process.
- Understand business continuity.
- Understand updates.
- Understand troubleshooting methodology.
This objective may include but is not limited to: bios; bootsector; bootloader; MBR; boot.ini; bcdedit; POST; Safe Mode
This objective may include but is not limited to: backup and restore; disaster recovery; clustering; AD restore; folder redirection; data redundancy; uninterruptable power supply (UPS)
This objective may include but is not limited to: software; driver; operating systems; applications; Windows Update; Windows Server Update Service (WSUS)
This objective may include but is not limited to: processes; procedures; best practices; systematic vs. specific approach; perfmon; Event Viewer; Resource Monitor; Information Technology Infrastructure Library; central logging; event filtering; default logs
Where to Go from Here
After you pass the Networking Fundamentals exam, you are a certified MTA in the IT Professional category. Some other exams you may want to consider taking are:
- Security Fundamentals Exam 98-367
- Networking Fundamentals Exam 98-366
All available MTA exams can be found at Microsoft’s website.