70-291 Study Guide

[craigie]

Study Time: Two Months (Two Hours Daily Min)
Materials: MS Press Book 70-291 & CBT Nuggets
Mock Exam: MS Readiness Review Suite
Exam: 47 Questions With 1 Sims

Lab

3 x Windows 2003 Servers Enterprise R2 Edition
2 x Windows XP Pro SP2 Clients

Configuration

Server01 Roles

Domain Controller, DNS, DHCP, Terminal Server & File Server

Server02 Roles

WSUS, Print Server & IIS

Server03 Roles

Test Server For Child Domain, DNS, DHCP, RRAS, RADIUS Server

Deployment

My main aim here was to do all of the exercises in the MS Press book and ensured that it worked. In the end my lab consisted of the following:

DHCP - Created a 80/20 DHCP Superscope between Server01 and Server03 and implemented various prefills e.g. preferred DNS Server etc, deployed reservations and exlcusions.

DNS - Configured Primary DNS Zones, Secondary DNS Zones, Stub Zones & Active Directory Integrated Zones. Also built a Child Domain to perfrom Active Directory Integrated Zones across multiple sites.

Network & Performance Monitoring - Captured Network Traffic using Network Monitor and put in place various Counters and Alerts.

RRAS - Configured Server03 as a RRAS Server and created a few PPTP VPN's from an XP Client using different MPPE security encryptions. Also implented various Remote Access Polices.

Security - Deployed Kerberos and also IPSec policies and monitored these, e.g. IPSec Require Security on Domain Controller (and then watched how slowly my MS Virtual PC's ran!)

Subnetting - Just practiced this over and over and ran threw all of the MS Press subnetting questions three times over the two months to ensure that I can subnet.

WSUS - Redeployed WSUS Server as per 70-290 Study Guide http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/thread27970.html

The main piece of advice I would give is that Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure is a very dry topic which I found particularly hard to keep my motivation levels up. You just have to keep at it, every day, day in day out just keep plugging away and things will make sense. If they don't then ask here, your work colleagues, friends etc.

My study methodology, hasn't changed since my first exam. I'm of the if it's not broken then don't change it mentatiliy as it has proved successful so far!

1. I start of reading the MS Press book and make notes on relevant points that I could either forget or need to reinforce. I normally study for around 2 hours per day weekdays and 2 hours per day at the weekends. I manage to get the MS Press book down to around 150 pages of A4 note paper.

2. I would then at the end of each Chapter install and use whatever I had learnt from the MS Press book, configuring it to mimic my working environment.

3. Once I have finished the MS Press book, I then use CBT Nuggets. When I have watched the first objective video, I then take the Objective Exam in on the MS Press CD. The purpose of this is to reinforce the oldest material that I have learnt.

4. I then rebuilt my whole entire Lab, to reinforce everything that I had learnt.

5. I then keep going over my Notes on a daily basis at work, during lunch, in the evening. Just a brief flick threw.

6. The last of all I take the MS Readiness Review tests on a daily basis. Normally do around one a day for three days before the exam as not to get to many questions repeated. Also in my limited experience so far, the MS Readiness Review has always been alot harder than the exam.

7. Take the exam!

Hope that helps some people out and if you have any questions please ask.

[UKDarkstar]

Useful post as always m8.

Excellent refernce for those studying

[onoski]

Thanks for sharing, that's definately helpful. Cheerio as I'd be sitting this soon.

[craigie]

Thanks for the feedback guys

[nXPLOSi]

Yeah, really good post mate, nice one! Rep'd.

[-Mercury-]

Excellent post, thanks for the info.

Going to be stating the beast myself early next year.

[steve_f]

Great post, will help me a lot.

[craigie]

Please I could help

[Sparky]

Good read mate

[VantageIsle]

Excellent post!

I am going to kill my 70 290 lab (1xDC 1x Files server 2x xp clients) and set up another virtual lab with exactly the same setup of server and clients s you specify above.

I then rebuilt my whole entire Lab, to reinforce everything that I had learnt

Good call. Setting up another AD domain with a child domain and a DHCP/DNS server will jog my memory about the 290 stuff also.

Awesome advice.

Thanks again

[merc190e]

Hi i'm new here and have recently passed my 70-290 and am starting to look at 291, this info looks good for setting up a lab.

I have one question what software are you using? I was using Microsoft Virtual PC, but wasnt sure of the alternative?

Thanks in advance

[craigie]

Originally Posted by merc190e

Hi i'm new here and have recently passed my 70-290 and am starting to look at 291, this info looks good for setting up a lab.

I have one question what software are you using? I was using Microsoft Virtual PC, but wasnt sure of the alternative?

Thanks in advance

I also use MS Virtual PC 2007.

Might want to introduce yourself in the New Members Section.

[Arroryn]

Great post as always, Craigie (missed it before!)

I'll probably be following your lab advice as well - when I decide to go for this one

Might be a while though. If only I had 2 hours a day to study computing. lol.

[craigie]

Originally Posted by Arroryn

Great post as always, Craigie (missed it before!)

I'll probably be following your lab advice as well - when I decide to go for this one

Might be a while though. If only I had 2 hours a day to study computing. lol.

Hehe, I know

Just added going to the gym 3 x a week as well to my schedule, wife is becoming slightly unhappy

[John Neerdael]

Originally Posted by craigie

Hehe, I know

Just added going to the gym 3 x a week as well to my schedule, wife is becoming slightly unhappy

Unhappy girlfriend because of studying, damn I know how thats like haha Your not alone craigie your not alone.