Nice 70-290 Study Tool - FREE

I was looking at some recommended Windows links over at Networkworld and happend upon these very nice flash cards.

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Quick Recommendation - Video Cast

I stumbled upon a video cast that is pretty good, and certainly helpful for anyone studying for the 70-290 test.

I personally am starting with the older versions of the ITIdiots show, but the newer ones may be more applicable to those who are on the cuttting edge of Microsoft Server technology. These guys have some well done videos, their content is free and easily subscribed to, and the cute accents don't hurt the entertainment value either.

The videocast won't be able to replace your training videos, but it is a nice supplement to them. If you have found some really great free resources, or you have some of your own, let me know.

Still Studying . . .

Well, still studying for the 70-290 test and getting more and more frustrated. I am now reading my second book, it is a Syngress Book and I am absolutely amazed at how much more information is in this book than is in the Microsoft Press book.

I guess reading multiple books though is the norm, based on the feedback that I see on Amazon's site for this book and others. Since I am fairly new to Windows Server 2003 I guess it only makes sense that I will have to read multiple books.

If anyone has any books that they recommend please let me know.

Studying: Command-Line Utilities for Account Management

Today I am studying about the command-line tools used for account management that are tested on the 70-290 certification exam. I need to know what they do, and how their arguments are setup.

dsadd.exe - when used it adds objects to AD (computers, users, quotas, groups, ou)

dsget.exe - when used it shows the properties of objects in AD

dsmod.exe - when used it modifies attributes of objects in AD (computers, users, groups, ou)

dsmove.exe - moves objects in AD

dsquery.exe - allows you to query AD for objects that match specified criteria

gpresult.exe - shows the RSoP for a target user and computer

whoami.exe - displays user and group info for current logged-in user

cmdkey.exe - manages stored username and passwords on the pc

Still Studying . . . Any Help?

I am trying to not get frustrated, but I am. I have used a plethora of study tools, and each time I change tools, and test on that tool, I fail the practice exams.

I seem to have the hardware sections down cold, but everything else is questionable. I have used two different video programs; TestOut and QuickCert. Neither video program seems to have prepared me well enough. I also went through the MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit , but that did not prepare me completely either. I am now going through the Syngress book, MCSA/MCSE Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment, which I have to say has been the most comprehensive tool yet. There are tools mentioned in this book that I have not heard of from the other tools.

If anyone has any tips/tricks for studying for and passing this test, I would be most grateful for any help. I had set a goal for myself of November 2007, but that date of course has come and gone and I have not yet sat for the exam. My only consolation is that I have only been working on Server 2003 for just under a year, and have to study in my "spare time."

So, if you are an MCSE, or have at least passed the 70-290 test, please let me know what worked best for you?

Managing Windows 2003 Server Tips

There are 3 main tools, according to Microsoft, that a System Admin should use to monitor and maintain Windows 2003 Servers.

1. Performance Console- there are two parts to this, the System Monitor that has all the different settings for hardware on your server and the Performance Logs and Alerts that has a standard set of logs and customizable logs and alerts that you can set.

2. Event Viewer - has the different log files on events that the server records. Application, System and Security logs reside on every server. Directory Service and File Replication Service logs will exist on a DC. A DNS Server will contain an additional log file called, appropriately, DNS Server.

3. Task Manager - this handy tool is still the best one for looking at actual process threads. An additional tool that most techs I know use is Process Monitor, as it shows more detail than the built in Task Manager.

Backup Changes on Graphics Server & Spooler changes

Backup Changes

I was studying for my 70-290 this weekend by reading through some chapters in my Microsoft Press book. As I was reading and actually beginning to understand some of the backup information, I realized I need to make a couple of changes to my backup schedule here at work.

I was again convinced that I need to do a bi-weekly normal/full backup of the main graphics server, and then run Differential backups each night for the next two weeks. This insures that I need only the full backup tapes (of which there are 2) and the differential tape in case of a system failure.

I thought I had set this, but it turns out I was running incremental backups and so I switched that today.

I also turned off the verify switch. I had sort of thought before that I didn't really need to do it, but with the new tapes I just got, it seems silly.

Spooler Changes
I changed the location of the spooler on the main server. It was on the C drive, it is now on E:\spool\PRINTERS.