Author: Debra Littlejohn Shinder
From
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=211

There are hundreds of tech certification programs and exams out there, some sponsored by software vendors, some by vendor-neutral organizations, and some by educational institutions. A number of them are easy to obtain — as evidenced by the many IT pros who list a three-line string of acronyms after their names. You pay your money and you take a multiple-choice test; if you pass, you’re in.

Others are excruciatingly difficult: Cost is high; eligibility to even take the exam is dependent on having years of experience, formal education, and/or sponsorship from others who already hold the title; and the exams are grueling, multi-day affairs that require hands-on performance of relevant tasks. Most are somewhere in between.

But which certifications really provide a measure of your knowledge and skills in a particular area? And which will really help you get a job or promotion? Here’s a look at 10 of the technical certifications that actually mean something in today’s IT job market.

#1: MCSE
The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification suffered a bad reputation several years back when numerous people were memorizing the answers to exam questions from “brain dumps” posted by test-takers on the Internet and obtaining the certification without any real understanding of the technology.

Microsoft responded by replacing the knowledge-based multiple-choice questions with a variety of performance-related scenario questions that make it much more difficult to cheat. The difficulty level of the questions was escalated, and the number of exams required to obtain the certification was increased to seven.

The MCSE has consequently regained respect in many corners of the IT community and is a useful certification for demonstrating your expertise in Microsoft server products.

#2: MCA
In addition to making the MCSE exams more difficult, Microsoft has created many new certifications. The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) is the premiere Microsoft certification, designed to identify top experts in the industry. To obtain the MCA, you must have at least three years of advanced IT architecture experience, and you have to pass a rigorous review board conducted by a panel of experts.

There are a number of MCA programs. The infrastructure and solutions MCA certifications cover broad architecture skills, but there are also more technology-specific programs for messaging and database skills. There are currently fewer than 100 MCAs in the world, making this an elite certification.

#3: CCIE
The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) is widely recognized as one of the most difficult to obtain (and expensive) IT certifications. Like the MCSE/MCA, it’s a vendor-sponsored certification, focusing on Cisco’s products.

The CCIE requires that you pass both a written exam and a hands-on lab. To sit for the written exam, you must pay $300 and choose from one of several tracks: Routing and Switching, Security, Storage Networking, Voice, and Service Provider.

You must pass the written exam before you’re eligible to take the lab exam. This is an eight-hour hands-on test of your ability to configure and troubleshoot Cisco networking equipment and software. The lab exams cost $1,250 each. This does not, of course, include travel expenses that may be necessary since the labs are conducted only in certain locations.

As if all that weren’t enough, you don’t get to rest on your laurels after obtaining the certification. CCIEs must recertify every two years or the certification is suspended.

#4: CCSP
Another Cisco exam that’s popular with employers in today’s security-conscious business world is the Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP). It focuses on skills related to securing networks that run Cisco routers and other equipment.

You’re required to pass five written exams and must recertify every three years by passing one current exam. Before you can take the CCSP exams, you must meet the prerequisites by obtaining one of Cisco’s lower-level certifications, either the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or the Cisco Certified Internetwork Specialist (CCIP).

#5: CISSP
Security certifications confer some of the highest-paying jobs in IT today, and one of the most well-respected non-vendor specific security certifications is the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). The organization that grants the CISSP is the (ISC)2, which was founded in 1989 and has issued certifications to more than 50,000 IT professionals.

Exam candidates must have at least four years of direct full-time work experience as a security professional. One year of experience can be waived if you have a four-year or graduate degree in information security from an approved institution. Another unique feature of the CISSP is that you must subscribe to the (ISC)2 code of ethics to take the exam.

Exam fees vary based on geographic region. In the United States, standard registration is $599 ($499 for early registration). You must recertify every three years by obtaining at least 120 hours of continuing professional education, and you must pay a yearly fee of $85 to maintain the certification. The exam is a six-hour test consisting of 250 multiple-choice questions.

#6: SSCP
For those who can’t meet the rigorous experience requirements to sit for the CISSP, the (ISC)2 also offers the Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) certification. SSCP candidates need have only one year of direct full-time security work experience. The exam consists of 125 multiple-choice questions, and you have three hours to complete it.

Those who pass the written exam must be endorsed by someone who holds a current (ISC)2 certification and will attest to the candidate’s professional experience or by an officer of the corporation or organization that employs you (owner, CEO, managing partner, CIO, etc.). As with the CISSP, you must recertify every three years by submitting proof of continuing education credits and paying an annual maintenance fee.

#7: GSE
Another popular and well-regarded security certification is the GIAC Security Expert (GSE), offered by the SANS Software Security Institute. Before you can attempt the GSE, you must complete three lower-level certifications: GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC), GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA), and GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH).

The lower-level certifications require passing multiple-choice exams, and at least two of the three certifications must be at the “Gold” level, which requires that in addition to the written exam, you submit a technical report that’s approved to be published in the SANS Reading Room. A personal interview is also part of the GSE qualification process.

Pricing depends on whether you take the exam as part of SANS self-study or conference training programs or challenge the exam. Without the training, each lower-level exam costs $899.

#8: RHCE/RHCA
Many companies are looking to save money by switching to Linux-based servers, but they need personnel who are trained to design, deploy, and administer Linux networks. There are a number of Linux certifications out there, but the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification has been around since 1999 and is well respected in the industry.

The exam is performance-based. You’re required to perform actual network installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and administration tasks on a live system. You have a full day (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) to complete it. The cost is $749.

The Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA) is an advanced certification that requires completion of five endorsement exams, each of which costs $749 and range from two to eight hours. Like the RHCE exam, they are hands-on skills tests. You must have the RHCE certification to take the RHCA exams.

#9: ITIL
For those who aspire to management positions in IT services, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certifications provide demonstration of knowledge and skills involved in that discipline. There are three certification levels: Foundation, Practitioner, and Manager.

The Manager level certification requires completion of a rigorous two-week training program, and you must have the Foundation certification and five years of IT management experience. Then, you must pass two three-hour exams consisting of essay questions.

#10: Certifications for special situations
Many specialist exams are available in IT subcategories that can be helpful to those who want to specialize in those areas. Some of these include:

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance certification
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance certification
Database administration certification
Wireless networking certifications
Voice over IP certifications
In addition, for those who have little or no experience in IT, entry-level certifications such as those offered by CompTIA may help you get a foot in the door as you start your IT career.

by Emmett Dulaney

In this article, we won’t go through each objective but rather focus on six of the most important things to know to be prepared for Exam 70-291. But first, let’s take a minute to determine whether you need to tackle the exam at all.

Do you need to take this exam?

Exam 70-291 is intended to verify networking knowledge and skill with Windows Server 2003 for those new to higher-level Microsoft certification. If you already hold a networking certification from Microsoft above the MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) level, you may be able to bypass this exam altogether.

If you are certified as an MCSA, you can skip this exam as well as 70-290, Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment, and just take exam 70-292, Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment for an MCSA Certified on Windows 2000. Taking only exam 70-292, you can upgrade your MCSA from Windows 2000 to Windows Server 2003 in just one test.

If you are certified as an MCSE, you can also bypass 70-290 and 70-291 by taking 70-292, but you need to add exam 70-296, Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment for an MCSE Certified on Windows 2000. These two exams work together to upgrade your certification and save you time in the testing center.

Tip one: Think conceptually

Yes, this is an exam in the Windows Server 2003 track, but it probably focuses more on concepts, as opposed to products, than any other exam in the track. The IP Addressing category expects you to know and understand IP addressing (which is essentially the same as it has been for many years) and DHCP. The Name Resolution category focuses on DNS, which has not changed much since Windows 2000.

The Network Security category concentrates on security concepts with a required knowledge of some of the oldest tools in the Microsoft arsenal—Event Viewer and Network Monitor, to name two. When Windows NT became Windows 2000, “Remote Access” became “Routing and Remote Access” (RRAS vs. RAS), and little is new in the fourth category: You must understand the principles of TCP/IP routing. The final category, Maintaining a Network Infrastructure, requires commonsense knowledge of service dependencies (which are the same in almost every operating system) and some Microsoft tools—Network Monitor and System Monitor as well.

You do need a working knowledge of Windows Server 2003 to pass this exam. Far more important, though, is a knowledge and understanding of the concepts of networking and interacting with the Internet as an administrator.

Tip two: Buy the Resource Kit

As with every Microsoft exam, a dozen publishers will be putting out training guides and study guides and exam prep guides—so many that your head will spin just looking at the bookshelf. Those books are all helpful in studying for a test, but much of the same material used in question creation overlaps content used in one of the most definitive book series that Microsoft Press releases for each operating system. This started with Windows 95 and has become truer with each successive operating system and Resource Kit release, climaxing with Windows 2000. (You almost had to have the Resource Kit to pass the exams.)

As of this writing, the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit (ISBN: 0735614717) is not yet available but is expected to be soon. Although the list price is $299.99, you can already find it greatly discounted at many online retailers. When you factor in the cost of failing an exam or two, along with the fact that this kit can be used to study for every one of the Windows Server 2003 exams, you can see that the money it costs is a great investment.

Tip three: Think 70-216

I know that I am not alone in saying that exam 70-216, Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure, is one of the most difficult that Microsoft’s psychometricians ever conjured up. After sailing through exam 70-210 (Windows 2000 Professional) and 70-215 (Windows 2000 Server), I confidently took 70-216 without much study. “How hard can an exam on networking basics be?” I thought.

I don’t mind saying that I failed the exam on more than one occasion. I honestly believe that the pass rate on this exam was so low that it served as an impetus in Microsoft’s decision to create the much easier 70-218 exam, Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment.

If you look at the title of exam 70-291, you’ll note that it uses “Network Infrastructure” (from 70-216) instead of “Network Environment” (from 70-218). If you look closely at the objectives, you’ll see that they mirror many of the counterparts on 70-216. Although the number of objective categories has shrunk from 70-216 to 70-291, the difficulty level has not. This is not an exam you can sail through just because you’ve been working with networking concepts since the days when Peter Frampton had hair.

Tip four: Know that simple things can be difficult

Tying in with the last tip, you need to mentally acknowledge before taking the exam that some easy things can be made more difficult than they should be and be prepared for this. It is no secret that exam questions often focus on minutiae, and that is difficult enough when taking a test. But be ready for question formats—not just content—that try your nerves.

Brace yourself for marathon-length multiple-choice questions that list lots of possible answers and ask you to “choose all that apply.” The problem with this format is that you still only get the question right or wrong. If there are seven possible choices and three that are correct, you don’t get partial credit if you only chose two and the two that you chose are among those correct. You missed the question. Miss enough of them, and you can plan on taking the exam again, and again, and….

Microsoft has also added a new type of question that divides the information among three screens that you have to maneuver and scroll through. There are not a lot of these questions yet, but enough to make things frustrating. Before signing up for this test, I would recommend calling the testing center of your choice and asking what size monitors they administer the exams on; the bigger the better for these questions.

Tip five: Focus on the Microsoft angle

The concepts are universal—networking, DHCP, etc.—but spend some time concentrating on anything that Microsoft does with these items that make them sales bullets for the company. For example, DNS has been around since the days when it became apparent that scaling HOSTS files was impossible, but you need to know how Microsoft intertwines Active Directory with DNS. In other words, don’t just know DNS, but know Microsoft’s take on it.

Read the overview of DNS posted on the Microsoft site, then delve deeper into selections about understanding, installing, and securing.

Other items to similarly focus on include all the tools and utilities related to the networking functions. Add ipconfig to the list and know all the parameters/options that can be used with it.

Tip six: Spend some time with IAS

Microsoft’s Internet Authentication Service (IAS) is its implementation of Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS), and it forms a large component of RRAS. Knowledge of this topic is crucial to passing the Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining Routing and Remote Access portion of the exam.

For studying, start with the overview, and then read how the Network Access Quarantine Control works with Windows Server 2003. After reading that information, get as much experience with it as you possibly can.

Emmett’s recommendation

The 70-291 exam is a step you must take to become MCSA or MCSE certified on Windows Server 2003 if you don’t hold those certs for Windows 2000. It is a much more difficult exam than you would think, given the subject material. If you can avoid taking it—and you can, if you’re already MCSA/MCSE certified—that is the best way to handle it.

From
http://exam-test-blog.org/six-tips-to-help-you-pass-exam-70-291/