I finally passed 70-246 “Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012”, which was the final exam on my path to achieving MCSE: Private Cloud.
It has been just 40 days since I signed up but it feels like a long journey, because this is obviously not something one learns overnight. Fortunately I have been working with these products in many scenarios over the years and that definately helped speed up the process.
I feel it is extremely important to note here that I could not have done this without support from the community, however I would like to send special appreciation to:
- Michael Bender, for coming up with the entire 60 days to MCSE idea and his continuing efforts in encouraging others to participate!
- #TheKrewe, constantly someone will have dug up obscure Technet articles with valuable information or written a blog post about something they figured out etc. Unfortunately I was not able to attend TechEd 2012 and meet up with #TheKrewe, but I am dreaming it will happen at NOLA 2013
- Guido van Brakel for collecting links more than 60 resources
- Scott Rachui for his Microsoft System Center Self-Study Guide series
- Aviraj Ajgekar for collecting a mariad of recourses on his blog
- Gary Eimerman (TrainSignal) for sponsoring myself and the #60days2MCSE community challenge
- Veronica Wei Sopher (Microsoft Learning) for her continuous encouragements and support no matter the hour
My path to MCSE: Private Cloud was as follows:
70-640: I had previously passed this exam in 2011
70-659: As a part of the 70-659 Jump Start I attended I still had a voucher that was now put to use. Luckily substitutes 70-247 until January 2013.
70-642: Special thanks to Gary Eimerman and the TrainSignal team for the excellent video training
70-646: Special thanks to Gary Eimerman and the TrainSignal team for the excellent video training
70-246: Thanks to Guido van Brakel for the many great resources at his blog
I used many other resources along the way, especially for 70-246 which was completely new to me. I will try to sort out the articles, links and videos here on the blog in the hope others will find use for them.
Incoming search terms:
- mcse private cloud salary
- 70-246 trainsignal
[…] Rasmus @Rasmus Haslund wrote a blog post today about his experience and the resources he used to get to MCSE: PC. Read it on his blog. […]
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Once I get some more .NET under my belt, I’ll be looking into tanikg to MCSD exams provided work will pay for them. I probably wont for a few months, as I’m starting a semester with a couple English courses (as I am thinking about an English degree), and wait for the 2.0 tests to be out with study material.I need to find a place that has Strongbow. I became a big fan of Strongbow Extra Dry with I visited the UK in ’98, and haven’t had it since, though I’ve had the regular brew a few times since. Another beer you might want to try is Boddingtons a good pilsner (from what I can remember, it’s been far too long). At least Guinness is easily available here, right?- Ryan
A position well done. One more wonderful post with a wonderful publisher.
Hi
What resources do you recommend for someone starting with an MCSA in 2003? (Me) I’m looking to do 70-640 70-642 and 70-646 (I think) then the upgrade path to the MCSE. Just wondering if you could recommend any books or blogs to refer. I also don’t use system centre in my everyday work place we’re using sbs2011 at site 1 and sbs 2003 at site 2 of my workplaces.
Thanks and well done!
Cheers
Nick
Hi Nick,
Thank you for taking time to comment.
First let me note something here. MCSA 2003 will soon be legacy and most likely you will not be able to upgrade it to 2008. Secondly, the exams you mention: 70-640, 70-642 and 70-646 are for MCSA 2008 – not 2003.
You will however be able to use MCSA 2008 for both MCSE: Private Cloud and to upgrade to MCSA 2012 later on when the upgrade exam becomes available.
I can heavily recommend using the Trainsignal video training – I am sure you can get a discount on their training if you contact Gary Eimerman on gary -at- trainsignal.com
Here is a direct link to their product page: http://www.trainsignal.com/Windows-Server-2008-MCITP-Server-Administrator-Training-Package.aspx
You mentioned you do not use system center products. Perhaps considering MCSE: Server Virtualization instead of Private Cloud could be an interesting option?
Please do let me know how your studies progress!
Good luck on the MCSE. I don’t envy you I got NT Server 4 years ago and never got a chance to take the rest.Like Ryan, I’ve kikced around the idea of a MCSD or MCDBA a bit. I’m still not certain that I want to get back into IT, and if I do whether I’d want it to be in a Microsoft shop. On one hand, more job demand on the other hand I much prefer the *nix world. To be honest, my dream IT job right now would be *nix/MS integration unfortunatley there’s no clear path towards that right now (and no two local companies seem to agree on what experience they want the people doing it to have I still want someone to explain to me how two years of C# experience will help you set up a 30-workstation-office under Samba )
You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
(Hardcover) If you can’t attend a tinaring session at a CTEC this book is a good investment. I am using it in combination with the MOC from course #1560 where the MOC is unclear, the book fills in and where the book is light on graphical aids the MOC’s Power Point slides and videos help out greatly. There are times and places where the book leaves things a mystery (like WHY you need a global catalog server for logon) and you will need a second resource, possibly a third. Also, plan on having a couple of computers on a LAN all to yourself for a couple of days much of the learning is best accomplished by actually trying the exercises.
I wanna develop my career in MCSE Private Cloud.