Microsoft Networking Essentials

Exam 70-058

Mackie's BRAINDUMP!

I took the test for the first time and passed with a 965 (passing score was 793). Here's what I used to prepare:

1. Sybex Network Essentials Study Guide (2nd Ed.). Chellis, etc.

2. Exam Cram Networking Essentials (4th Ed.). Tittel, etc.

3. Braindump Heaven. (Thanks, Robert.)

I read Sybex very deliberately and highlighted tons of what I deemed to be important topics and took the book and CD practice tests/questions. I then bought the Exam Cram 4-Pack and read the Network Essentials book. I worked with all of the Exam Cram questions on the accompanying CD and the book.

Finally, I found this site and printed a ton of the Braindumps. I highlighted the questions and eventually began to recognize the recurring information in them. I looked up a lot of answers to be sure they were right... YOU should do that too. Braindumps got me the great score; without the information here, I can see where one would be very likely to fail the exam. Basically, I paid $50 for Sybex, $20 for Exam Cram, and $100 for the exam. I gave myself 7 weeks to prepare. If you relax, take your time, and study thoroughly, you can do it, too.

The Transcenders and the CBT (computer-based training) would have been nice, but they are priced for folks with fat pockets or fast-trackers. My goal was to be MCSE for under $1200. I'm on my way, mates.

Anyway, here's some things to concentrate on for the exam. I'll focus on a couple of doozies because there's no need for more duplication of effort. I found that I had to do a lot of unscrambling to get to the meat of these things!

 I. BANDWIDTH OF SUMMED MODEMS (Once and for all!)

This was not on my test, but several days ago I e-mailed the author of a very   popular NetEss test preparation book about this old chestnut. Heads up, guys!

The Transcender formula is WRONG! If eight 28.8 modems summed was equal to   nearly two T1's, everyone would be doing it! Forget all of the "divide by 8,   times 100, times...". If you have four 28.8K modems, the summed bandwidth is   115.2K, or 4 * 28.8. I don't know what Microsoft is calculating as correct, but   I DO KNOW that this is the correct way to calculate aggregate bandwidth. My test   connected 3 cities with T1's, which took away some of the guessing. 3 T1's DOES   provide 1M tolerance if one drops, 2 T1's DOES NOT.

II. RESISTANCE MEASUREMENTS

I had two questions on this and had conflicting information from my resources.

One resource stated that, using a volt-ohm meter, components should read like   this:

Cable = Zero

Connectors = Zero

Terminators = 50 Ohms

Another stated that components should read like this:

Cable = 50 ohms

Connectors = Zero

Terminators = 50 Ohms

The test mentioned measuring the resistance between the   core and the shield and infinity readings, but none of my resources addressed   that in too much detail. Take the time to be sure (hell, e-mail a prominant author!). This might have been one of the two questions I missed (smugly).

 In closing, don't rush it. I wasn't about to pay to take this test twice!

I'll bet rushing it is why such a high percentage of people fail. The test will always be there, so take the time to read your books, take your practice tests, and INVESTIGATE the answers to these Braindump questions. There's no better feeling than clicking through the exam questions one last time, KNOWING that you crushed it before you even hit the "SUBMIT" button. Finally, come back to Braindump and post some valuable insight afterwards. It's easy not to... but think how poorly you might have performed without the assistance of those who posted before you. Keep the faith, and good luck everyone!

Mackie