I just took 70-58 Networking Essentials and passed 1st time with a score of 913/1000. I have no networking experience, and this is the first exam I took. I'm self-studying for MCSE at home. My resources were the SSK from MS Press, Several practice exams

The reason I'm writing is because I owe a great deal to the MCSE Braindump Heaven. I read the SSK entirely through and had a BASIC understanding, but didn't feel equipped to take the exam. I came here and started reading braindumps and got a VERY GOOD i

I'm not going to get too redundant with the details, because they are found in numerous other postings here, but what I will do is mention every instance where studying these braindumps really got me through this exam.

Here's what I found useful:

Answer Protocol Analyzer if it's a choice! One of them I answered Network Monitor at first because it wanted you to identify what can monitor network activity over time at the packet level (may not be the exact wording). I thought the OS's Network Monito

Answer ATM if it's a choice! I can say that confidently because I studied and knew what ATM was well enough to realize that. Why did I study it so much? Because everyone here said it was a big part of the exam. Thanks!

Before the exam:

I made a list of the OSI layers, corresponding protocols and corresponding network components. Then I made a list of the entire 802 model, and then the IRQs 2-7. This was helpful because there was a question listing several devices and you had to pick wh

No wireless technology questions. No questions about finding information on the Internet or any of that junk from the last chapters.

I'd say there were 8-10 scenario questions, in groups of two - like everyone else has said (again, because of this site, no surprises!) Read the scenarios in the SSK, you'll be in good shape. The scenarios were of the type:

2 Qs with 3 cities on a WAN. 1 scenario had 2 T1 links, the other had 3 T1 links. The one with 2 T1 links required that you have at least 1Mbps transmission between cities (it didn't say at all times though, like everyone else had said). this met the r

2 Qs to implement a NetBIOS naming scheme. One suggested using a HEXADECIMAL scheme, which isn't very readable at the user level, since you only have a few letters to choose from. Just remember, you can NOT use more than 15 characters in a NetBIOS namin

Then there was the bad boy that had the suggestion to reduce network traffic by removing all protocols but NWLink IPX, and switching off the bridging on brouters (or something close to that) and keep the network running as normal. This solves the broadca

There was another one about a 10BaseT network at 70% of capacity and growing. It proposed you replace all adapter cards, hubs, and cable with 100BaseTX components. Req: Reduce network traffic by 50%. I think increasing throughput 10 fold, it will decre

Hint:

These scenario questions are easier if you read them backwards. Look at the proposed solution and the required result before you read the actual scenario details at the top of the screen. It helps you stay focused and keeps you from getting overwhelmed

Memorize which protocols are not routable. NetBEUI and DLC are the only two I dealt with being non-routable.

Know you're cables!! Know the distance and speed limitations of each cable, because you may have to stick a reapeater between them!! <G>

speaking of Repeaters: Regenerate Digital signals, prevent attenuation over long runs. Physical Layer

Bridges hold a routing table of MAC ADDRESSES. Use this to segment a LAN ONLY if you don't care about broadcast storms. Data Link Layer

Routers are more sophisticated because they can block broadcast storms and route data to other networks, not just an adjacent segment. Network Layer.

Gateways reside in the top four OSI layers. Know that you can communicate with a strange network (NT to SNA) if you go through a gateway.

Know PPP and SLIP. Know that PPP supports compression and dynamic IP addressing. HINT!!: SLIP is going to be found on a computer that's 5 years old and having comm problems.

Also, application servers provide the processing power for clients. File and Print servers don't.

IT REALLY helped to know that decreasing packet sizes doesn't reduce network traffic because it just puts more packets on the network!!

Any NWLink IPX network problem WILL BE because of incorrect frame size.

Again, know that if you have a thinnet cable reading 0 ohms, replace it. There's a short between the core and the shielding. Thinnet cable should read infinity.

If you see RG58 A/U on the same network as RG58 U, get the 58U out of there, because they aren't compatible. You need to use only RG58 A/U.

What was the exam like? Well, I showed up 40 minutes early, and the receptionist had me sign, and put me right in the testing room!! She handed me a laminated sheet of paper and an overhead marker. I was the only one in this tiny room, and there was a

Final thoughts...I studied until I couldn't find anything in the Networking Essentials book that I didn't know a good deal about. You NEED a good understanding of all the material to complete this exam. Many questions deal with several concepts to arriv