Test Name: Internetworking with Microsoft TCP/IP on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0

Test #: 70-059

 I just took the adaptive TCP/IP exam and passed with a score of 632 after 25 questions. Don't let the adaptive format of the exam scare you-it wasn't much harder (if any) than the old format or the Transcenders. As with any of the exams, if you know the material, you'll do fine on the exam. There were a few questions on subnetting, but I don't remember any on routing. I also didn't get anything on HOST or LMHOSTS syntax. The main thing that you need to know inside out is name resolution (WINS and DNS, where each one applies, how they interact with each other, and how they work with UNIX)-that was probably 50% of my exam. Know how to diagnose name resolution problems; for example, you can ping a server but you can't ftp to it-what's the problem?

Here is an interesting question. You have three subnets. One subnet has a PDC and a BDC, and the other two subnets consist entirely of Win95 machines. You use one of the Win95 machines. There are no WINS servers, and the routers don't forward NetBIOS broadcasts. You can log on and map drives from the PDC and the BDC, but when you open Explorer, you can only see the computers that are in your subnet. Why can't you see the PDC or BDC? I don't remember all of the answers, but here are a few of them:

a. The LMHOSTS file on you computer contains an incorrect entry for the PDC and the BDC.

b. The LMHOSTS file on the master browser for your subnet contains an incorrect entry for the PDC.

c. There is no master browser for your subnet.

d. There is no backup browser for your subnet.

e. A couple more choices that I don't remember.

I chose B. The PDC is the domain master browser and the master browser for its subnet. If the master browser for my subnet knows about the PDC, then I should be able to browse to that subnet just fine.

There were a couple of scenario questions about a situation where you have a bunch of NT and 95 machines and a handful of UNIX machines. You need to set up DHCP to service all of your Windows machines, and you need them to connect to your NT servers by NetBIOS name. You also want connectivity to your UNIX machines by host name and from your UNIX machines to your NT servers.

The subnetting questions were pretty straightforward. There was one question that listed five or six IP addresses and asked you which ones were valid, so know what a valid IP address is. One of them started with 127, one had a 256 in it, and one started with 224.

Like I said, don't let the adaptive format intimidate you. The questions are pretty much the same as the old format. Just know your subnetting, know your name resolution inside out, and know how to connect in heterogeneous environments. Some of the other topics that it hit on were WINS replication, types of DNS servers (primary, secondary, cache-only), what netstat.exe and nbtstat.exe do, and SNMP.

Study hard, and good luck!