First, here are the main areas of new information you should expect to see on either of the two new NT exams:
| System Policies and User Profiles-These are now implemented similar to those in Windows 95. System policies are implemented through an Ntconfig.pol in the netlogon share. User profiles have two types, roaming and local. | |
| Printing-The ability to install drivers for multiple NT platforms and versions (4.0 and 3.51) and for Windows 95 systems when you share a printer in NT 4.0. | |
| Clients-Windows for Workgroups is no longer the client of choice. Your clients are now Windows NT Workstation and Windows 95. |
For 71-68 (NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise) specifically, expect to see:
| Use of the term Directory Services to refer to user, group, and computer accounts in your NT domain. | |
| Questions on installing and configuring Internet Information Server (IIS), since it ships with NT 4.0. | |
| Installing and configuring Domain Name Service (DNS), also a standard part of NT 4.0. |
Both exams implement the newer format of scenario-based questions, in which you're asked to evaluate, given a certain requirement and optional results, whether the proposed solution satisfies some or all of the required/desired results.
You'll also see some interface-based questions, in which you're provided with a dialog box for a particular configuration, and you click on the appropriate area to answer the question.
-Erin Dunigan
Almost everyone I talked to about the new NT 4.0 beta exams agreed with me that in terms of difficulty, the two exams were miles apart. The first, the "LAN" exam, Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 (71-67), was supposed to take four hours. It took me just under two hours, and that was only because I went through every question a second time to verify. What made earlier versions of the NT Server exam difficult in the past was the many trust questions, but 71-67 didn't have a single one. Don't get me wrong-it wouldn't be an easy exam for someone who walked in off the street, but if you're NT-savvy and have experience with the 3.51 test, this one is nothing to be afraid of.
On the other hand, the "WAN" exam-Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise (71-68)-was a different story. I thought the trust questions would never end. Also, all of the group questions seemed to pertain to trusts as well, whereas in the LAN test, the groups were all assumed to be in a single domain. Other issues that also arise in a WAN environment made 71-68 more difficult. For example, questions about TCP/IP, and performance monitoring while taking into account slow links and network bandwidth, were some tough areas that the exam focused on.
If you want to choose one of the exams to start with, take the LAN version-it's easier. But if you're following the new NT 4.0 MCSE track, you need to pass both. I would highly recommend the following: Take a look at the Microsoft Expert Series course to prepare you for the enterprise exam. For the easier LAN exam, if you don't have previous Windows NT 3.51 experience, consider taking Course 687, as Microsoft suggests in the exam guides.
- Erin Dunigan
Erin recommends the following resources for getting up to speed in preparation for the Windows NT 4.0 exams:
| Study "old" materials, like the Microsoft Windows NT Training, version 3.51 self-study kit from Microsoft Press. | |
| Install Windows NT 4.0 and work with it. Study the new information-particularly system policies, user profiles, and printing. The Help files that come with NT 4.0 can be very helpful in this regard. | |
| Get a hold of the exam topics from Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/train_cert. | |
| Also, check for future study guide offerings from third-party companies. With the interest in NT 4.0, products are sure to appear soon. | |
| Last, as soon as self-study kits come out for course 687 (Core Technologies) and 689 (the Expert Series), use those. |