- Exam Details
- Trouble Spots / Preparation Hints / Recommended Study Resources
- Exam Objectives / Where to Go from Here
Trouble Spots
It is easy to think of this exam as focusing solely on Hyper-V and on server virtualization. However, the exam also places a large emphasis on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and the Windows Server 2008 Remote Desktop Services. As such, you will need to know how to configure an RD session host, license server, connection broker, and you will need to know how to set up Remote Desktop Web Access.
Another potential trouble spot has to do with the fact that some of the questions on this exam focus on System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2. Microsoft has been getting in the habit lately of updating their exams when new products are released. A new version of System Center Operations Manager is slated for release this year and it is very likely that the exam.
Preparation Hints
Although it may sound cliché, the best thing that you can do to prepare for this exam is to spend some time working with Microsoft’s Hyper-V. It is also a good idea to make sure that you are familiar with various aspects of virtualization beyond just server virtualization. Specifically, make sure that you are familiar with the basic concepts of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. This exam tests your knowledge of Hyper-V, but in doing so it also assumes that you are familiar with various virtualization related concepts, not just with the Hyper-V interface.
You should also make sure to read through the exam objectives so that you know exactly what subject matter is covered by the exam. This exam is tricky in that it covers some products that you might not expect. For example, even though Microsoft’s Virtual Server 2005 is all but extinct, the exam contains some Virtual Server 2005 related questions. Likewise, the exam tests your ability to manage a VMware environment by using System Center Virtual Machine Manager. This could prove to be a challenge to anyone who has not worked with VMware before.
Recommended Study Resources
Study resources can be somewhat difficult to find for this exam. One potential resource is Mastering Hyper-V Deployment. The book is not specifically related to the exam, but does cover much of the exam related material.
Train Signal offers a Microsoft Server Virtualization Training video that covers many of the exam objectives.
At the present time the only exam specific study resources that seem to be available for this exam are a Microsoft on-site training class and a Microsoft E-learning class.