In this post I will cover the final group of topics in the “Configure File and Storage Solutions” objective domain, Configure and Optimise Storage. The topics are iSCSI, configuring both the target server and initiator, iSNS, what it is and how its used, Features on Demand, Data Deduplication, and finally Storage Tiers which are new to Windows Server 2012 R2.
Category: Certification
-
Blog: 2016 Looking Forward
Looking forward to 2016 I’ve already thought about my IT Certification goals and where I want to be this time next year. As you probably know, back in July I achieved the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MSCA) certification in Windows Server 2012. This involved passing 3 exams, 70-410, 70-411 & 70-412, all are challenging in different ways, which I have already documented in this blog.
-
Certs: 2.2 – Implementing Dynamic Access Control DAC (70-412)
This post covers Dynamic Access Control, one of my favourite topics in the 70-412 Microsoft certification. I have to admit it took me a number of hours studying and experimenting in the lab to fully understand and commit all the parts to memory, however I think it’s one of the most powerful tools available in Windows Server 2012 and which the sysadmin can deploy, so lets get started (more…)
-
Certs: 2.1 Configure Advanced File Services (70-412)
In this, the first of three articles which cover the 2nd objective domain (Configure File & Storage Solutions) of the 70-412 Microsoft exam we take a look at “Configuring Advanced Files Services”. In this post we will cover BranchCache, FSRM (File Server Resource Manager), and File Access Auditing. Lets get started with the first of the threes subjects – BranchCache… (more…)

-
Certs: Passing 70-411 Administrating Windows Server 2012
In July 2015 I sat and passed the 70-411 Microsoft Exam. Although not as tough a test as the 412 the amount of material covered make this a tricky exam and you really have to know your stuff. The passing score is 700 and above, I scored 890. My charts by objective domain are shown below
-
Certs: 70-412 Objective Domains
If you are studying for the 412 Microsoft certification it is critical you know exactly what’s on the exam. I would recommend downloading the objectives document from the Microsoft web site and use it to plan out your schedule, however here is a breakdown of each objective followed by a link to my associated study notes.
-
Certs: 1.2 Configure Failover Clustering (70-412)
Continuing the 70-412 exam path, the next topic is Failover Clustering, a very complex subject. Below are my study notes which helped me prepare for the exam.
Failover Clustering is used to provide high availability for data frequently updated by clients, database servers, mail servers, print servers. Its also used to support highly available virtual machines hosted in hyper-v clusters.