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Home > Archive > Server + > September 2001 > Phew - passed yesterday with a 91!!
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Phew - passed yesterday with a 91!!
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| Mstrome 2001-09-20, 9:31 am |
| Passed yesterday with a 91, but what a nightmare!!!
This was by far the hardest test I have ever taken. Some of the questions were just plain hard, others were simply bizzare (like one on printer pooling!!!!!!?????!!!!!?!). More about that later.
Guess I cant complain too much though, as I am really pleased with the score.
For what its worth, here are some of my thoughts on studying for the exam.
First off, you cant learn this thing from a book or a prep test. You must have some experience, at least, to get through it.
Here is what I used to study:
I dont share other peoples views on the Server+ bible.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...9369248-1196016
I really dont think it is as good as people are saying - there are simply too many mistakes. I wont go into them here, but check out the review on fatbrain (written by someone with alot of time on their hands) who points out some of the problems. Its not bad, but it aint the best. I tried to return it but I had crakced the cd case and so they wouldnt take it back. bummer.
I ended up buying the Coriolis Exam Prep and using that instead.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...9369248-1196016
Much more focused, less innacuracies, easier to read and cheaper (by $10 in a bookstore, $5 on Amazon). The tests in the book do little more than test that you have read the chapter, but the end test and the CD are really really good. Two things that really stand out for me are the formatting of the questions, which mimics the test and the inclusion of some of the wierd things like the printer pooling mentioned ealier.
I also used the cert21 test,
http://www.cert21.com/default.php?a...r />
4426b23504
the Brainbuzz cramsession
http://cramsession.brainbuzz.com/cr...comptia/server/
and a bit of experience. The thing I found is that you cant try any of this stuff out. For MCSE you can buy a couple of machines, set them up and try things out. You just cant do that with Server+. I guess that is why the books and resources you use are so important.
To all working for Server+, good luck and gods speed. I have a feeling this is going to be one respected certification. | |
| dagger 2001-09-20, 10:50 am |
| quote:
Originally posted by Mstrome
I ended up buying the Coriolis Exam Prep and using that instead.
Much more focused, less innacuracies, easier to read and cheaper (by $10 in a bookstore, $5 on Amazon). The tests in the book do little more than test that you have read the chapter, but the end test and the CD are really really good. Two things that really stand out for me are the formatting of the questions, which mimics the test and the inclusion of some of the wierd things like the printer pooling mentioned ealier.
I checked out that Coriolis Exam Prep.
How can you say the questions in this book mimic the real exam?. No way man....I put this book back on the shelf. when I noticed that the objective were not even in the chapters but at the start of the book. Which made it hard to study by since you didn't know what part of the objective you were studying without having to flip to the front of the book all the time. That was like stupid.
Then I saw a part on how to install Red Hat Linux in this book????...why is that in there???
I was really disappointed in this book.
I also own the Server+ Bible
It not perfect but the questions in there are really good.
Compared to the other S+ cert books. This was the only one out there that had real scenario based questions. I hardly saw any in the Coriolis Exam Prep, Sybex Server+, or the Exam Gear book.
I will be writing the test in 2 weeks.
I'll post how I did with my study material  | |
| Mstrome 2001-09-20, 11:43 am |
| Sorry, should have made that clearer. The questions at the end of each section do not mimic the test, but IMHO the ones in the big test at the back of the book and on the CD do, and very well.
I am not going to get into a good/bad discussion about the merits of certain books as I think all tech books are a rip off, but I will say this.
Why is the RH Linux Install included? I dunno. Maybe its becuase objective 2.3 is 'Install NOS'. I always buy the Prep's becuase they cover MORE than the exam. They are supposed to give lots of supporting info, which the S+ Prep does. I think its really important to have the supporting information, especially since the S+ is so much best practice.
Why is there an objective map in the front but not in the book?? - Again, this is a PREP, not a CRAM. Maybe it would be better if they did put the objectives through the book, but its hardly a leap to flip to the front cover and look. None of the PREP's I have put the objectives through the chapter, so I guess thats why I am used to it.
If you want a cram, the Exam Cram for S+ comes out soon I think, and that has the objectives dotted through it and only covers the test. I have never liked the Crams as I want to know more than just passing the test, but it works for some people. | |
| Gareth Leung 2001-09-20, 12:51 pm |
| Congrats!!  | |
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| Supertech 2001-09-20, 8:08 pm |
| Impressive score. Can you imagine having all that technology on your site? I appreciate your refreshing reviews and I suppose those opinions are validated, somewhat, by your excellent exam score. Good job. | |
| darthw 2001-09-20, 10:04 pm |
| Congrats. Great score on a really hard exam. You should rightly be proud! | |
| SNOWBALL 2001-09-21, 5:25 am |
| congrats on a great score | |
| bassackwards 2001-09-21, 7:34 am |
| Congrats! Without posting the question. What was it that they wanted to know about printer pooling? I've setup a few and can't imagine anything hard about it. | |
| Mstrome 2001-09-21, 9:09 am |
| I wont post the exact question (do they remove those) but it was something like
When you are creating a printer pool, what must you consider?
There were four answers, three of which were plausible. The right answer I knew from MCSE tests. It wasnt that it was difficult but it didnt really seem to match any of the objectives (I guess configure peripherals is the closest) and unless you had done it before or read it somewhere you would be thrown by it.
When I read it in the Exam Prep I thought it was just supplemental info but it was in a callout and seemed odd. Now I know why it was included. The other strange thing is that it was the only question I got on printing. Nothing about configuring a network printer (which is more valid as a sysadmin skill), and nothing on troubleshooting printers.
Thanks for the congtrats. Anyone have any suggestions on another cert? Been thinking of CCDA, but I am not sure that there is too much demand for it right now. | |
| Supertech 2001-09-21, 2:14 pm |
| I've been stepping back and gaining a little infrastucture (media). I like to keep my certs generic and hardware oriented.
Check out Certified Fiber Optic Technician
(CFOT)
www.fotec.com
Certified Cable Test Technician
(CCTT)
www.flukenetworks.com
Sniffer Certs.
Network Analysis Expert
(NAX)
www.wildpackets.com
NetAnalyst
www.pmg.com | |
| carllo33 2001-09-24, 1:12 pm |
| Congrats!!! That is a hard one |
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