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RVWinkle
Aug 24, 2004

In relating the circumstances which have led to my confinement within this refuge for the demented, I am aware that my present position will create a natural doubt of the authenticity of my narrative.
Nap Ghost

MJP posted:

I think it comes down to what you have experience with and what you want do target more of. I took the 2016 MCSA upgrade just because it was one exam and I've been doing more on-prem Windows Server stuff, and I like that. I want more exposure to Azure but a practice lab just isn't the same.

I did get the MCSE Cloud Platform and Infra cert since that too was one exam. It's basically 75% Windows Server, 25% MS cloud stuff. Maybe more 80/20 depending on what questions are in your exam.

If you have no previous MCSAs in Windows Server, and you're inclined to be an Azure specialist, go for the Cloud Platform MCSA. It seems like it'll expose you to the work of public-facing cloud environments more so than the Server 2016 MCSA does. That focuses on the idea of a hyperconverged Windows stack running in a private or hybrid cloud environment along with standard server infrastructure changes to back it all up.

Thanks for the advice. I decided to start with 70-532, Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions, and it's kicking my butt. I'm more of an ops guy and don't care much for programming so I think I'm in way over my head. I was hoping to jump in on the promotion that ends on April 30 but I doubt that's enough time to become a competent wizard in Visual Studio. Have any non programming folks had any luck with this exam? How much actual coding is required to pass the test?

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Kazinsal
Dec 13, 2011



Mayne posted:

It does have GUI. Only the 2016 server 1709 didn't have it.

I just downloaded a vNext ISO and installed it, and it's Server Core with none of the graphical shell packages in the install.wim. My options on install were Standard and Datacenter. No options for either for Server with a GUI or explicitly for Server Core.

AnonymousNarcotics
Aug 6, 2012

we will go far into the sea
you will take me
onto your back
never look back
never look back
Just applied and was accepted to a program called Per Scholas. It's a free 15 week IT training program that teaches you not only IT but also interview skills and resume building etc and then pays for your A+ and Net+ certification exams and sets you up with a job. Super excited

Mayne
Mar 22, 2008

To crooked eyes truth may wear a wry face.

Kazinsal posted:

I just downloaded a vNext ISO and installed it, and it's Server Core with none of the graphical shell packages in the install.wim. My options on install were Standard and Datacenter. No options for either for Server with a GUI or explicitly for Server Core.

You need to download Windows Server vNext LTSC Preview - Build 17623 for GUI.

Diva Cupcake
Aug 15, 2005

Finally pulling the trigger on this one. PWK/OSCP seat reserved.

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


Diva Cupcake posted:

Finally pulling the trigger on this one. PWK/OSCP seat reserved.



Good luck!


My new employer asked if I wanted to get some AWS certs. I’ve read good things about A Cloud Guru. Are there any other resources that are good? How difficult are the exams, all theory or are they hands on?

fordan
Mar 9, 2009

Clue: Zero

LochNessMonster posted:

My new employer asked if I wanted to get some AWS certs. I’ve read good things about A Cloud Guru. Are there any other resources that are good? How difficult are the exams, all theory or are they hands on?

I used ACG for the Associate level exams and it was decent. Definitely focused around what you'll see on the test. Another decent option is Linux Academy which has a number of AWS courses.

Comedy option is INE which is starting to add AWS classes. (INE is very good for networking/CCIE but also $$$)

YOLOsubmarine
Oct 19, 2004

When asked which Pokemon he evolved into, Kamara pauses.

"Motherfucking, what's that big dragon shit? That orange motherfucker. Charizard."

LochNessMonster posted:

Good luck!


My new employer asked if I wanted to get some AWS certs. I’ve read good things about A Cloud Guru. Are there any other resources that are good? How difficult are the exams, all theory or are they hands on?

I just used the official cert guide and some practice tests from a cloud guru during the free 7 day trial for my associate cert.

Kashuno
Oct 9, 2012

Where the hell is my SWORD?
Grimey Drawer
Passed the ICND1 easily :toot: AMA

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal

Kashuno posted:

Passed the ICND1 easily :toot: AMA

:toot: Congrats!

The Illusive Man
Mar 27, 2008

~savior of yoomanity~

Kashuno posted:

Passed the ICND1 easily :toot: AMA

Taking it Thursday. :allears:

How many sims did you have? And were they more focused on configuration, or troubleshooting?

E: And congrats!

The Illusive Man fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Mar 31, 2018

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Working on ICND1 too. Did you use boson stuff at all?

Kashuno
Oct 9, 2012

Where the hell is my SWORD?
Grimey Drawer

Space Racist posted:

Taking it Thursday. :allears:

How many sims did you have? And were they more focused on configuration, or troubleshooting?

E: And congrats!

I had 3 sims, each with 4 questions attached to them. No configuration changes on any of them, and ? Worked for all of them in case I needed it. All troubleshooting, mostly really understanding what the dif show commands are and how to determine things from there. Really need to be comfortable looking at command outputs and knowing what you’re looking at/for. I think it has been said 1000 times before but you need to absolutely understand subnetting front and back for this exam, as it tied in directly or indirectly to a large portion of my questions. Had a few match left to right questions, but they were all super basic.


FCKGW posted:

Working on ICND1 too. Did you use boson stuff at all?

Nope! I read Todd Lammles book, did the hands on labs in there with Packet Tracer. and have access to Pluralsight/Kaplan through work so did the questions available through there. I think the Boson stuff is labs right? If so I highly recommend some lab work, as I was having a real time grasping things at first just reading it over and answering multiple choice questions but just using the router and switch interfaces made it so much easier

Lets Get Patchy
Aug 8, 2006
Passed the Sec+ 401 cert yesterday. I know it's a babby cert but I'm still pretty proud. I'll probably take a breather for a few weeks and start on MCSA Server 2012. We're going over the Network and Identity portions in my advanced admin class so may as well.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Lets Get Patchy posted:

Passed the Sec+ 401 cert yesterday. I know it's a babby cert but I'm still pretty proud. I'll probably take a breather for a few weeks and start on MCSA Server 2012. We're going over the Network and Identity portions in my advanced admin class so may as well.

Congrats! The Sec+ is seen as the most valuable of the CompTIA certs so you should be proud.

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal

Lets Get Patchy posted:

Passed the Sec+ 401 cert yesterday. I know it's a babby cert but I'm still pretty proud. I'll probably take a breather for a few weeks and start on MCSA Server 2012. We're going over the Network and Identity portions in my advanced admin class so may as well.

Congrats man. I'm going through resumes for my replacement and I'd kill for at least one person to have the Sec+. You did good and it will pay off.

Kashuno
Oct 9, 2012

Where the hell is my SWORD?
Grimey Drawer

Lets Get Patchy posted:

Passed the Sec+ 401 cert yesterday. I know it's a babby cert but I'm still pretty proud. I'll probably take a breather for a few weeks and start on MCSA Server 2012. We're going over the Network and Identity portions in my advanced admin class so may as well.

S+ is super valuable. As far as CompTIA certs go, I can’t thibk of one that is better value. Clears you for anything touching govt systems (at a baseline) and is a good cert that starts to open doors. Congrats!

Lets Get Patchy
Aug 8, 2006
A sincere thanks to everyone. I'm currently attempting to transition from my current federal job (unrelated to IT), to what I've always had a passion for. I'll be graduating next spring with a bachelor's (IT) and already have an active clearance, so getting the Sec+ seemed like the next logical step to securing some employment.

The Illusive Man
Mar 27, 2008

~savior of yoomanity~

Lets Get Patchy posted:

Passed the Sec+ 401 cert yesterday. I know it's a babby cert but I'm still pretty proud. I'll probably take a breather for a few weeks and start on MCSA Server 2012. We're going over the Network and Identity portions in my advanced admin class so may as well.

Congrats! How long did you study for it, if I may ask?

sniper4625
Sep 26, 2009

Loyal to the hEnd

Space Racist posted:

Congrats! How long did you study for it, if I may ask?

Also curious - planning to take the 501 later this summer, but any advice from someone who took any version is welcome.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

I did my Sec+ last month. Took me a little under a month from start to finish. Could be done faster or slower depending on your experience, I already had the Net+. I read about a chapter a day, Mon-Fri, probably 2-4 hours/day into it.

I used Gibson's book. Kindle version is only $10. Not too dry, material is presented in a good format and easy to understand.
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Certified-Ahead-SY0-401/dp/1939136024/

He has additional training material on his site with practice exams and simulations as well. I used these to do the simulations and practice exams, I didn't bother with the flashcard or audiobooks. Two of the simulations I got on the exam were exactly the same on the test (except certain values changed).
http://getcertifiedgetahead.com/index.php/security-sy0-401/

I paid $40 for the additional material. Total cost was $50 plus whatever your exam voucher would be.

If you're a visual learner, I used Professor Messer's video series to help me understand any concepts I couldn't quite grasp. His whole video series is available for free on YouTube
https://www.professormesser.com/security-plus/sy0-401/sy0-401-course-index/

You have until July to test for 401, otherwise you'll need to study for 501.

The Illusive Man
Mar 27, 2008

~savior of yoomanity~
Passed the ICND1 today. :toot:

Score was 948/832. Really didn’t feel like I’d be anywhere near that score when I was in the middle of taking it, as I got a lot of hard/oddball questions early on, but the back half of the exam was very manageable. Like a lot of other people have said, many questions had very tricky wording - some questions appeared nonsensical at first, but when you really pause and break down what it’s asking it starts to make sense. Definitely don’t think I would have passed without spending the past few weeks really drilling down on minute details.

Phew! Now for a break for a week or two, then onto Sec+ and ICND2 later this year.

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal
Congrats! That's an awesome score. The test is very much in the details and being able to pause and think "what are they going for here" and not purely rote memorization. There's still a lot of that, but I don't think those are weighted as heavily as the interpretive questions.

Kashuno
Oct 9, 2012

Where the hell is my SWORD?
Grimey Drawer

Space Racist posted:

Passed the ICND1 today :toot:

Congrats!

The Illusive Man
Mar 27, 2008

~savior of yoomanity~
Thanks! It’s my first certification (in IT, anyway) so it definitely feels like a monkey off my back.

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


Just passed the AWS Cloud Practicioner exam. Not that difficult, even if you don’t have any experience with AWS. Took me about 1.5 day of studying. Sat through the offical online (free) training and read the white papers.

While it’s not technical it does provide a nice overview of all the services they provide. Now I have to think about which one to start with now, Solutions Architect or SysOps Admin.

Digital Jesus
Sep 11, 2001

Good to hear on the initial AWS exam. I’m running through it now in prep for a possible new job.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Lets Get Patchy posted:

Passed the Sec+ 401 cert yesterday. I know it's a babby cert but I'm still pretty proud. I'll probably take a breather for a few weeks and start on MCSA Server 2012. We're going over the Network and Identity portions in my advanced admin class so may as well.

Congrats! I'm about to sit for that one next Thursday after putting it off for way too long

All the material seems pretty straight forward and mostly review for me, I'm just really nervous about curveball questions... There always seems to be poorly explained/worded simulation questions and stuff on these exams that don't seem to have much bearing on the study material.

I just want to knock it out so I can move onto the CCNA and SCCP since now I feel like I have a known cert path.

MJP
Jun 17, 2007

Are you looking at me Senpai?

Grimey Drawer
My work ended up deciding they weren't going to go to Exchange 2016, just to the latest and greatest Exchange 2010 CU/update/etc.

I worry about my marketability for the future and I'm thinking I should start learning Office 365. Some are saying that the MS 70-346 and -347 prep books are out of date - is that still the case? Are there any decent other books or prep materials for the O365 MCSA exams?

Thanks Ants
May 21, 2004

#essereFerrari


I honestly wouldn't bother with an Office 365 certification

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal
Agreed. I don't see how "O365 certified" gets you above somebody else that has even a cursory experience administering O365. And it's not that expensive of a skill to market out anyway, I don't think O365 system admins pull huge salaries.

Gucci Loafers
May 20, 2006

Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?


Knowing how O365 works or at least the admins basics of Exchange, SharePoint, etc. work is kind of important?

You won’t make millions but it’s one feather in your cap.

MC Fruit Stripe
Nov 26, 2002

around and around we go
Know how it works, but don't get certified. There is a major gap between the two.

vyst
Aug 25, 2009



An office 365 certification is a joke in most circles. It's like getting a certification on Windows 10.

Know how it works, don't waste the time getting certified. Spend that time on a certification that's more respected.

Work smart, not hard

Captn Kurp
Oct 21, 2013

:bravo2:
I'm pretty new to IT as a career so I've got a few questions! I recently got my A+ and N+ with no issues and will be getting my S+ some time soon; however, I'm not sure what the next step is after that. The CCNA sounds good but would it be easier to get a job with the CCNA or MCSA SQL2012? I've already got some experience with SQL but I don't see many positions available for it.

As for getting a security clearance, I live in a city that has a lot of government contractors that require a security clearance and I was not sure what getting one entails or how difficult it is to maintain any light someone can shed on that would be great.

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: Also how about the MCSA certs? I'm looking for a job I can easily get with little experience but make up for in certifications.

Captn Kurp fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Apr 7, 2018

MF_James
May 8, 2008
I CANNOT HANDLE BEING CALLED OUT ON MY DUMBASS OPINIONS ABOUT ANTI-VIRUS AND SECURITY. I REALLY LIKE TO THINK THAT I KNOW THINGS HERE

INSTEAD I AM GOING TO WHINE ABOUT IT IN OTHER THREADS SO MY OPINION CAN FEEL VALIDATED IN AN ECHO CHAMBER I LIKE

Captn Kurp posted:

I'm pretty new to IT as a career so I've got a few questions! I recently got my A+ and N+ with no issues and will be getting my S+ some time soon; however, I'm not sure what the next step is after that. The CCNA sounds good but would it be easier to get a job with the CCNA or MCSA SQL2012? I've already got some experience with SQL but I don't see many positions available for it.

As for getting a security clearance, I live in a city that has a lot of government contractors that require a security clearance and I was not sure what getting one entails or how difficult it is to maintain any light someone can shed on that would be great.

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: Also how about the MCSA certs? I'm looking for a job I can easily get with little experience but make up for in certifications.

SQL is often rolled into systems admin jobs or, more likely, the DBA position exists in software dev companies, implementation guys and devs will also (typically) need some SQL experience; your standard business often doesn't have a need for a full fledged DBA, they have vendors take care of stuff like that. Note this is not true for EVERY business, the larger the business the more likely to have a DBA on staff (plus vendor support), but I'm generalizing. MCSA/MCSE I think are pretty worthless, windows admin stuff is easy to pick up and the tests are (from what everyone says) full of bullshit minutae.

What do you want to do? CCNA is good if you want to go into networking (you could probably pass the ICND1 with minimum effort, just need to learn the cisco specific stuff at this point), if you want to be a generalist, or it's even a decent thing to have for a systems admin because network stuff often gets rolled into that and/or it makes it easier to deal with your network team. I'd argue that understanding networking at a base level is important to most IT positions, but with the N+ you're probably there.

As for clearance and gov't jobs, someone else will have to speak on that, but I have heard it can be tough to get a job that requires clearance if you don't have it unless you have an in at the company, or a highly sought after skill, there are tons of people coming from the military that already have clearances.

MF_James fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Apr 7, 2018

vanity slug
Jul 20, 2010

LochNessMonster posted:

Just passed the AWS Cloud Practicioner exam. Not that difficult, even if you don’t have any experience with AWS. Took me about 1.5 day of studying. Sat through the offical online (free) training and read the white papers.

While it’s not technical it does provide a nice overview of all the services they provide. Now I have to think about which one to start with now, Solutions Architect or SysOps Admin.

AWS Cloud Practitioner shows that you have a sales-level understanding of AWS. Solutions Architect is a nice next step as it's a very wide exam, I'm going for SysOps Admin because my company got us a voucher for that one.

MJP posted:

My work ended up deciding they weren't going to go to Exchange 2016, just to the latest and greatest Exchange 2010 CU/update/etc.

I worry about my marketability for the future and I'm thinking I should start learning Office 365. Some are saying that the MS 70-346 and -347 prep books are out of date - is that still the case? Are there any decent other books or prep materials for the O365 MCSA exams?

The Office 365 materials are woefully out of date (since last November). It's good if you're planning to stick around with an MSP or if you enjoy Sharepoint Online, otherwise I'd skip it (I passed the 70-346 and didn't bother with 70-347 as I :yotj:'d).

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


Jeoh posted:

AWS Cloud Practitioner shows that you have a sales-level understanding of AWS. Solutions Architect is a nice next step as it's a very wide exam, I'm going for SysOps Admin because my company got us a voucher for that one.

Solutions Architect sounds what I’m looking fo I guess. How are you studying for it, get subscription to A Cloud Guru?

vanity slug
Jul 20, 2010

Our company has a Pluralsight subscription and building stuff in AWS is my job. Just gotta brush up on CloudFormation since we use Terraform instead.

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MJP
Jun 17, 2007

Are you looking at me Senpai?

Grimey Drawer
The O365 MCSA isn't useful? I was hoping to just use it as a "I don't have direct experience with it from my current or previous job, but I did build out a lab for the MCSA" line in my resume and interviews if it comes down to it.

The last time I touched Office 365, it was still BPOS, and I don't remember jack about it, nor do I have any experience migrating to it. I've already got MCSAs for Windows Server out the wazoo and MCSE Cloud Platform and Infrastructure, so it would at worst be the feather in the cap that someone mentioned, but if the prep books aren't good prep to get that cert, is there a better "let's learn O365" resource that's in physical book form? I'm a better learner when I read something and take notes, but if there's a Professer Messer-ish or MOOC for it, I'm all ears.

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