1/1/2002 -- During an MCPmag.com online chat that took place Dec. 19, Director of the Microsoft Certification and Skills Assessment group Anne Marie McSweeney said that the Managing a Windows 2000 Network exam (70-218) -- a core exam required for the company's new Microsoft Certifed Administrator (MCSA) title -- will go live Jan. 22, 2002.

Because of beta exams taken, there is a likelihood on the day of its release that there will already be a few hundred MCSA title holders. The requirements for the MCSA are as follows:

A. One core client operating systems exam70-210, Installing, Configuring and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, or 70-270, Installing, Configuring and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional (not yet available).

B. One core networking systems exam70-215, Installing, Configuring and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, or 70-275, Installing, Configuring and Administering Microsoft Windows .NET Server (not yet available).

C. One required core Networking Systems exam70-218, Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Environment, or 70-278, Managing a Microsoft Windows. NET Network Environment (not yet available).

D. One elective among the following: 70-028, System Administration for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0; 70-081, Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5; 70-086, Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0; 70-216, Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure, among others.

Those who have passed the Accelerated Exam (70-240, which retired at the end of 2001) can apply that exam to requirements A and B. Also, those who have taken specified CompTIA exams can use them as a waiver for requirement D. (The qualifying combination is A+/Network+ or A+/Server+.)

For more information, visit Microsoft's MCSA main page at www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcsa/default.asp.
To read a transcript of the chat, click here. -MCPMag.com