4/17/2002 -- When Microsoft announced its Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) certification, it also announced a new exam. The 70-218 exam, Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment, was designed to challenge the administrator on the things that they would need to know to maintain a network. Here are my top 10 tips for tackling this exam successfully.

Tip #1: This Isn't Your Mother's Microsoft Test
Sure, this test asks only 60 questions, but those questions cover a much broader range of material than the typical Microsoft exam. Therefore, you shouldn't be surprised if, on the test itself, you're asked a multitude of questions about one objective area, and none for several others -- more so than with other Microsoft exams you've taken. Of course, there's no way to know which objectives will be emphasized more heavily than others, so the only way to tackle it is to study harder for this test.

Tip # 2: Use 70-240 Test Prep Materials
You probably know that the 70-240 exam was Microsoft's Accelerated exam for Windows NT 4.0 MCSEs, counted as credit toward the four core MCSE Win2K exams, and has since been retired. The MCSE's loss is your gain: 70-240 study materials are currently available for next to nothing. How can you use the to your advantage? The material covered in the 70-240 exam is the same material in the 70-215, 70-216, and 70-217 exams. The 70-218 exam covers most of the material from the 70-216 and 70-217 exams, and you have to take the 70-215 exam to get your MCSA anyway. So why not get cheap training materials that cover the same information?

Tip #3: Tackle 70-215 First
As mentioned above, you must pass both the 70-215 and 70-218 exams (along with two others) to get your MCSA. Although these are two separate exams with two separate lists of objectives, there is some overlap in what they both cover: Some of the things that you needed to know for 70-215 you'll have to know for 70-218. Therefore, I suggest taking the 70-215 exam first -- it's easier. If you have trouble with 70-215, that's a good indication that you might not yet be ready for 70-218. Go back to the 70-215 and study more -- and know that you're not only improving your chances of passing that exam, but all that extra studying will help you when you get asked some of the same questions again on 70-218.

Tip #4: IIS Is Key
Internet Information Services (IIS), formerly Internet Information Server, is of the few 70-218 objectives that isn't covered by the 70-215, 70-216, or 70-217 exams (in other words, any 70-240 materials may not be adequate for your studies in this area). Microsoft expects its MCSAs to know how to set up a Web site, particularly a virtual Web site.

The key to setting up virtual Web sites is to make sure that their parameters are unique. You can vary a Web site's configuration by IP address, TCP Port or host header name. The traditional way has been to give the server multiple IP addresses and assign one IP address to each Web site. Changing the TCP port also works, but it requires that the user know what the new port is. The final option, the host header, reads one of the headers that client browsers typically send indicating the server name that they are trying to reach. IIS can use this information to determine which Web site to point the users' request to as well. If you don't define a unique set of parameters for the Web site, it won't start and be able to service Web requests.

Tip # 5: Don't Falter, Know the Defaults
Sure, Microsoft wants to know that its MCSAs can configure things, but it also wants you to know how things work by default. For instance, what happens when you install DHCP in a network? (Nothing, until you authorize it and activate a scope.) Similarly, what happens when you install DNS on a domain controller? (It automatically adds a zone for the domain.)

Tip #6: Submarine? No, Know How To Subnet
Microsoft expects its MCSAs to have TCP/IP subnetting down cold. You don't have to know how to do it quickly because it's not emphasized that heavily on this exam; however, you should know how to do it consistently. The method that I use is to write a binary progression across the scratch paper with the values of each position on top and space underneath. It looks something like this:

When you're asked for a certain number of hosts you start putting zeros in from the right until you get to the number of hosts that you need. You fill the rest in with ones. When you're asked for a number of networks you work your way from the left adding ones. The tricky part is that you're using the numbers from the other side of the table. (i.e., 1 for 128, 2 for 64). When you're done fill the rest of the table in with zeros. To get the mask you need add the values above the ones together.

If you need to, you can write a second table for the second octet from the right and be able to handle all the subnetting questions.

Tip #7: Get Comfy with the Group
Group policy objects (GPOs) are an incredibly powerful new tool in Windows 2000. Just like with every other Windows 2000 exam, 70-218 expects you to know what GPOs can do, to whom they apply, and how they apply. You should also know how to force rules within a GPO and how ignore rules.

As a quick general refresher, GPOs can be applied to a local machine, site, domain or OU. Group policies are applied down the list: The local machine to the site to the domain, then from the highest-level OU down to the lowest-level OU. The first Group Policies applied have the ability to prevent override, which stops other group policies from overriding the setting as it exists at the highest level. The group policies can also block inheritance of higher-level group policy settings except when the higher-level policy is set not to allow overrides.

Make sure you really understand how GPOs work and what they can do before you sit this exam.

Tip #8: Sometimes, You Don't Have To Show Up
Another focus area for MCSAs is remote administration. You should know how to use RRAS to setup Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and how to use Terminal Services to connect remotely to a server.

Setting up an RRAS VPN requires that you set up the PPTP or IPSec protocol - or both. You must then create ports on the server and describe whether they are incoming or outgoing ports. You'll need incoming ports for your VPN users. You must then make sure that your users have access to login remotely.

Terminal Services allow you to setup even a regular server so that you can log two connections into it at the same time. This does not require a special terminal services license and is called remote administration mode. Terminal services allows you to map printers, the Windows clipboard, ports, etc., from your local computer to the terminal server. This is useful when you want to copy the text of an error message on the server into a document on your local computer.

Tip #9: Diagnosing TCP/IP
One of an administrator's core duties is finding problems. To that end Microsoft expects you to know how and when to use PING, PATHPING, TRACERT, ROUTE, ARP, IPCONFIG, NBTSTAT, NSLOOKUP and NETDIAG. As an MCSA, you should know the kind of information that each utility can return and when you should look for that information. Here are the short answers:

Tip #10: Nothing Stays the Same
Windows 2000, like any operating system, gets improved and updated as problems are found. Microsoft wants you to know how to apply service packs, hot fixes, and driver updates. This includes creating updated distribution locations for new installations. Most of this is as simple as using Windows update, but you should also know how to update an installation location, called slipstreaming, through the application of a service pack to an install location. This is accomplished through command-line switches on the service pack.

This test, while manageable, is probably the most difficult one an MCSA candidate has to face due to the wide breadth of the objectives. However, with careful study and persistence the exam can be conquered.

More articles by Robert L Bogue:

• Top 7 Ways To Prepare for Your IT Job Hunt
  
• My Top 10 Study Tips for Passing Microsoft's 70-270 Exam
  
• My Top 10 Tips for Passing the Server+ Exam
  
• Newbie's Guide To Choosing the Right IT Career Path