News
MCSA Becomes Live Title in January
Microsoft principals also reveal possible release date for 70-218, Managing a Windows 2000 Network Exam, during MCSA chat on Wednesday.
During an MCPmag.com online chat that took place Dec. 19, principals of Microsoft's
certification group gave attendees a clear picture of what will be required
to attain the company's latest certification, the Microsoft Certified Systems
Administrator.
According to McSweeney, the Managing a Windows 2000 Network exam (70-218),
which is currently in beta, will go live Jan. 22, 2002. "Those who were
invited to sit the beta will know of their success or failure in early January,"
she said.
When it came to deciding who would be asked to take the beta, McSweeney said,
"We invited MCPs who fit the MCSA profile—people who passed the Windows
2000 Professional, Win2K Server or Win 2K Network Infrastructure (exams), but
who aren't MCSEs."
On the day of its release, there is a likelihood that there will already be
a few hundred MCSA title holders. The requirements for the MCSA are as follows:
- One core client operating systems exam—70-210, Installing, Configuring
and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, or 70-270, Installing,
Configuring and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional (not yet available).
- One core networking systems exam—70-215, Installing, Configuring and
Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, or 70-275, Installing, Configuring
and Administering Microsoft Windows .NET Server (not yet available).
- One required core Networking Systems exam—70-218, Managing a Microsoft
Windows 2000 Environment, or 70-278, Managing a Microsoft Windows. NET Network
Environment (not yet available).
- 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) 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+.)
According to Nash, the exam requirements line up with how Microsoft wants every
MCSA to prove proficiency in four areas:
- The business desktop environment. Ideally Windows XP Pro, but Win2K Pro
is satisfactory, as well.
- The server OS environment (Win2K Server).
- The Win2K networking environment.
- An elective of the candidate's choice that supports their interest and
area of focus.
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 (or right-click and "Save As...").
About the Author
Kristen McCarthy is Senior Editor, Reviews of MCP Magazine.