Upgrading Your MCSA on Windows Server 2003 Certification

Upgrading Your MCSA on Windows Server 2003 Certification

Let us say that you have your MCSA on Windows Server 2003, and you want to
upgrade your certification to Windows Server 2008, or you are not certified at
all on Windows Server 2003 and want to earn your
MCTS on Windows Server 2008. The first
thing to remember is that this is a series of new certifications and while there
is an upgrade path from Server 2003 to Server 2008, you are NOT earning an MCSE
on Windows Server 2008,

rather an MCTS or MCITP on windows
Server 2008. Also remember that the era of the
MCSA/MCSE certifications has ended –
it is now MCTS and MCITP (and others beyond the scope covered here) and have an
entirely different focus.

MCITP Online Training
- MCITP Online Certification -
MCITP Online Exams

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) has a different focus
then the Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional (MCITP), and
the former is not a prerequisite for the latter (nor is it a “lesser”
certification!). The MCTS certification
is aimed at IT professionals who work with a specific Microsoft product or
platform. An IT pro who has earned an MCTS is expected to possess depth and
breadth of knowledge

and skills on a particular product or platform. They are expected to manage and
maintain the product or platform on a daily basis. They are also more concerned
with the day-to-day operations and short-term planning rather than long-term
planning and design and design.









There are three MCTS tracks available on Windows Server 2008:

MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration; MCTS: Windows Server
2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration, and MCTS: Windows Server 2008
Applications Infrastructure Configuration. You can take each of the tests
individually, or you can take the upgrade path by taking only one test. The
easiest route to upgrade your certification, if you are already an MCSA on
Windows Server 2003, is take (and pass, of course) the 70-648 TS: Upgrading your
MCSA on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, Technology Specialist exam.
Passing this exam will earn you the MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory,
Configuration (equivalent to the 70-640 exam) and the MCTS: Windows Server 2008
Network Infrastructure Configuration (equivalent to the 70-642 exam). The last
of the three MCTS certifications – MCTS: Window Server 2008 Application
Infrastructure Configuration – is earned by passing the 70-643 exam. The other
part to earning your MCTS on any one of the three paths is to pass the 70-646
exam Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator.

The New Microsoft Certifications (MCTS, MCITP, MCM, and MCA)

The New Microsoft Certifications (MCTS,
MCITP, MCM, and MCA)



There are now four levels of “new” certifications: The Microsoft Certified
Architect, Microsoft Certified Master Series, Microsoft Certified
Information Technology Professional and the Microsoft Certified
Technology Specialist.






Architect Series: The Certified Architect program makes it easy for companies to
identify experienced IT architects who have completed a rigorous peer review
process Master Series: Master certifications identify individuals with the
deepest technical skills available on a particular Microsoft product.



Technology Series: Specialist certifications train IT professionals in
implementation, building, troubleshooting, and debugging of a specific Microsoft
technology.



Professional Series: Professional credentials validate the skill set required
for a particular job.



The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) is not a certification many will
achieve as it is not designed as

such. There are only 198 MCAs (as of 9 July 2008) worldwide, and they go through
a rigorous evaluation process (exam and board review).



Then there is the recently announced Microsoft Certified Masters Program (MCM).
There are currently

three tracks available: Exchange 2007, SQL 2008, and Windows Server 2008, with
two more coming out

soon: Office Communication Server 2007 and SharePoint 2007. You will have to
have your certified

Masters Certificate to apply for any of the MCA technical tracks. The Certified
Master shows that you have a very deep understanding as an expert on a specific
product. If you earn this certification, it demonstrates that you can design and
implement highly complex business solutions.



The Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional (MCITP)
demonstrates your knowledge and ability to work on a “comprehensive set of
Microsoft technologies”5



The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)
is earned by taking a test on a particular product and demonstrates that you
have a deep understanding and knowledge of that product. It is also expected
that you perform day-to-day operations and are involved in short-term planning.



 

The Value and Worth of a Certification Is Validated

The Value and Worth of a Certification Is Validated

Individuals and employers have enough difficulties trying to understand the
value and worth of a certification, and this is made even more difficult when a
major certification vendor changes the entire structure and naming of their
certification program. Microsoft started such a restructuring last year and
continues to do so with the announcement of their new Master Certification and
exams. To give an example, there are some employers

who do not understand or know about the new
MCTS and MCITP certifications and
seek to hire new employees who have their MCSE (Microsoft Certified System
Engineer) on Windows Server 2008 – even though this certification doesn’t and
won’t exist.

Microsoft Certification

The MCSE certification was Microsoft’s premier certification up to 2006 when the
Microsoft Certified Architect
(MCA) was announced. The Microsoft Certified Professional program (MCP) has been
in place since 1992, with more than 2 million people having achieved a Microsoft
Certification worldwide.4 The MCSE
certification itself has been around since the NT3.5 days (mid-‘90s). It is
12+ years old in its current form, and we have developed a certain comfort and
familiarity with it. An entire generation of IT Professionals has “grown up”
knowing exactly where an MCSE fits into the certification scheme, and they also
have a good idea of what is involved in earning the MCSE, as well as the worth
of this certification, both financially and professionally.



This does not mean that there haven’t been additions and other enhancements to
the program over the years. The original MCSE was earned on a specific variant
of the NT system. Let’s say you earned your MCSE on NT 3.51 and then on NT4. You
were certified on those two systems – as a Systems Engineer. This same naming
approach held true for Windows Server 2000 and Server 2003. This meant that you
were an MCSE, MCSA, or an
MCP (this white paper addresses the IT
pros, not database administrators [DBA] and developers).