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Choosing Your MCSE Goals Based on Microsoft Press Training RRS feed

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    I did an analysis of Microsoft Press anticipated release dates for MCSE training materials and wanted to share in hopes that the community could use this information to decide which certification to pursue next. Release dates may differ between O'Reilly and Amazon, and some books may not appear on one site at all. If you are unable to locate a book, search based on the exam title rather than the exam number. Not all books include the exam number as part of the published title.


    Books Available by Exam Number


    This table shows a raw listing of each exam called out in all MCSE tracks. The SQL books are actually the legacy training kits, but adding a third column made the breakdown more confusing. Not all books have been updated for Windows Server 2012 R2

    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 70-246 no book no book
    Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 70-247 no book no book
    Core Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 70-331 June 2013 no book
    Advanced Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 70-332 May 2013 no book
    Core Solutions of Microsoft Lync Server 2013 70-336 no book no book
    Enterprise Voice & Online Services with Microsoft Lync Server 2013 70-337 no book no book
    Core Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 70-341 no book no book
    Advanced Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 70-342 no book no book
    Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 70-410 Feb 2014 Apr 2014
    Administering Windows Server 2012 70-411 June 2014 May 2014
    Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services 70-412 Mar 2014 April 2014
    Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure 70-413 Nov 2012 March 2014
    Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure 70-414 Jul 2014 Jul 2014
    Implementing a Desktop Infrastructure 70-415 Mar 2014 no book
    Implementing Desktop Application Environments 70-416 Mar 2014 no book
    Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-461 no book Nov 2012
    Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases 70-462 no book Jul 2012
    Implementing a Data Warehouse with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-463 no book Dec 2012
    Developing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases 70-464 no book no book
    Designing Database Solutions for SQL Server 2012 70-465 no book no book
    Implementing Data Models and Reports with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-466 no book no book
    Designing Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-467 no book no book

    Books Available by MCSE Track


    This table contains the same data as the raw table above, but has been reorganized by MCSE title. Certain core exams will appear multiple times, and this is to be expected. It should be noted that the core exams seem to recieve the most publishing attention.


    MCSE: Server Infrastructure
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 70-410 Feb 2014 April 2014
    Administering Windows Server 2012 70-411 June 2014 May 2014
    Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services 70-412 Mar 2012 April 2014
    Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure 70-413 Nov 2012 March 2014
    Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure 70-414 Jul 2014 Jul 2014


    MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 70-410 Feb 2014 April 2014
    Administering Windows Server 2012 70-411 June 2014 May 2014
    Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services 70-412 Mar 2012 April 2014
    Implementing a Desktop Infrastructure 70-415 Mar 2014 no book
    Implementing Desktop Application Environments 70-416 Mar 2014 no book


    MCSE: Private Cloud
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 70-410 Feb 2014 April 2014
    Administering Windows Server 2012 70-411 June 2014 May 2014
    Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services 70-412 Mar 2012 April 2014
    Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 70-246 no book no book
    Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 70-247 no book no book


    MCSE: Data Platform
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-461 no book Nov 2012
    Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases 70-462 no book Jul 2012
    Implementing a Data Warehouse with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-463 no book Dec 2012
    Developing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases 70-464 no book no book
    Designing Database Solutions for SQL Server 2012 70-465 no book no book


    MCSE: Business Intelligence
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-461 no book Nov 2012
    Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases 70-462 no book Jul 2012
    Implementing a Data Warehouse with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-463 no book Dec 2012
    Implementing Data Models and Reports with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-466 no book no book
    Designing Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 70-467 no book no book


    MCSE: Messaging
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 70-410 Feb 2014 April 2014
    Administering Windows Server 2012 70-411 June 2014 May 2014
    Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services 70-412 Mar 2012 April 2014
    Core Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 70-341 no book no book
    Advanced Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 70-342 no book no book


    MCSE: Communication
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 70-410 Feb 2014 April 2014
    Administering Windows Server 2012 70-411 June 2014 May 2014
    Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services 70-412 Mar 2012 April 2014
    Core Solutions of Microsoft Lync Server 2013 70-336 no book no book
    Enterprise Voice & Online Services with Microsoft Lync Server 2013 70-337 no book no book


    MCSE: SharePoint
    Title Exam Exam Ref Training Guide
    Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 70-410 Feb 2014 April 2014
    Administering Windows Server 2012 70-411 June 2014 May 2014
    Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services 70-412 Mar 2012 April 2014
    Core Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 70-331 June 2013 no book
    Advanced Solutions of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 70-332 May 2013 no book

    MCSE Support by Book Weight


    This table is a subjective analysis that assigns a weight to each MCSE track based on an average of the available Exam Refs and Training Guides. The table is sorted by descending order to show wich tracks have the greatest "support". Your interpertation will vary for this table based on other factors such as career goals, current experience, and availability of other training resources outside this scope.

    Title Planned Exam Ref Planned Training Guide Average Weight
    Server Infrastructure 100% 100% 100%
    Desktop Infrastructure 100% 60% 80%
    SharePoint 100% 6%0 80%
    Private Cloud 60% 60% 60%
    Messaging 60% 60% 60%
    Communication 60% 60% 60%
    Data Platform 0% 60% 30%
    Business Intelligence 0% 60% 30%







    Note: I made multiple attempts to get the formatting to look better, but the social forums have CSS in place that hoses it up. Here are the same tables exported from Excel. The forum only allows two images per post.


    Friday, January 31, 2014 5:25 PM
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    Hi, Jason.

    This was an incredibly helpful post. Perhaps you should consider changing the post type from Question to Discussion.

    Alternately, a moderator can do it for you.

    Thank you for sharing this and good luck!

    Best wishes, Davin Mickelson

    Saturday, February 1, 2014 5:30 PM
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    Thanks for this post Jason. Nicely done!

    I did change the post type to a discussion for you.

    Mike Corkery, MCT, MVP (Office Systems), MCSD (Windows Store Apps), MCITP, MCPD, MSF, etc. Please do not forget to click “Vote as Helpful” if any post helps you and "Mark as Answer”if it solves the issue.

    Sunday, February 2, 2014 3:28 AM
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    Thanks for that. I thought I posted as a discussion, but in all the editing something may have gone wrong.

    I wanted to extend this post to include other available training types and practice exams, but that was too much information all at once. Maybe next week :)

    Sunday, February 2, 2014 3:14 PM
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    Very Insightful Jason!

    This further highlights the slow painful death of certifications, the lack of training materials isn't so bad for us that have been around and doing certs since NT4 as we have alot of base knowledge that has been built up over the various versions and atleast CBT / Trainsignal aka Pluralsight are filling some of the gaps.

    But how does the motivated n00b get access to resources that we had that were prevelant with NT4 / 2000 / 2003, certainly the complete lack of any MS press training guide for Exchange 2013  is concerning and further highlights the "at all costs" drive by Microsoft to attempt to push everyone to the cloud at the expense of On premesis customers (refer to Exchange Team Blog comments for reference of the repeated frustration with Exchange 2013 with highly experienced Exchange Admins). It all starts to smells like as much of a fail as Windows 8 GUI.

    Time for Microsoft to get serious about training resources for IT Pro's, not all training guides will make money but you need to build an eco system around applications like Lync and Exchange and without certified people deploying best practice stable  solutions, it's the product that will also develop a bad name. Also shows commitment to the product, something that is certainly lacking with On Premesis Exchange 2013

    Tuesday, February 4, 2014 10:33 PM
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    Very helpfull information Jason, thanks.

    I am going to make this discussion a Sticky for the next few months so it will stay visible for new visitors to this forum.

    Danny van Dam

    MVP, MCT, MCC

    Twitter: @dnyvandam

    http://www.dannyvandam.net


    Wednesday, February 5, 2014 7:35 PM
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    Exam Ref 70-410 published on schedule:

    http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2014/02/20/new-book-exam-ref-70-410-installing-and-configuring-windows-server-2012-r2.aspx

    Friday, February 21, 2014 1:59 AM
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    I would like to share a list of Microsoft exam-related articles and tips, at 100Questions Exam Portal (http://www.100qns.com) . 

    MS 70-410 measures your ability to install, configure servers, roles and features, as well as configure Hyper-V. You will also learn to configure network services and Active Directory; create and manage Group Policy. Good first volume to prepare yourself for the exam.

    MS 70-867 are for  IT professionals who configure or support Windows 8 computers, devices, users, and associated network and security resources. The networks with which these professionals typically work are configured as domain-based or peer-to-peer environments with access to the Internet and cloud services.

    The other good thing is that you can test your MS knowledge and prepare for the exam via the exam library, which contains free-to-try exam questions. The Microsoft reference section could be accessed from the drop-down menu, and because the portal covers several topics, it could be confusing initially due to the enormous amount of data, but if you spend some time navigating the contents you might be well-rewarded! 
    Saturday, February 22, 2014 10:34 AM
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