The best order of appearing multiple MCSE Messaging exam

Certification: Microsoft MCSE - Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate or  MCSA certification, which validates the basic technical knowledge which is required to move ahead in the Microsoft oriented IT career. Before preparing the MCSE i.e. Microsoft certified Solution Experts the candidate have to develop the skills required to perform the operations related to Windows Server 2012. The MCSA’s Windows server covers the three exams for validating the knowledge of installing and managing the advanced services of Windows Server 2012. It also includes the configuration part of the Windows server and services like disaster recovery, file services and clustering, etc.

MCSE : Microsoft Certified Solution Expert is the certification program which is designed to prepare the IT professionals who can provide immediate solutions for several technologies including the cloud solutions too. All the MCSE certifications require the three exams to be cleared in order to get the MCSA certification, which is required to reach the MCSE level. If a candidate wants to earn the MCSE certification, then he has to pass these three exams and the two exams of the MCSE: Messaging Certification.

If we want to appear in the MCSE’s Messaging Certification program, we have to follow a proper order of exams to attain the goal. According to this order a candidate would get the Messaging Certification. The candidate should appear in the first three exams for the MCSA certification, then he would appear in the two exams for the Messaging Certification.

The best order of taking the exams for MCSE’s Messaging Certification:

1. Exam 410: It is the entry level of the MCSA certification program. This exam is used for evaluating the technical skills required for several operations related to Windows server 2012. The knowledge which is evaluated is about the configuration and installation of server which includes optimizing of the resources of the Windows server. Configuration of files and share access, servers for remote management is the area of operation covered in the exam.The installation and management skills of core network services and management of active directory are evaluated in this exam.

2. Exam 411: This level checks the knowledge of maintaining the Windows server and also the management of network services. The configuration of network policy which includes the NPS policy and network access protection, so, the knowledge for performing these operations is required to pass the level.

3. Exam 412: The knowledge of files and storage solutions is evaluated at this level and the management of availability which includes load management, clustering, etc. The awareness of advanced file services and storage optimization is required if the candidate wants to pass this level. An important part of the level is the implementing business continuity and server recovery. The configuration of Windows server backup, recovering via Windows server recovery environment is covered in this part. So, these skills are evaluated in the exam.

The following skills which are discussed above are covered in these three exams for the MCSE certification. It is hard to call such a level as an entry level in the Microsoft certification program. But Microsoft stated that if a candidate passes any of the exam, he becomes a part of its certification program. But only achieving any one certification is not a good deal for your career. So, you should prepare for all three exams in the correct order as explained above. Since, these exams are designed to provide the knowledge as a whole package and if a candidate earns only one certification, then it is not very beneficial for him. However, there are two more levels, which the candidates have to face after achieving these three exams. These exams are the part of the MCSE: Messaging Certification.

The Messaging Certification exams i.e. Exam 341 and Exam 342 should be attempted after the MCSA certification level. The Exam 341 evaluates the core knowledge of Exchange server so, this should be attempted first and Exam 342 which evaluates the advanced knowledge of Exchange server should be attempted afterwards.

4. Exam 341: This exam evaluates the knowledge of installation and management of transport, configuration and management of mailbox, planning and managing the client access and the designing and managing the strategy for Exchange infrastructure. The candidates should have the knowledge of tracking logs such as protocol logs to  score in this exam. The knowledge of troubleshooting is also required such as the skills required to troubleshoot  database and database copies, mailbox performance and database failure. The awareness of few other aspects is also required such as database configuration and also the configuration of proper file share placement and mailbox management.

5. Exam 342: This level checks the knowledge of configuring and managing the unified messaging, the management and designing of advanced security. The candidates should have the skill required to perform the data archiving if they want to score in this exam. The archiving part contains about 20% of the total questions. The management of hybrid configuration, managing exchange legacy system is also a part of this exam. The knowledge of troubleshooting the transport, exchange, client access, etc. are also required for the exam, this covers less than 18% of the total questions.

These skills are covered in both the exams and the individuals should know how to perform these technical operations in the real time scenario. The troubleshooting is an important aspect for both the exams because it covers a good number of questions in the Exam 341 and Exam 342.

If the candidate who is willing to get the MCSE’s Messaging Certification should follow the proper order which is suggested above. Since, the certification program is designed in a way to gradually improve the skill set of the professionals and prepare them to provide the best solutions for the real time problems of the present IT world.