Everything You Need to Know About Microsoft's 70-412 Exam

Note: Tim Warner recently finished our new "Microsoft Windows Server 2012 70-412" training series. Tim already wrote about Microsoft's 70-417 exam; here, he gives you the rundown on the 70-412 exam.

Hello, everyone! My goal in writing this blog post is to give you all the necessary background information you need to be successful on the Microsoft certification exam 70-412, Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services.

As most of you probably know already, passing the 70-412 test counts as credit toward a number of Microsoft IT pro certifications. Here's the list of certs that require passing the 70-412 exam:

• Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA): Windows Server 2012

• Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Desktop Infrastructure

• MCSE: Server Infrastructure

In keeping with the published Microsoft exam policies (particularly the non-disclosure agreement, or NDA), I won't provide you with "braindumps" or any other proprietary information. On the other hand, I will help you assess how prepared you are right now to pass the 412 exam, and give you tips and tricks for maximizing your precious study time.

70-412 Exam Metadata

In the table below, I summarize the key components of Microsoft Exam 70-412.

Microsoft experimented with simulation and "virtual lab"-type exam questions in the past. However, the technical overhead involved in deploying and scoring those question types proved to be too much; thus, current Microsoft IT pro exams use the tried-and-true multiple-choice question format.

What this means for you as a test-taker is that you need to sharpen your critical reasoning skills, in addition to mastering the subject matter. Remember that a CBT Nuggets annual subscription gives you access to a comprehensive library of Transcender® practice exams. I used to write exams for Transcender® back in the Windows 2000 Server/Windows Server 2003 days, so I can vouch for Transcender's accuracy and ethical basis.

70-412 Core Content

I suggest that you schedule your 412 exam only after you have passed the introductory exams in the MCSA and MCSE series. The reason for this is that the 412 exam content presupposes that you've mastered core Windows Server 2012 technologies.

Take Domain Name Service (DNS), for instance. On the 70-410 exam you may be asked questions about creating and managing an Active Directory-integrated zone. By contast, on the 412 exam you might be asked questions about "special case" DNS situations such as the following:

• DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC)

• Stub zones vs Conditional forwarders

• GlobalNames zones

Do you see what I'm getting at? In a way, the 412 represents the "next level" of your existing Windows Server skill set. From a high level, exam 70-412 covers the following key areas (see the official Microsoft exam blueprint for additional details):

• Network Load Balancing (NLB)

• Failover clustering

• Hyper-V VM migration

• FSRM and file classification infrastructure (FCI)

• Dynamic Access Control (DAC)

• Built-in iSCSI target and initiator

• Windows Backup and Restore

• Hyper-V replica

• DHCP advanced concepts (Superscopes, DHCP failover)

• DNS advanced concepts (DNSSEC, Socket Pool)

• IP Address Management (IPAM)

• AD in a Multi-Site, Multi-Domain, and Multi-Forest Environment

• Trust Relationships

• Sites and Replication

• Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS)

• Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS)

• Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)

Whew! That's some pretty heavy content, isn't it?

Exam Preparation Strategies

First and foremost, I hope that you are a CBT Nuggets subscriber and can access my 70-412 training series. I cover each one of the exam objectives and sprinkle my training with helpful exam-oriented tips and tricks.

I like to tell students that passing any IT certification exam involves focused study in the following three areas:

• Theoretical content: Study my training, buy a good textbook, and master the concepts

• Practical experience: Build a test lab using virtualization software and evaluation version software. You must be able to translate your theoretical understanding into practical action

• Computer-based exam drilling: Remember that test-taking skills factor as highly as having subject matter knowledge. You need to use practice exam software to get a feel for how Microsoft asks you test questions

Figure 2: As a CBT Nuggets subscriber, you can access Transcender practice exams.

I hope that this blog post has been useful to you. As always, please feel free to contact me via e-mail with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas for new training series. All the best to you in your IT certification studies and industry success!