Preparation Guide for Exam 70-293

Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

Updated: April 25, 2008

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Exam newsExam news
Audience profileAudience profile
Credit toward certificationCredit toward certification
Preparation tools and resourcesPreparation tools and resources
Skills measuredSkills measured

Exam news

Exam 70-293 became available in August 2003.

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Audience profile

The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003 credential is intended for IT professionals who work in the typically complex computing environment of medium-sized to large companies. An MCSE candidate should have at least one year of experience implementing and administering a network operating system in environments that have the following characteristics:

250 to 5,000 or more users

Three or more physical locations

Three or more domain controllers

Network services and resources such as messaging, database, file and print, proxy server, firewall, Internet, intranet, remote access, and client computer management

Connectivity requirements such as connecting branch offices and individual users in remote locations to the corporate network and connecting corporate networks to the Internet

In addition, an MCSE candidate should have at least one year of experience in the following areas:

Implementing and administering a desktop operating system

Designing a network infrastructure

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Credit toward certification

When you pass the Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure exam, you achieve Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) status. You also earn credit toward the following certifications:

Core credit toward Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003 certification

Elective credit toward Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) on Microsoft SQL Server 2000 certification

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Preparation tools and resources

To help you prepare for this exam, Microsoft Learning recommends that you have hands-on experience with the product and that you use the following training resources. These training resources do not necessarily cover all of the topics listed in the "Skills measured" section.

Classroom trainingMicrosoft E-LearningMicrosoft Press booksPractice tests

Course 2278: Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

Course 2830: Designing Security for Microsoft Networks

There is no Microsoft E-Learning training currently available.

MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-293): Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure

MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294

MeasureUp
(Measureup.com)

Self Test Software
(Selftestsoftware.com)

Microsoft online resources

Learning Plan: Get started with a step-by-step study guide that is based on recommended resources for this exam.

Microsoft Learning Community: Join newsgroups and visit community forums to connect with peers for suggestions on training resources and advice on your certification path and studies.

TechNet: Designed for IT professionals, this site includes how-to instructions, best practices, downloads, technical resources, newsgroups, and chats.

MSDN: Designed for developers, the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) features code samples, technical articles, downloads, newsgroups, and chats.

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Skills measured

This certification exam measures your ability to plan and maintain a Windows Server 2003 network infrastructure. Before taking the exam, you should be proficient in the job skills listed in the following table. The table lists Official Microsoft Learning Products that may help you reach competency in the skills being tested in the exam.

KEY:The course provides a general introductory overview of this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work. = The course provides a general introductory overview of this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.    The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work. = The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.    The course includes material to prepare you for this task. = The course includes material to prepare you for this task.
Skills measured by Exam 70-293Course 2278Course 2830
Planning and Implementing Server Roles and Server Security   

Configure security for servers that are assigned specific roles.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan a secure baseline installation.

Plan a strategy to enforce system default security settings on new systems.

Identify client operating system default security settings.

Identify all server operating system default security settings.


The course includes material to prepare you for this task.

Plan security for servers that are assigned specific roles. Roles might include domain controllers, Web servers, database servers, and mail servers.

Deploy the security configuration for servers that are assigned specific roles.

Create custom security templates based on server roles.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Evaluate and select the operating system to install on computers in an enterprise.

Identify the minimum configuration to satisfy security requirements.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Network Infrastructure   

Plan a TCP/IP network infrastructure strategy.

Analyze IP addressing requirements.

Plan an IP routing solution.

Create an IP subnet scheme.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan and modify a network topology.

Plan the physical placement of network resources.

Identify network protocols to be used.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan an Internet connectivity strategy.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan network traffic monitoring. Tools might include Network Monitor and System Monitor.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshoot connectivity to the Internet.

Diagnose and resolve issues related to Network Address Translation (NAT).

Diagnose and resolve issues related to name resolution cache information.

Diagnose and resolve issues related to client configuration.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshoot TCP/IP addressing.

Diagnose and resolve issues related to client computer configuration.

Diagnose and resolve issues related to DHCP server address assignment.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan a host name resolution strategy.

Plan a DNS namespace design.

Plan zone replication requirements.

Plan a forwarding configuration.

Plan for DNS security.

Examine the interoperability of DNS with third-party DNS solutions.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan a NetBIOS name resolution strategy.

Plan a WINS replication strategy.

Plan NetBIOS name resolution by using the Lmhosts file.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshoot host name resolution.

Diagnose and resolve issues related to DNS services.

Diagnose and resolve issues related to client computer configuration.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining Routing and Remote Access   

Plan a routing strategy.

Identify routing protocols to use in a specified environment.

Plan routing for IP multicast traffic.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan security for remote access users.

Plan remote access policies.

Analyze protocol security requirements.

Plan authentication methods for remote access clients.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Implement secure access between private networks.

Create and implement an IPSec policy.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshoot TCP/IP routing. Tools might include the route, tracert, ping, pathping, and netsh commands and Network Monitor.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining Server Availability   

Plan services for high availability.

Plan a high-availability solution that uses clustering services.

Plan a high-availability solution that uses Network Load Balancing.

The course provides a general introductory overview of this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.


Identify system bottlenecks, including memory, processor, disk, and network related bottlenecks.

Identify system bottlenecks by using System Monitor.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Implement a cluster server.

Recover from cluster node failure.

The course provides a general introductory overview of this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.


Manage Network Load Balancing. Tools might include the Network Load Balancing Monitor Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in and the WLBS cluster control utility.

The course provides a general introductory overview of this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.


Plan a backup and recovery strategy.

Identify appropriate backup types. Methods include full, incremental, and differential.

Plan a backup strategy that uses volume shadow copy.

Plan system recovery that uses Automated System Recovery (ASR).

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Planning and Maintaining Network Security   

Configure network protocol security.

Configure protocol security in a heterogeneous client computer environment.

Configure protocol security by using IPSec policies.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Configure security for data transmission.

Configure IPSec policy settings.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan for network protocol security.

Specify the required ports and protocols for specified services.

Plan an IPSec policy for secure network communications.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan secure network administration methods.

Create a plan to offer Remote Assistance to client computers.

Plan for remote administration by using Terminal Services.


The course includes material to prepare you for this task.

Plan security for wireless networks.

The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.


Plan security for data transmission.

Secure data transmission between client computers to meet security requirements.

Secure data transmission by using IPSec.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Troubleshoot security for data transmission. Tools might include the IP Security Monitor MMC snap-in and the Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) MMC snap-in.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining Security Infrastructure.   

Configure Active Directory directory service for certificate publication.

The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.

Plan a public key infrastructure (PKI) that uses Certificate Services.

Identify the appropriate type of certificate authority to support certificate issuance requirements.

Plan the enrollment and distribution of certificates.

Plan for the use of smart cards for authentication.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Plan a framework for planning and implementing security.

Plan for security monitoring.

Plan a change and configuration management framework for security.

The course includes some material to prepare you for this task. You will need to supplement the course with additional work.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.

Plan a security update infrastructure. Tools might include Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and Microsoft Software Update Services.

The course includes material to prepare you for this task.


Note This preparation guide is subject to change at any time without prior notice and at the sole discretion of Microsoft. Microsoft exams might include adaptive testing technology and simulation items. Microsoft does not identify the format in which exams are presented. Please use this preparation guide to prepare for the exam, regardless of its format.


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