Frequently Asked Questions About Windows Server 2008 Certification

If you are an IT professional who is currently using Windows Server 2008 or will be deploying it or working with it within the next year, this certification is right for you. Certification can help you broaden and confirm your own skills, demonstrate your skills to others, and prepare you for deploying Windows Server 2008. If you are continuing to work with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003, consider the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) or Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification.

Find the right Windows Server certification and exam path for you on this MSDN blog

Yes and no. The term MCP is used both as a general term for all Microsoft Certified Professionals and as the name of a credential. As an MCTS, you become part of the Microsoft Certified Professional community, with access to all MCP benefits, information, and activities. You do not earn a credential called "MCP." You should use the MCTS credential on your resumé and your business card, thereby indicating your specialty and that you are a member of the MCP community.

No. In response to your requests for certifications that are more targeted and up to date with the IT market, Microsoft Learning has aligned the Windows Server 2008 certifications with a new generation of Microsoft Certifications. There are no MCSA or MCSE certifications on Windows Server 2008. Instead, there are two challenging and distinct Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certification paths that reflect current job roles. Windows Server 2008 credentials follow the new certification structure.

No, none of the five Windows Server 2008 exams can be used toward an MCSA or MCSE certification. However, Exam 70-620: TS: Windows Vista, Configuring, and Exam 70-624: TS: Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops, both apply toward the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator credential and to the MCSA and MCSE tracks.

Yes, customers who earn a Windows Server 2008 certification in the first six months of availability will achieve a charter certification.

No. But you do not earn the final certifications until you have completed all of the requirements. Microsoft Learning recommends that you start with the Microsoft Certified Technology Series (MCTS) credentials or the upgrade exams.

Yes, the cost will remain the same.

They will be pass-or-fail–you will not receive a grade.

All exams will have standard types of questions in their first release.

The exams required for Windows Server 2008 certification are scheduled to be available in the following languages:

Design skills are tested in Exam 70-647: PRO: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator.

IPv6 is an emerging technology in Windows Server 2008, so we included questions about it to ensure that anyone holding a current credential has a working knowledge of all relevant technology.

No. Questions about clustering will be incorporated into other exams as appropriate.

No. Questions about Windows PowerShell will be incorporated into other exams as appropriate.

Microsoft System Center functions are not tested within the Windows Server 2008 certification framework. There are stand-alone MCTS certifications for Microsoft System Center; these certifications do not count toward Windows Server 2008 requirements.

Windows Small Business Server is not tested within the Windows Server 2008 certification framework. There is a stand-alone certification (MCTS) in development for Windows Small Business Server; this certification does not count toward Windows Server 2008 certification requirements.

Questions related to virtualization are incorporated into the exams on Windows Server 2008 where appropriate. There will also be a single exam on virtualization and a corresponding MCTS certification in 2008, which will be separate from the Windows Server track. The MCTS certification for virtualization will be about HyperV technology. Virtualization is covered extensively in the MCTS: Applications Infrastructure (Exam 70-643) certification, too.

This table provides some guidance on mapping between Windows Server products.

Yes. There is no limit on retakes of these upgrade exams. However, you must follow the standard retake policy for all Microsoft Certification exams.

No. The technology gap between Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2008 is too great to make a concise exam path feasible. There is an upgrade path from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008. If you are certified on Windows 2000 Server, you could choose to earn the Windows Server 2003 certification first and then follow the Windows Server 2008 upgrade path, or you could begin the Windows Server 2008 direct path.

There is no scheduled retirement date for these exams. The current exams for Windows Server 2003 certifications have been available for more than four years.

No. The MCSE Exam 70-649 applies toward all three Windows Server 2008 MCTS certifications. The MCSA Exam 70-648 applies toward two of those same certifications. An MCSE does not gain anything more by taking MCSA Exam 70-648.

No, not necessarily. While a broader amount of information is covered in Exam 70-649, the MCSA Exam 70-648 validates skills in the complex computing environment of a medium-sized to large company.

No.

The first release of the upgrade exams was built on pre-release to manufacturing (RTM) bits of Windows Server 2008. Given the solidity of the major technology developments in Windows Server 2008 and the experience level of the intended audience for these exams, we were able to create this pre-RTM certification opportunity. After Windows Server 2008 released, a refreshed version of Exam 70-648 and Exam 70-649 was developed. If you passed the pre-RTM versions of the exams, you do not need to retake them.

Microsoft Press will have collections of relevant MCTS training kits, but no training kits for Exam 70-648 and Exam 70-649 specifically. After the Windows Server 2008 training books are published in early 2008, it is likely that separate training books for these two exams will be published. The reason for waiting to publish training kits is that the upgrade exams are subject to change, since they were available before Windows Server 2008 released.

No. The upgrade exams have more questions than the direct path exams, but exam length is similar. We created upgrade exams that are reasonable for the target audience.

Learn about the new generation of certification lifecycle policies

The MCITP: Enterprise Administrator certification does not encompass the MCITP: Server Administrator certification. There is overlap in the requirements and prerequisites for each certification, but you need to complete both paths separately to earn both certifications. The certification you choose depends on your current or future job role. Our research and your feedback have led us to conclude that these are two very separate roles in organizations. You now have the option to become certified on your job skill set.

Yes.

No, not exactly. The MCITP on Windows Server 2008 requires a new skill set—in some cases, a stronger one—that is different from the skill set needed for MCSA and MCSE certifications.

•	MCITP: Server Administrator certification covers much more operations-related job skills than the MCSA certification does
•	MCITP: Enterprise Administrator is based on an actual job role profile, whereas the MCSE certification is not—it combines technology and job skills

No. In the past, MCSA could be a subset of MCSE, but based on feedback we received, we now have two separate paths:

•	Enterprise Administrator focuses on design
•	Server Administrator focuses on operations

Unlike MCSA and MCSE certifications, these are two different job roles with two different sets of requirements. If you earn the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator certification, you do not automatically earn the MCITP: Server Administrator certification.

No, you must take the two exams that are specified in the requirements: Exam 70-640 and Exam 70-642.

No. If you hold a MCDST certification and pass Exam 70-621, you fulfill your client requirement.

No. Your certifications (and specializations) will continue to hold their value in the marketplace as long as there is a need for IT professionals with skills in working with Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003. The Windows Server 2008 certifications are intended for professionals who are, or will be, using Windows Server 2008; there is no requirement to upgrade to them.

MCSA and MCSE certifications are not being replaced. There is no change to the Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 tracks and certifications. MCTS and MCITP are the certifications for Windows Server 2008.

Yes, if you continue to work with Windows Server 2003, this is a good goal. We suggest discontinuing your current Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 certification track only if you plan to work solely on Window Server 2008 and do not need to demonstrate skills on earlier Windows Server versions.

No. Our goal is to allow you to become certified on just the technologies and skills you need, so that you do not have to follow a long exam path. Thus, we have broken out messaging and security into tracks specific to those technologies and skills and have not included them in the Windows Server 2008 certifications.

We recommend that you consider working toward an MCITP or MCTS certification that corresponds most closely to the technology and job role that makes sense for you. By passing the same number of exams (or fewer) that you would need to achieve an MCSE: Messaging certification, you could earn one of the following messaging-related certifications:

We recommend that you consider working toward an MCTS certification that corresponds most closely to the technology that makes sense for you. By passing the same number of exams (or fewer) that you would need to achieve an MCSE: Security certification, you could earn one of the following security-related certifications. We are exploring the possibility of a Professional Series MCITP security certification for the future. In the meantime, consider the following certifications: