Re: 70-285: Designing a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Organization.

I'm going to reply to this post even though its a couple of months old and I
figure that you have already taken the exam. Someone else might benefit from
the info.

My background is in Lotus Domino (Certified Administrator R5 & R6) and
Alt-N's MDaemon (a great low end email sever). I had no desire to work on
Exchange servers, but it seemed that I was always the one called upon to do
so. I tried to get someone else in the office to get certified, but failed.
So even with Exchange 2007 breathing down everyone's necks, I went ahead and
took 70-284 last fall.

That was my seventh cert for 2006 (upgraded to MCSE 2003, Plus Security, &
Exchange). I really needed a break, so I read the excellent fifth edition of
O'Reilly's Dns and Bind http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dns5/index.html (I
can highly recommend it).

But now I've got the Plus Messaging itch since its just one additional
design cert away. So I started looking around and found the same thing that
you did, no study guides. Not even one from Microsoft Press. I've read that
there wan't much difference between the design cert for 2000 and for 2003.
Obviouly, there are some differences, but I don't think it will cause me any
problems. So I purchased what I could find for Designing MS Exchange 2000
(Exam Prep and Exam Cram) . They can still be purchased (very cheaply) from
the private book sellers on Amazon.com.

I've also read, but have not seen, that the PDFs which come along with
CramMaster's 70-285 practice exam, come from the never published Exchange
2003 Design Exam Prep book.

If I remember, I'll post my experenses after passing the exam.

-----
Ruben, what did you finally end up doing about exam preperation?

Harvey Colwell

Follow up:

> I've read that there wan't much difference between the design cert for
> 2000 and for 2003.

I've started studding for earnest. Remember that I had no prior experience
with Exchange. So I'm finding that there's actually lots of [technical]
differences between Exchange 2000 and 2003, but since I recently passed the
70-284, I still don't think that using the study material for Exchange 2000
Design will trip me up.

Of course there's lots to download and read from Microsoft's online
technical library for Exchange. Including information on design. I will be
relying on this material a lot.

> I've also read, but have not seen, that the PDFs which come along with
> CramMaster's 70-285 practice exam, come from the never published Exchange
> 2003 Design Exam Prep book.

I've still haven't seen this, but apparently I'm was incorrectly informed.
I've now been told that this practice exam has very brief explanations and
none of the usual PDFs.

It's the law of supply and demand. Since very few people take the Plus
Messaging track, therefore, there's very little profit in creating study
material for it. I love a challenge.

Harvey Colwell