What Is the MCSA Certification?
MCSA stands for Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, which has one track each for Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2003. Both require four exams. Two exams are required for server-operating systems (Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003), one for client-operating systems like Windows XP or Windows 7, and another elective exam, which can be any Microsoft technology like Exchange or SQL.
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Exam Format
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The four exams test the skills of the examinees in real-life network environment situations that either have Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003. The exams are given in multiple-choice formats, where one or many answers are correct. Simulation questions provide examinees with a desktop interface to demonstrate tasks related to the exam subject. The interface is like the regular desktop, but with some features disabled like the Help or Search options.
Specializations
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The elective exam enables MCSA specialization in one Microsoft technology. Taking the Exchange Server 2003 exam as an elective, for example, specifies the title as MCSA Messaging. Another specialization is for MCSA Security, which requires ISA (Internet Security and Acceleration) Server certifications. The MCSA Security requires at least two electives, which can be any ISA certification or a third-party security certification like CompTIA.
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Upgrade Paths
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MCSA for Windows 2000 Server has a direct upgrade path to MCSA for Windows 2003. Only one exam needs to be taken if you are already MCSA for Windows 2000 Server. However, there is no direct upgrade path from Windows 2000 Server to MCITP Windows 2008.
MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) replaces the MCSA certification starting on Windows 2008 servers. Direct upgrade paths are available for MCSA on Windows 2003 to MCITP Server or Enterprise Administrators for Windows 2008.
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