Outline and Introduction to Exam 70-653: TS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring

Microsoft exam 70-653: TS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring exam has been available to exam candidates since late 2008 and it is designed for information technology professionals who work in or consult with small businesses that use Windows Small Business Server 2008.

There are no real prerequisites for the exam, but the testing candidate should have at least one year of experience deploying and managing interconnected systems in a business environment that has:

• Up to 75 interconnected devices
• Company networks with Internet connectivity
• Individual users or user groups that connect to the company network from remote locations

When you take and pass the “Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring 70-653 Exam” you earn the “70-653: TS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuration” certification.

This certification is a standalone Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) credential; it does not map to any of the larger Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certification tracks.

Skills Measured for the 70-653 Exam

The skills that are measured as part of this exam are as follows:

Deploying Hardware and Software for SBS Servers (10%)

• Install SBS on servers
• Configure a second server
• Configure Internet connectivity
• Configure Microsoft Exchange
• Configure SBS fax settings
• Configure the network firewall

Migrating to SBS 2008 (16%)

• Prepare for migration
• Perform migration
• Verify migration

Deploying Hardware and Software for Computers on the Network (9%)

• Prepare the computer
• Join computers to the domain
• Migrate local data

Maintaining Systems and Services Availability (16%)

• Modify software update settings
• Customize Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) and patches
• Modify server storage
• Configure backup and recovery
• Volume shadow copy
• Server recovery
• Database recovery
• Active Directory object recovery
• Maintain SBS client access license (CAL) compliance
• Modify reports settings
• Configure monitoring and reports

Maintaining Remote Access (10%)

• Modify Remote Web Workplace (RWW)
• Modify RAS
• User permissions

Maintaining Users and Computers (11%)

• Modify users
• Create, edit, and delete users
• Modify groups
• Create, edit, and delete groups
• Modify user roles
• Create, edit, and delete roles

Maintaining Collaboration (11%)

• Create new Microsoft SharePoint sites
• Modify site access
• Permissions
• Modify shared folders
• Modify Web folder settings

Maintaining Messaging  (17%)

• Modify user messaging settings
• Modify mailbox permissions
• Add e-mail aliases to user accounts
• Modify user distribution groups
• Configure e-mail connectors
• Configure SMTP connectors
• Configure POP3 connectors
• Configure mobile device settings
• Configure Microsoft Outlook settings
• RPC over HTTP (Outlook Anywhere)

70-653 Exam Details

The exam was published originally in November of 2008 and it has not seen any major revisions since its release.

It is a proctored exam (as outlined by Microsoft) and it is available in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil).

The 70-653 exam is a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) exam.

The exam, along with the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) exam tracks will be retired at the same time that product support for the technology ends.

The certification will still appear on your transcript but will be listed as retired. At that point, if there is an upgrade path to the newer technology (e.g., Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008) it will be available for individuals who have that certification so that they can demonstrate their skills on the newest version of the technology without completing all exams associated with the new certification.

This exam is in the “70” class format and not the “83” class format.

The “70” format of exams from Microsoft are the traditional multiple-choice / interactive / sort and order / ordered list / item types.

The new “83” class (which has not been widely rolled out) is a lab-based exam which also includes some question types from the “70” series.

Preparing for your 70-653 Exam

As far as training and preparing for your exam, the Microsoft Learning page outlines their instructor led classroom learning in the Implementing and Administering Windows Small Business Server 2008 course (6445A).

It is a five day course at the 300 level of learning and the audience outline for the class is “technology consultants, system integrators, and in-house technology staff that serve small and medium-sized businesses.”

On top of any on the job, professional experience that a candidate has, they are also recommended to have either taken or have the technical knowledge equivalent to the following additional courses:

• Course 6420: Fundamentals of a Windows Sever 2008 Network Infrastructure and Application Platform
• Course 6424: Fundamentals of Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
• Course 5115: Installing and Configuring the Windows Vista Operating System
• Course 5116: Configuring Windows Vista Mobile Computing and Applications

The full details on the 6445A course can be found on the Microsoft website for course 6445A.

Microsoft Press has also released the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-653): Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008 book.

TrainSignal has their Small Business Server 2008 Training as outlined on their Small Business Server 2008 Training page. The training suite includes over 17 Hours of Small Business Server 2008 Training Videos on 3 DVDs and two additional bonus training videos on Navigating SBS 2008 and SBS 2008 Update Rollup 3. The training suite comes with multiple file formats (mp3, WMV, AVI, etc.) so that you can take the learning with you in the car or on your notebook computer. PDFs of the instructor notes are also included which allow you to follow along with the videos. If you want to review the release article on their training it is available on their “New Small Business Server 2008 Training Course from Train Signal!” page which includes an 8 minute video.

In this article we reviewed the Skills Measured for the 70-653 Exam along with some of the 70-653 Exam Details. We wrapped with Preparing for your 70-653 Exam, which took a look at some of your training options for the exam.

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