Windows IT Professional Curriculum
Core Curriculum
Microsoft has courses to teach the management and maintenance of servers
and workstations for both Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 (including XP Professional,
which is the 2003 client.) These courses can lead to a Microsoft Certified
Systems Administrator (MCSA) certification. In addition, there are courses
on planning deployments, designing infrastructure and complex troubleshooting,
which teach the knowledge needed to be a systems engineer, and partially prepare
the student to pass the exams for the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
(MCSE) certification.
The Microsoft curriculum assumes that anyone taking these courses has the
knowledge of computer hardware and networking that would allow a person to pass
the CompTIA A+ and Networking+ exams. Beyond that, the initial courses such as
the introductory 5-day MS-2274, Managing and Maintaining Microsoft Windows 2003,
assume little or no exposure to Windows servers and basic troubleshooting.
For the Experienced Novell or NT professional
For more experienced personnel, Microsoft has created an accelerated version
of the introductory courses: MS-2273, a five-day class that combines the MS-2274
and MS-2275 classes. This class uses Instructor Led Training (ILT) as well as
self-study, so that the student is able to cover more material at a pace more
suited to someone with experience.
Workshops: an Upgrade Path for Windows MCSA's and MCSE's
Microsoft has also created a new type of course for the professional looking
to upgrade their certification and knowledge to Windows 2003: the workshop.
Workshops are unlike classes in that there is little lecture, and the students
are given most of the class time to do the labs. There are two workshop classes:
the 5-day MS-2208 for the NT professional, and the 2-day
MS-2209 for the Windows
2000 professional. See the MCSA roadmap and the MCSE upgrade roadmap for more
information.
Project Management and Best Practices
Microsoft knows that the success of your information technology (IT) environment
doesn't just depend on technical skills. Designing the right infrastructure,
and successfully deploying it requires more than just technical knowledge -
it requires project management skills and an understanding of how IT helps its
business or organization achieve the larger organization goals. IT is being
asked to do more with less, and to do it more effectively. This means that to
be successful, IT professionals have to understand how technology can fail if
people and process are ignored, and how having an organized team with well-defined
processes can help technology succeed. SQLSoft+ offers both a Project Management
course, the generic IT best practices curriculum on ITIL starting with the ITIL
Foundations class, and the Microsoft course, MS-1737, Microsoft
Operations Framework for IT best practices for a Microsoft environment.
Security
Microsoft has recognized that security is a bigger issue than ever before,
and has written courses that vary from lecture with demo presentations for
management (the MS-2800 Security Clinic) to security
courses and workshops. See the Security curriculum
page for more information. You should also examine the SiegeWorks
course offerings for courses leading to the CISSP.
SQL Server, Business Intelligence, and XML
For the Windows professional who has responsibility for medium to large data
bases, or who is responsible for a database back-end for a web service, Microsoft
has developed the SQL Server and related technologies curriculum. For more
information, see the SQL Server and the Business
Intelligence pages.
Other Specialized Technical Courses
Beyond SQL Server, Microsoft has courses for most of their server applications
such as Exchange, Systems Management Server (SMS), Internet Security and Acceleration
Server (ISA), Office SharePoint Server, Clustering, BizTalk Server, and Microsoft
Identity Integration Server.
SQLSoft+ Can Help
SQLSoft+ Schedule
To see which IT Professional courses are being offered and the dates and
locations they are available, please see the SQLSoft+
Schedule™. The schedule not only lists course offerings, but
also notes those offerings that are guaranteed to run, noting them with a
green flag.
Custom Deliveries
If you don't see the course you need, or if you need a customized course, let
us know. We are happy to create a custom class for your business needs.
Classes can be presented at one of our locations or yours.
Summary
Microsoft is offering dozens of courses to help IT professionals in their
daily tasks. These courses cover a wide range of topics, such as IP fundamentals,
managing and maintaining your network infrastructure, designing Exchange and
Active Directory infrastructure, and implementing and deploying Web, application
and file servers. The information provided on this page will assist you in
getting the most out of IT curriculum. Click
here to contact your Account Representative!