70-646 Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator - PASS!

Wow, this was hard. The 70-649 upgrade exam seemed pretty easy compared to this. But a pass is a pass.

And that is almost the end of the certification road for now. Passing this exam means I've earned the following certifications in the last 8 weeks-

1. MCSA Windows Server 2003
2. MCSA Security on Windows Server 2003
3. MCSE Windows Server 2003
4. MCITP Server Administrator on Windows Server 2008
5. MCSA Windows Server 2008

I'm not counting the MCTS credentials as they aren't 'proper' credentials in my opinion.

This still leaves MCSE Security on Windows Server 2003. Depending on workload 70-298 might be put on the schedule for next week. If not, I think the above list is a pretty good haul after a ton of study.

70-649 Upgrading Your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 - PASS!

After the MCSE:2003, I had a choice to make - go for MCSE:2003 Security, or try for MCITP:SA 2008 before the credential retired. 70-649 won- after all, passing this exam would be the equivalent of passing 70-640, 70-642 and 70-643. 640 and 642 are core parts of the new MCSA Server 2008, so running out of time for the MCITP wouldn't be too disappointing.

The exam is pretty fair and a bit easier than I thought. The prep work from the Server 2003 exams helped a lot.

Incidentally, Microsoft are changing the retirement dates of various exams and certs. This exam was due to be retired on July 31, 2013. It is now listed as retiring on January 31, 2014. MCITP:SA (Server Administrator) still retires in July, but MCITP:EA (Enterprise Administrator) gets a reprieve until January 2014 too. Microsoft Learning are doing a pretty poor job of communicating this change though!

Microsoft cancelling TechNet Subscriptions

This is really bad news if you want to run a legal lab of Microsoft software for proof of concept ideas. Yes, you can run the evaluations (if they are available as ISOs), as long as you can get your testing done within 180 days.

More info from the TechNet page.