Garth Jones : SQL, MDT, SCVMM

SMSUG.ca Forums

Garth — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:44:41 GMT

I have decided that the forums on www.SMSUG.ca are not being used and due to some SPAMMER populating the membership list, I have closed them down. This is a good thing as it means I will arrange for the site to be convert to a blog only site. With the new site will come a new look a feel. (wait for it)

If you are looking for ConfigMgr , SCCM , SMS, v.Next Forums then I suggest:

www.faqshop.com/forums/

www.myitforum.com/forums

social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/configurationmanager

2010 myITforum Donation

Garth — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:39:34 GMT

With the start of a new year, it is that time again to support the System Management Community, with that in mind I have made my yearly donation of $250 USD to MyITForum (MIF).

Why do I do it? Well as a past User Group leader for www.OWSUG.ca, I know how much it cost to host a small user group community. OWSUG is small in comparison to MIF! Our network traffic is nothing compared to what the MIF site gets. I’m will to bet that the network traffic to the MIF site in less than 12 hours, is the equivalent of what the www.OWSUG.ca gets in one year! I will also tell you that it cost more that $350 as year (USD) to host the www.OWSUG.ca site. Yes that is about $1 a day for a small user group site! I hate to see what MIF spends each month!

So, have you made a donation to your community yet? http://www.myitforum.com/donations/myITpaypal.asp

$300,000 worth of training

Garth — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:36:24 GMT

CTE Solutions, (Yes, the same training center that helps out with both the User & Study Groups) will donate $300,000 worth of training to recently laid off tech workers in Ottawa, equating to around 150 participants to be instructed over the coming summer months.

CTE Solutions was founded seven years ago during the depths of the last tech wreck, after its founders (yes, Kim was one of them! and so was Mia & Gerry, et al) were themselves laid off from a bankrupt firm – said late Monday that it will offer courses in various Microsoft and Java applications, among other areas, meant to increase the marketability of tech workers affected by the economic downturn.

Each class will hold up to 14 participants and will be held weekly throughout the summer, CTE said. Potential participants will need to show proof of previous full-time tech employment and are asked to apply online at http://www.makememarketable.ca/.

Examples of some of the course they are donating are:

Microsoft SharePoint Services 3.0 and SharePoint Server 2007 (5 days)
Configuring, Managing, and Maintaining Windows Server 2008 (5 days)
Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Programming (5 days)
Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database (5 days)
Business Analysis Boot Camp (4 days)
ITIL V3 Foundation Training and Certification (3.5 days)
Java Programming Language (5 days)

And don’t forget to join the user group too!

Harrah’s short cut

Garth — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:00:08 GMT

There is a short cut from Harrah’s to the Sands expo.

1. Starting at the Reception desk , exit Harrah’s Turn left

2. Go to the Bus area

3. Near the end of the Bus area, look for the ramp to the Sands Expo (there is a sign)

4. Like this

5. Walk through the parking garage.

6. Take the elevator to the 3^rd level

7. You end up near the blue star

8. Go down the Escalator (next to 12 on the map above)

9. Now this is where you should meet up with anyone staying at the Venetian as it is right next to the Elevators to their rooms. See blue star below.

10. Finally keep to the right all the way to the Expo. This shaves off at least half the distance vs going the street way.

myITForum Donation

Garth — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:23:24 GMT

With the start of a new year, it is that time again to support the System Management Community, with that in mind I have made my yearly donation to MyITForum (MIF).

Why do I do it? Well as a User Group leader for www.OWSUG.ca, I know how much it cost to host a small user group community. OWSUG is extremely small compared to MIF! Our network traffic is nothing compared to what the MIF site gets. I’m will to bet that the network traffic to the MIF site in less than 12 hours, is the equivalent of what the www.OWSUG.ca gets in one year! I will also tell you that it cost more that $100 as year (USD) to host the www.OWSUG.ca site.

So, have you made a donation to your community yet? http://www.myitforum.com/donations/myITpaypal.asp

1st Anniversary

Garth — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:30:37 GMT

Well today is 1^st anniversary of me taking steps to upgrade my certifications to Windows 2003 / Windows 2008. As many of you know I have blog about my experiences with all the exams. So this blog post is designed to talk about a few things.

Which exam I write and pass?
Which certifications did I achieve?
What exam tips can I give you?

Which exams did I write.

With the exception of one exam, I have passed all the exams below. The only one I have not passed yet is the 70-403 exam which is still in Beta and the results have not been released yet. (crossing finger)

70-647 MCITP: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator 07-Nov-08
70-403 MCTS: MS System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Configuring 21-Oct-08
70-646 MCITP: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator 10-Oct-08
70-652 MCTS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring 24-Sep-08
70-649 MCTS: Upgrading MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 24-Sep-08

70-640 MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
70-642 MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring
70-643 TS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring

70-298 Designing Security for a Windows Server 2003 Network 01-Aug-08
70-624 MCTS: Deploying & Maintaining Vista & Client Office System 07 Desktop 06-Jun-08
70-294 Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure 30-May-08
70-293 Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure 30-May-08
70-291 Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure 04-Apr-08
70-290 Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment 08-Feb-08
70-431 SQL Server 2005 Implementation & Maintenance 22-Jan-08
70-622 Supporting and Troubleshooting Applications on a Windows Vista Client for Enterprise Support Technicians 03-Jan-08
70-620 Configuring Windows Vista Client 17-Dec-07
70-401 Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, Configuring 11-Dec-07

Yes that is 14 exams and one upgrade exam which counts are 3 exams. (17 exams)

Which certifications did I achieve?

Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Certified IT Professional Enterprise Administrator
Microsoft Certified IT Server Administrator
Microsoft Certified IT Enterprise Support Technician
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Windows Server 2008 Active Directory: Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure: Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure: Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Business Desktop Deployment
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist SQL Server 2005
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Microsoft Windows Vista: Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Certified Trainer

Yes that is 14 different certifications!

What exam tips can I give you?

Find a local User Group
Find a Study Group or create one
Buy your books online vs at a book store
Book the exam in advance, this is a great motivator!
There are NO trick questions on the exams! I could write entire blog post on this subject!
Write a review of the exam. Like I did for 70-298
Be proud of the exams you passed!
Don’t use brain dumps, this only hurt you!

The last question that might be asked is what is next for me.

Well, I still plan to finish the exams outlined in my blog posts System Center Configuration Manager Enterprise Administrator and System Center Operation Manager Enterprise Administrator. Which are 70-400, 70-122 and a packaging exam. I’m starting to regret adding that one to the list, mostly because it is hard to find CBTs for that one. On top of those, I might pick up 70-432 (SQL 2008) and 70-635 (MDT). Yes, it is a never ending battle.

Why did I do this? The biggest reason was to put my money where my mouth was! I was preaching to other User Group members about you should get certified but I was not doing it myself! Plus I always feel that I learn something new while studying for each exam!

So what are you doing about becoming certified?

Job posting

Garth — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:47:26 GMT

Make sure that you stop by the OWSUG Job forums. There have been 10 new posting within the last month with more that half of them for Microsoft!