CertTutor.net UPDATE, January 3, 2003

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR

Many of us in the IT industry are happy to see the end of 2002, a year when the technology economy just couldn't seem to pick itself up off the floor. Fortunately, early signs indicate that 2003 will bring improvements. Of course, the vast array of variables—including the lingering threat of terrorism and the developing situations in Iraq and North Korea—complicate any effort to make economic predictions about the coming year, even for economists. However, I'm certain we'll see significant progress on the employment and economic side of the equation.

Of course, the big news this year will be the release of the Microsoft .NET technologies and the associated certification tracks. Windows 2000 MCSEs will need to take an upgrade exam or two to stay current. The thousands of remaining Windows NT 4.0 MCSEs will have a much tougher row to hoe when Microsoft releases the new certifications.

This last point will, I believe, rejuvenate the certification industry. When Microsoft changed gears in 2001 and decided to let NT 4.0 certifications remain valid, a side effect was a drastic reduction in the number of technicians who needed to prepare for and take the Win2K certification exams. With the advent of the .NET exams, all of us who took a pass on the new certifications will need to either knuckle down and bring our certifications up-to-date or take the risk that we'll lose them in the near future.

We've seen some good certification resource companies go under during the past year, and several more are holding onto the ropes to try to remain in the game. I think the new certifications will help the certification industry, and I think a strengthening economy will help the companies that are holding back on their IT spending. So make your resolutions and hang on, because I predict this year is going to be an eventful one!

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2. ANNOUNCEMENTS(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

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3. WHAT'S NEW FROM CERTTUTOR LIVE!

CertTutor.net Live! is the Internet's number-one training and certification discussion board. Each week, CertTutor.net Live! receives thousands of posts about Windows XP, Windows 2000, Cisco Systems, and more. We've selected three of these posts to feature here in CertTutor.net UPDATE. To join in the conversation at CertTutor.net Live!, register at the following URL:http://www.certtutor.net/registration/index.cfm

FEATURED THREADS

MIGRATING TO WINDOWS 2000 PROFESSIONAL

One of the many complaints about Microsoft exams is that sometimes the questions aren't particularly grounded in the real world. The questions can tend to favor the marketing department's bullets, as this thread about migrating hardware from Windows 95 to Windows 2000 explains.http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=14&threadid=36936

STOMPING THE BEAST

If you've been reading Senior Guru Mohareb's preparation threads, you'll be happy to learn that he succeeded in his attempt to pass Exam 70-216: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure. However, complications arose. See this thread for details.http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=16&threadid=37026

CCNP HOME LAB

If you're thinking about using a home lab to go after the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) exam, you'll want to make sure you have the right equipment. See this thread for some recommendations.http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=76&threadid=37007

HOT THREADS

VERITAS BACKUP SOFTWARE

http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=37010

REAL WORLD, ALBEIT SMALL WORLD (DESIGNING A NEW NETWORK)

http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=36992

XP PRO DOESN'T SEE OTHERS ON WORKGROUP

http://certtutor.net/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=36926

4. RESOURCES

LINK OF THE WEEK: WAYNE'S WINDOWS 2000 ACTIVE DIRECTORY TIPS

Wayne's Windows 2000 Active Directory Tips provides an amazing collection of links specifically about Active Directory (AD). If you're studying for Exam 70-217: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure, visit this site.http://is-it-true.org/nt/nt2000/ad/index.shtml

TIP OF THE WEEK: TIMING

An hour of intense, in-depth study can be much more effective than 3 hours of distracted and disrupted study. When you begin a study session, set a timer and put your nose to the grindstone until the timer goes off. You can then take a 10-minute break before resetting the timer for another hour, if necessary. If friends or family are around, tell them when the hour begins so that they won't interrupt you during this productive time.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: EXAM 70-210

This week's question will help you prepare for Exam 70-210: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional.

QUESTION

You're using the default version of Microsoft IIS that ships with Windows 2000 Professional to set up a Web site on your Win2K Pro system. The Web site will run Active Server Pages (ASP) as well as some static content in the form of standard HTML files. You anticipate about 10,000 hits per day.

You want to limit access to the site to people who are either coming from the nolliuob.org domain or have machines with IP addresses on the 203.164.20.224 /28 subnet. You run the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) IIS snap-in and see the dialog box at the URL below when you select Properties for the Web site that you want to configure:http://primus.lspace.org/exhibits/exhibit5a.jpg

Which procedure should you follow to limit access to the Web site to the domain and the subnet specified above? (Choose the best answer.)

A. Click Edit in the "Anonymous access and authentication control" section, and remove anonymous access. Next, click Edit in the "IP address and domain name restrictions" section, select Denied Access, and click Add. Enter 203.164.20.224 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.248, then click OK. Click Add again and enter nolliub.org, then click OK.

B. Click Edit in the "Anonymous access and authentication control" section, and remove anonymous access. Next, click Edit in the "IP address and domain name restrictions" section, select Denied Access, and click Add. Enter 203.164.20.224 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.240, then click OK. Click Add again and enter nolliub.org, then click OK.

C. Click Edit in the "Anonymous access and authentication control" section, and remove anonymous access. Next, click Edit in the "IP address and domain name restrictions" section, select Allow Access, and click Add. Enter 203.164.20.224 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.240, then click OK. Click Add again and enter nolliub.org, then click OK.

D. Click Edit in the "Secure communications" section, and disable anonymous access. Click Edit in the "IP address and domain name restrictions" section, select Allow Access, and click Add. Enter 203.164.20.224 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.248, then click OK. Click Add again and enter nolliub.org, then click OK.

E. The Win2K Pro version of IIS doesn't let you restrict client access by IP address or domain.

ANSWER

The correct answer is E—The Win2K Pro version of IIS doesn't let you restrict client access by IP address or domain.

5. INSTANT POLL

RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLL: THE HOLIDAYS

The voting has closed in the CertTutor.net nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "Will you have to work over the holidays?" Here are the results from the 102 votes:

- 31%: Yes, unfortunately.- 26%: Yes, but I'm choosing to.-  9%: I should, but I won't.- 33%: No way.

(Deviations from 100 percent are due to rounding error.)

NEW POLL: THE 2003 JOB MARKET

The next Instant Poll question is, "Do you think the IT job market will improve in 2003?" Go to the CertTutor.net home page and submit your vote for a) Definitely, b) I certainly hope so, c) Probably not, or d) Definitely not.http://www.certtutor.net

6. NEW AND IMPROVED(contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])

ACHIEVE CISCO SECURITY SPECIALIST 1 DESIGNATION