[tramahound]

I am trying to prepare for this exam, but have run into a brick wall of sorts. Apple apparently offers nothing in the way of preparation materials other than a $2000 4 day class in NYC (closest to me). O'Reilly & Associates seems to be coming out with a book this month covering Panther Server, but other than that there is nothing out there. I recently purchased Panther Server so that I can maybe read the above book while getting 'hands-on' experience with it, but my results may not be up to snuff considering how in depth the skill assessment guide goes.
would anybody be able to point me towards a light at the end of my bleek tunnel? are there any ways to study for this exam? any materials?
Thanks

[tramahound]

the response i got from apple;
At the present time, Apple offers only leader-led training for the Mac OS X Server Essentials Exam. We hope to have a third-party self-paced book available within the coming year, however, so stay tuned and thanks for your interest!

[[APi]TheMan]

Originally posted by tramahound:
the response i got from apple;
At the present time, Apple offers only leader-led training for the Mac OS X Server Essentials Exam. We hope to have a third-party self-paced book available within the coming year, however, so stay tuned and thanks for your interest!

I wish I could help but alas I cannot. I've been using Macs forver, OS X since before it came out, but only OS X for about 4 months. I'd say that you just gotta know your stuff... Read the online documentation for Mac OS X server maybe... Those are about 500 pages long apiece and there 10 or so of those docs...

Yikes!

[CatOne]

Originally posted by tramahound:
I am trying to prepare for this exam, but have run into a brick wall of sorts. Apple apparently offers nothing in the way of preparation materials other than a $2000 4 day class in NYC (closest to me). O'Reilly & Associates seems to be coming out with a book this month covering Panther Server, but other than that there is nothing out there. I recently purchased Panther Server so that I can maybe read the above book while getting 'hands-on' experience with it, but my results may not be up to snuff considering how in depth the skill assessment guide goes.
would anybody be able to point me towards a light at the end of my bleek tunnel? are there any ways to study for this exam? any materials?
Thanks

I certainly understand and empathize with your plight.

One doesn't get to use that word often enough

It is difficult to study for these tests without the materials, and you're correct you can't get them without committing the time and money to the class. I will say it's quite difficult to pass the tests, currently, without taking the class. You could get the "Help Desk Essentials" materials from Peachpit... that book is new and should give you sufficient info for that specific course. But for the ACTC and ACSA exams, I'd think it would be very difficult to pass them without the classes, the questions on the tests are quite specific and if you don't know the material backward and forward you'll probably have too many "new" questions to be able to get the passing grade. I got the ACSA certification late last year.

[tramahound]

I already have the Panther Helpdesk certification and found it to be somewhat mediocre in difficulty. Based on the Skill Assessment Guide alone though, the Server Essentials exam seems like a much more difficult exam, at least for me. I just don't know that taking the four day class will even be enough for me if the material is so abstract to me at this point. I am thinking maybe I will see where I stand once I get the O'Reilly book that is coming out this month. If I'm feeling more confident then I might bite the bullit and take the course. The commute to NYC for me is enough of a negative not to though even despite the high cost...

[Detrius]

I'm taking both the help desk specialist test and the server essentials test this friday (September 3rd). I did not take the class and cannot afford to take the class. I did get the ACHDS book from peachpit to study, but frankly learned nothing from the book; therefore, I should pass that test pretty easily.

I have been playing with OS X Server for many months now. Our Office got a free copy of Server from Apple at the beginning of the year. Based on the time I have taken to make things work and to fix problems, and the time I have taken to read through the manuals, I think I'll pass the test just fine. However, if I don't, I just got one hell of a study guide for $150. I figure taking the test twice is far cheaper than the class, and in the end, the benefit from the certification will outweigh the cost...

...i hope...

Of course, I double majored in Math and CS and can program in Cocoa... but I'm still nervous.

[tramahound]

that's practically my mind-set now too. i've decided that the class, while most likely helpful as all hell is just too damned expensive (i could easily get a G5 for that kinda scratch!). so, i'm going to read the O'Reilly book which should get to me in another week or two, I'm going to read the PDFs on the server CD, i'm going to go over the online guides despite their lack of flow, and then i'm going to try to pass the exam. I got a free exam voucher from Apple anyway, so if anything I'll be out the $40 I spent on the book and in a round about way the $410 I spent on Panther Server, but I intend on using that for a while so it's more of an investment actually...It's worth a shot I guess.
Apple really should step up the prep materials though, it's really just pathetic.
Here's my email to the Worldwide Customer Training manager;
Sharon,
Thank you for your input on this issue. I understand how you are powerless to do anything at this time regarding the abysmal materials offered for the exams, but I would like you and others to be aware just how discouraging it is for individuals such as myself. I feel like I am not only going against the industry in choosing to support Apple by becoming certified in their hardware and operating system, but it seems like Apple themselves are putting up unnecessary roadblocks. I sympathize to a certain extent with Apple in that they are trying to focus on the actual product and its development, but I don't see how they can expect to have the Macintosh Server OS implemented in the real world when materials are so scarce that one finds it next to impossible to become certified in the field. In addition to this absolute lack of materials I find the quality of the materials offered for other exams to be of sub-par quality, but I will not delve into that issue at this time. I appreciate the response to my question, and I of course do not hold you personally responsible for the state of affairs at Apple, but I hope that you could at least pass along my concerns so that something might be done about this.
Thank you,

and her response as canned as it was;
Thank you for your input, Danny. We are very aware of the difficulty presented by the lack of self-paced preparation for our Mac OS X exams. To date, we have concentrated on producing high-quality leader-led courses because they can be completed fairly rapidly -- and can therefore keep pace with the astonishingly rapid development of the OS X software. That said, however, we do realize that attendance at a leader-led course is not possible for a large number of professionals such as yourself. Accordingly, we worked with PeachPit Publishing to produce the self-paced Mac OS X Help Desk Essentials book and we will continue to support such third-party ventures as the demand for higher-level Mac OS X certifications grows.

Her response makes sense, but it's just not going to help me much...

[JHromadka]

Originally posted by tramahound:
I am trying to prepare for this exam, but have run into a brick wall of sorts. Apple apparently offers nothing in the way of preparation materials other than a $2000 4 day class in NYC (closest to me). O'Reilly & Associates seems to be coming out with a book this month covering Panther Server, but other than that there is nothing out there.

Where did you hear about an O'R book on Panther Server? I can't find anything on their site on it.

[tramahound]

neither could i;
Barnes & Noble

[Detrius]

BTW, I passed the test today! Woo hoo!

Of course, I'm not allowed to give out any test questions. The thing to note is that most of the questions are about what you can and cannot do with OS X Server, not specifically how it is done. Note that I said "most." There are some. Despite the fact that I thought these would be obvious, I missed 3 out of 4 Installation and setup questions. I missed a big chunk of File Services, Web Services, and Open Directory. Study up on WebMail, Kerberos, and how Open Directory relates to PCs. At least, these are the ones I'm almost sure I missed. You may miss the ones that I virtually aced (like network services, NetBoot, Authentication & Authorization, printing, mail, protecting your network, etc...).

I went through the Skills Assessment Guide and marked anything that looked really funny and looked that stuff up in the PDFs. Of course, I've vaguely studying the PDFs for months.

Also, the Skills Assessment Guide really is just a basic guide.

I got a netboot question about which machines could be netbooted with 10.3 Server (this detail is not in the guide, btw). If you get this question, note that it is referring to a default install, and not to what you can turn on by hand in NetInfo or at the command line. Sorry, I really shouldn't go into any more detail than that. The question is vague and I guessed about which way they were going on this one and I guessed right (5 out of 5 in netboot says I was right).


Now... does anyone need to hire an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator?

[tramahound]

WOW CONGRATULATIONS! great to hear. I wouldn't expect you to go into any more detail as you've already gone further than anybody else i've ever met regarding the apple exams. i appreciate you saying as much as you have and i will certainly keep it in mind. i'm still a few months off on taking it myself so i'll try to keep you posted. my book should arrive next week sometime and i've just now started the 10.3 sections on the online "extras" section (i'm thinking having covered the old 10.2 sections was a waste of time and effort now...). Other than that I'm at a loss...
thanks again and congratulations!

[storer]

Originally posted by Detrius:
BTW, I passed the test today! Woo hoo!

congrats! how long have you been studying for that?

[Detrius]

Originally posted by storer:
congrats! how long have you been studying for that?

I signed up for the test about a month ago. I effectively began studying at the beginning of the year when I first started working with OS X Server 10.3.

Even though I now have ACTC, I am currently a hardware bench technician. Apple gave us a free copy of 10.3 Server at the beginning of the year; since then I have made some very useful netboot images, and I have set up the machine as a DNS server and router. I finally got OpenLDAP authentication working last month, but it isn't particularly useful in this environment. I have TTP4, DiskWarrior, and a host of other utilities on the NetBoot image to ease diagnostic and repair on the machines. Being the only Mac user in the entire company, I can't get the people up front to consistently ask for passwords, so I use other methods (instead of calling up every single customer for the password and waiting for them to call back). With 10.3 Server, you no longer need your netbooting machines to have an internal hard drive. With 10.2 Server, this was not possible.

BTW, to any other techs out there, put this in your login script on whatever you use to test boot machines:

sudo plutil -s /Volumes/*/Users/*/Library/Preferences/*.plist /Volumes/*/Users/*/Library/Preferences/*/*.plist /Volumes/*/var/root/Library/Preferences/*.plist /Volumes/*/var/root/Library/Preferences/*/*.plist /Volumes/*/Library/Preferences/*.plist /Volumes/*/Library/Preferences/*/*.plist

That should check the integrity of the preference files in the default locations on all mounted drives every time you open up Terminal. This is not useful to run every time you log in as a casual user because it adds at least several seconds to the login time. However, if you may be sitting at a different machine every time you power up the OS, then this is far faster than trying to diagnose whether someone has corrupt preferences and which ones they are.

[ManOfSteal]

Originally posted by Detrius:
Now... does anyone need to hire an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator?

Congrats Detrius that is excellent! What kind of job are you looking for? Consulting? Will your current employer pay you more now with your extra certs?

[Detrius]

Originally posted by manofsteal:
Congrats Detrius that is excellent! What kind of job are you looking for? Consulting? Will your current employer pay you more now with your extra certs?

I am a hardware bench tech at my current position. I have been trying for the past year to talk them into letting me get the certification so they/we can sell Mac server systems. The answer has been an apathetic no. They make far more money off selling Windows server systems--because they require more support. So, finally, I paid for the tests myself, and I suspect I'll be finding a more interesting job elsewhere in the country.

I have a BS in Math and Computer Science. I have experience programming by myself in Cocoa. I have job experience as a hardware bench tech, working on Macs and laser printers. I am an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator. My dream job right now would be to get in to Lockheed Martin and work with them and NASA on their Macs; I'm not afraid of Calculus or even Analysis--and I can do the programming too. But just having a BS, I don't think they'll look twice at my résumé. So, next on my list would be a general programming job, preferably Cocoa, as I already have experience, but I'm willing and capable of learning anything. Third on the list is what I just got a certification for. I enjoy solving problems and helping people out. Setting up networks and servers would be far more mentally challenging than swapping out parts, which is my current job.

Of course, if the pay is good enough, I'd be willing to move just about anywhere in the world for just about any job--as long as my wife comes too.

[anthology123]

I took ACSA Apple class and exam for Jaguar last year. The workstation was difficult but passable, the Server section is very difficult. Unless you are a Unix wiz, that second test might be hard. The hands on training is essential to passing the test IMO. See if you can get a tax deduction for continuing your education. Unless you have an employer that can pay for it, the tax angle is the only other path I can think of.