04.14.07
OS X Server Preperation v2.0: Bring Guns to Your Knife Fights.
Where to begin….
Ahhh, lets talk about the format of the exam itself, you will sit-down at a frumpy little computer that someone forgot to change the refresh rate from 60MHz (it hurts my eyes right now just thinking of it) and answer 8 questions about yourself, so Apple can spin lots of metrics about their certifications, and then you will continue on to the exam. The format is multiple guess (multiple choice) with multiple answers. Meaning you will be asked to pick the “best” three out of five answers. I found this rather unnerving when I first took the OS X Suport essentials exam, but atleas I got through that one. That being said, the exam I took was very fond of these multiple answers, so my suggestion is when confronted with a new service or protocol, write out its components in a bulleted format such as:
File Sharing Protocols Supported by OS X 10.4 Server
- AFP
- SMB/CIFS
- NFS
- FTP
Passwords: This exam was very concerned about what passwords went with which logins, where they were stored, and which services they authenticated. If you don’t know much about Kerberos, now would be a great time to look into it.
ACLs: If you didn’t notice in the server essenetials book 10.4 now icludes ACLs (you could’nt have missed it, they were on every page). make sure you understand the distinction between File ACLs and Service ACLs.
Permissions: While much of the new architecture of ACLs does away with much of the POSIX model, it is still important to understand both, and how they will interact with each other.
Vocabulary: The book often uses vocabulary that will be reflected on the exam. If you pay attention to this it will be easier to recognize where the question is going. Example: “The FTP server can automatically compress, archive and encode files on the fly… “, not zip it or turn it into a .dmg file.
Exceptions: This was a very tricky tactic on the exam. There are several exceptions to rules that can catch you out, if you are not careful. So if you see a caveat to a rule, make sure to note it somehow, I ended-up highlighting them with a different color than my other notes and writing it down on a index card. Example: The Energy Saver preference can only be managed for computer lists. (very peevish)
These suggestions should clear up a couple things the book I don’t think really addresses. I don’t want to give the impression that Mr. Regan didn’t do his readers a fine service in writing this book, but for test taking it was not very focused, and for theory it was very limited as well. In the next couple days I plan on putting up a Study Guide and a Sample Test.
In other news, I just gave notice at the House that I will be leaving at the end of May, soooo if you happen to be a Mac person or know one looking looking for a job on the Hill with great benefits, let me know. I look forward to greener pastures and better riding roads in San Fransisco.
As well, I received my new AirPort Extreme in the mail , and finally had a chance to hook it up. NEAT! it is way faster than old Buffalo one and the range is impressive. More clever stuff on this will have to come soon.
