Conference chefs::uk_mcse

    Guess I'll answer my own question as I took the Network Essentials test
    this past week.  The Transcender exams were a good study tool.  Be
    careful though.  I found two questions that gave incorrect answers.
    
    Overall, this was a fairly difficult test.  I studied the OSI seven
    layer model until I was blue in the face and got one, maybe two
    questions on that topic.
    
    I scored an 896 but didn't feel completely safe until I saw the bar
    graph pop up on the screen.
    
    					Steve

    I recently took the Network Essentials test and like Steve was doubtful
    about passing it until the bar graph popped-up with Congratulations.
    
    Although I used the Microsoft Networking Essentials Self-Paced training
    package it didn't cover the numerous Novell Networking questions.  As I
    recall I had approximately 12 questions directly related to Novell and
    I made a comment on this at the end of the test.
    
    I don't have any Novell experience and would recommend that ones taking
    this test to find someone or some material that can give you an
    overview of this other netowrking enviornment.
    
    Good Luck!
    
    Cloyce
    

	Hi,

	I too was lucky enough to pass Networking Essentials, the first of
	my exams a couple of weeks ago. May I add some tips which might be 
	helpful to anyone else studying for this exam:-

	1. I read through the work book three times, doing all the exercises
	and taking it slowly in order to try and digest the information.

	2. On the third pass I created a summary document which I then read
	several times.

	3. A couple of the harder questions in the real exam are the same as
	the ones in the assessment exam, except that they give different 
	solutions. The ones that spring to mind are where a solution is
	provided to a problem along with required results and several desired
	results, and you have to determine which results the solution will
	give. 

	4. Microsoft make a lot of use of abbreviations which are enough to
	trip you up, especially for protocol names. The name of a protocol 
	usually tells you what it does, so I made up a table of abbreviations 
	and their meanings which I learnt off by heart.

	5. The workbook provides summary tables for things like IRQs, IEEE
	802.x standards, topologies, OSI model, protocols and the OSI layers
	at which they run, T1 lines etc. Practise writing these out until
	you can do it without the book. (Not as hard as it sounds).

	6. The questions which I think I got wrong in the exam were on topics 
	that were not adequately covered in the workbook, e.g. PPP & SLIP. 
	Read the exam preparation guide and the recommended support books.

	7. Take the assessment exams for both Networking Essentials and the
	old Networking Basics at intervals during your study period, trying
	to think out the correct answers each time rather than remember them 
	from the previous time.

	8. The exam I sat consisted of 58 questions in 75 minutes. I worked
	through them slowly and carefully (tortoise often beats hare!), 
	marking a few for review, and taking 69 minutes for the first pass.

	I must admit a bit like others in this note that I never felt sure
	of a pass until it was displayed on the screen.

	Andy.