Microsoft's new fix-length Exam format and Networking Background

Microsoft changed Networking Essential exams from Fix-length exam to adaptive exam, then changed adaptive exam to a new fix-length exam. Here is the information on those three exams.

Fixed-form exam: Number of Questions: 58, Passing Scores: 793, Duration: 75 minutes
Adaptive exam: Number of Questions: 25-35 (Adaptive), Passing Scores: 552, Duration: 90 minutes
New Fixed-form exam: Number of Questions: 30, Passing Scores: 766, Duration: 60 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because almost everybody has experience on the fix-length exam, here we will focus on the adaptive exam and the new fix-length exam.

Above diagram presents a typical adaptive exam. First of all, Microsoft tests you a question (Q1) that might be somewhat easier. If you answer this question correctly, you are requested to answer a question more difficult. Your current score is also increased. If Microsoft terminates the exam right now, you just pass the exam. But you have to answer more questions because Microsoft provides 25-35 questions for the adaptive exam. Suppose you answer Q2 correctly and you answers for Q3 and Q4 are wrong as shown in the above diagram. You will fail the exam if Microsoft terminates the exam at this point. However, you still have chance to answer more questions. After you answer Q6, Q7, Q8, Q9 and Q10 correctly, even you fail the Q11, you can still pass the exam because your final score is higher than the passing score. In the real exam, you have 25-35 questions while not 11 questions for the adaptive exam.

Because in an adaptive exam, the next question is determined by whether you answer correctly for the current question, Microsoft must grade your current question before providing you the next question, which means that you don't have any chance to go back and change your answer. As a result, you must make sure you answer the question correctly before press the 'Next' button.

Microsoft still use adaptive testing technology in its new fix-length exam, which means the new fix-length exam is different with the conventional fix-length exam. Adaptive exams will not allow you go back and change the answers for the formerly answered questions. Therefore, you still need to make sure you answer the question correctly before pressing the "Next" button in the new fix-length exam.

Because Microsoft didn't change the exam outline and question pool for the new adaptive exam, FTQ_7058 is still helpful for the new fix-length exam.

Here is the roadmap of major operating systems from Microsoft:

Notes:

- Windows NT has two versions: Windows NT server and Windows NT workstation. They are almost same. However, Windows NT server supports more clients and has some advanced features such as RAID. In addition, Windows NT server is more expensive than Windows NT workstation.
- Microsoft never launched Windows NT 1.0 or Windows NT 2.0. The earliest version for Windows NT is 3.1. Microsoft wanted it to be consisting with Windows 3.1.
- Windows 3.11 should be the first networking system from Microsoft because it supports NetBEUI and IPX/SPX two protocols. (You can also install third party products such as Trumpet TCP to let Windows 3.11 support TCP/IP). Windows 3.11 has another name: Windows for workgroup. It is a workgroup level networking operating system, compare Windows NT as an enterprise level operating system.
- The biggest difference between DOS and Windows 1.0 is Windows 1.0 has GUI (Graphic User Interface). Microsoft and IBM had some disputes at that time, therefore, Microsoft goes to Windows, and IBM goes to OS/2. (OS/2 was not GUI based at that time)

Microsoft has two competitors: Novell and Unix.

- Novell call its networking operating system NetWare. NetWare has two famouse versions: NetWare 3.1 and NetWare 4.0. The problem for Netware is that when you upgrade from NetWare 3.x to NetWare 4.0, Novell stupidly changed almost all the commends. This is very inconvenience for its customer. Moreover, Novell is not GUI based.
- Because DOS doesn't have its own networking support, most people were using NetWare to connect two PCs running DOS. As a result, NetWare occupied more than 70% of PC networking market at that time. After Microsoft lauched its Windows NT, which has similar networking functions with NetWare, Microsoft dominated the market of PC networking.
- Ken Thompson at AT&T developed Unix in 1969. Unix means (UNO + MULTIX) for the Multics operating system on PDP-7, which is a mini-computer.
- Unix is a multi-user and multi-task operating system. Because DOS is for single user and single task, people thought Unix was more advanced than DOS, and Unix occupied the higher end market at that time. However now, Windows NT also supports multi-user and multi-task. Windows NT wants to share the high end computing market from the Unix.
- Most Unix operating system can not run on a PC.
- TCP/IP protocol is first implemented in Unix. TCP/IP is very important now because of the Internet. (Note the definition of the Internet: Multiple TCP/IP networks connected with routers.)
- Many graduate students said they knew Unix. However, they might not know which Unix runs on which kind of computers. Here is the list of major Unix vendors and corresponding Unix product names. Please note you should not receive similiar questions on on the Networking Essentials exam. We put those information here just to improve your computer background skills.

Unix Vendor Name Unix Operating system name Run on what kind of computers
IBM AIX RS/6000, AS/400, PowerPC
Sun Solaris SPARCstation, SuperSparc, PC
DEC( Now is Compaq) Digital Unix AlphaServer, AlphaWorkstation
HP HPUX HP9000
SGI IRIS Indigo
Red Hat Linux PC