Best practice for MCSE courses ?

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Hi,

Is it a requirement, very important, beneficial, or unimportant to have the Windows 7 AD course together with Windows 7 client course? If important, should it then be taken before or can it just as well be taken after the Windows 7 client course?

I know what MS says and I know that when I studied for Windows 2003/XP MCSE I had good use of having the AD studies done prior to WinXP client but I've never tried it the other way around but now my employer, although I've pointed this out for several years (while waiting for some knowledge upgrade), does not believe me and have decided that I can do without the AD, or maybe get it another year.

I'm an old MCSE for Win2003 + XP.
Atm I'm in charge of all computers (Windows 7), smartphones, users and their accounts, + a few other areas. I'm supposed to be able to secure these clients with GPO's and other type of registry modifications + also apps on the computers to heighten security.
With Windows 2000 and XP (as an MCSE) I had all the knowledge on how to work the Server AD user accounts and modifying start-up GPO's, etc.. With Windows 7 Server AD and Windows 7 Client I'm quite lost. I can't secure the clients like I could on Windows XP, because of my lack of knowledge.

 

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The server side stuff is not necessarily linked to the client side OS. Back with the 2000/2003 MCSE, there were conditions where you could do a 2000 Pro exam and use it as an elective for a 2003 MCSE.

With that in mind, I would just follow what the MCP site says are the list of accepted certifications in order to get the top-level certification you seek. In your case, there may be a combination where Vista/7/8 can all be used if all you want is knowledge on Server 2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2. Admittedly, I don't remember these combos off the top of my head.

BUT! Usually, the client exam is the first one you need (or preferably should) pass before attempting the server ones. A W7 cert followed by Server 2008 R2 certs (and the whole study bit in between) would be a perfectly viable and worthy study course. Are you sure there may not be some opportunity to even follow up with a MCSE 2003 to the 2008 R2 certs via some upgrade exams? That could be the quick way to get the "certs", but if you want to do it the right way and dig deep into how W7 and Server 2008 R2 works (with all those GPO's and other fun stuff), then a good old fashioned deep-dive with hands-on (and putting the goal of obtaining a cert for lower importance) is what I believe makes most sense.

Don't worry too much about making W7 work in a 2003 server environment or XP work in a 2008 R2 environment. the policies (if not too extravagant) usually work just fine. More knowledge is helpful, but the 'kiss' principle (keep it super simple) helps out a lot.

And finally, a little peek into W8 and Server 2012 helps as well. The leap in policy changes was greatest between XP and Vista (redirected folders grew by almost three times, the new policy preferences and optional ADMX folder and so on...). But interoperability is still there.

 

Why aren't you able to?
The skills you have are very transferable, there's not that much difference between the two scenarios. Don't think certification is necessarily the answer here.
Better to start with a test lab and Google/Technet. Shouldn't need long to get up to speed with a Win7/Server 2008 test setup and a bit of application of your currently held skills.