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Microsoft’s exam 70-244, “Supporting and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Network” is an elective requirement for these certifications: MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) on Microsoft Windows 2000; MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0; MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) on Microsoft Windows 2000.

It is designed for candidates who “operate in medium to very large computing environments that use Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 as a primary network operating system.” There is no specific prerequisite for this exam, but Microsoft recommends that candidates have “a minimum of one year experience implementing and administering Windows NT Server 4.0” in the type of environment describe here.

This exam is easy to moderate in difficulty and costs $125 USD. It may be taken from Pearson Vue or Thomson Prometric.

At one time this exam had a passing score of around 740, but this is subject to change. “Beginning with the release of the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003–related exams, Microsoft will provide numerical scores on exams. By the end of September 2003, most exams will have the new score report format, which includes this numerical score... The new scale requires a minimum passing score of 700 on all exams. The maximum score on the exams will vary depending on the complexity of the skills being measured.” - Microsoft Exam and Testing Procedures FAQ

Note that Microsoft does not document the format of a particular exam: “Microsoft exams might include adaptive testing technology and simulation items. Microsoft does not identify the format in which exams are presented.” In the past, though, this exam was form-based multiple choice with around 50 questions.

The topics covered by this exam include:

• Maintaining, Troubleshooting, and Optimizing Servers
• Configuring and Troubleshooting Users and Groups
• Analyzing, Configuring, and Monitoring Security
• Configuring, Managing, and Troubleshooting Access to Resources
• Configuring, Managing, Troubleshooting, and Optimizing Network Services