Field note / 12 December 2010
Exam 70 667 notes, part one: building the study map
A certification is easier to approach when the syllabus becomes a map of decisions rather than a wall of topics.
The first stage of exam preparation is not reading everything. It is discovering the shape of the material. The SharePoint 2010 configuration exam covered installation, service applications, content management, backup and monitoring, but the weight of each area was not obvious from a list of headings.
A useful study map groups the topics by the work an administrator actually performs. Installation and upgrade belong together. Service applications belong with identity and dependencies. Content management belongs with permissions and storage. The map makes it easier to see which topics support each other.
Mark what you can already explain
For each group, write a short explanation without notes. Mark the areas where the explanation is confident, uncertain or missing. That honest assessment prevents weeks of rereading familiar material and directs effort toward the gaps.
Use two sources for each uncertain topic: the product documentation and a lab exercise. The documentation gives the intended behaviour. The lab shows what the interface and the logs actually do. When those disagree, note the version and investigate rather than memorising a contradiction.
The short list
Checks worth running
- Group the syllabus by the administrative work it describes.
- Write a short explanation for each group without looking at notes.
- Use a lab to test every topic that remains uncertain.
The first part is complete when the map exists and the gaps are named. That is a stronger starting point than a full folder of unread study guides.
Outside reading
Reference shelf
Official documentation and independent community reading for the subjects in this note.
- Microsoft Learn: SharePoint documentation (opens in a new tab)The starting point for current SharePoint administration, development and hybrid guidance.
- Microsoft Learn: SharePoint administration (opens in a new tab)Operational guidance for service settings, site management and the modern admin experience.
- Microsoft Support (opens in a new tab)Support articles, troubleshooting steps and product help from Microsoft.
- Microsoft Learn Q&A (opens in a new tab)A community question and answer space hosted by Microsoft.
- SharePoint Stack Exchange (opens in a new tab)An independent question and answer community for SharePoint practitioners.
- Microsoft Tech Community (opens in a new tab)Community discussion, product announcements and practical posts from Microsoft teams.
- Microsoft Learn: PowerShell documentation (opens in a new tab)Language reference, cmdlet documentation and guidance for repeatable automation.
- Microsoft Download Center (opens in a new tab)Official downloads for Microsoft tools, updates and supporting packages.
- Microsoft Learn: Windows Server documentation (opens in a new tab)Current guidance for Windows Server roles, networking, storage and management.
- Microsoft Learn: SQL Server documentation (opens in a new tab)Official reference material for database engine configuration, performance and recovery.
- Microsoft Learn: SharePoint search (opens in a new tab)Documentation for search architecture, crawling and result management.
- Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 documentation (opens in a new tab)Product documentation for Microsoft 365 services, administration and adoption.
- PowerShell Gallery (opens in a new tab)A public repository for PowerShell modules and scripts. Review package provenance before use.
- Microsoft Learn: Server memory configuration (opens in a new tab)How SQL Server allocates memory and how the maximum server memory setting is applied.
- Microsoft Learn: Soft NUMA in SQL Server (opens in a new tab)Background on SQL Server NUMA configuration for large processor layouts.