Getting into Windows - where do I start?

Hi all,

I've been a fan of Linux for a while now mainly because I was "forced" to learn it ( and I like it of course) as part of my degree at University. I've also gotten into Cisco technologies which also uses UNIX underneath. With all this, I see a gap in my knowledge as someone in the IT field. i.e. I have little knowledge of Windows. So Active Directory for instance sounds strange to me etc.

Looking at stats online it would appear that Windows Server OS still has a good market share ( can't fully back this up at the moment though) so is it worth getting into Windows (e.g. server, etc) and where do I start? All I need is a fairly basic understanding so that I'm not a complete novice since it's heavily in use in the enterprise.

Thanks for your advice

Hi Skylimit - Great to see you back!

I guess we all feel abit 'left-behind' when we place on pause our IT Education - things develop so fast, its simply impossible to keep up with everything!

Windows server has indeed gained a very big portion of the IT market and you surely can't got wrong reading and learning about it - obviously the same thing applies for Linux servers Personally, I believe that the best method keeping up to date is simply by reading certification books and sitting for the relevant exams.

My personal opinion is to check out the Microsoft certification roadmap www.microsoft.com/education/itacademy/Pages/roadmap.aspx and see the available courses under the Server section. The good news is that from your very first exam, you earn a certification which also a great insentive to continue the certification path selected.

We've also opened a new Windows 2012 server section which offers a number of articles covering Windows technologies and we are constantly populating it with new material. You can visit the Windows 2012 section here: www.firewall.cx/microsoft-knowledgebase/windows-2012.html

Good luck!

Chris.

Thanks for the advice Chris.

I really need to start from scratch so I think certification is the way to go. I'll look at the road map to see what's in demand (and in use in the industry) and also interests me.

Thanks again

Try the mcitp certification which is the basic one or other basic certification