70-686: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator

About this Exam
This exam is intended to validate a candidates ability to support medium to very large computing environments that use Windows 7. These responsibilities include setting the strategic direction for the client computers, the supporting infrastructure, and the applications.

Audience Profile
Candidates for this exam should have a minimum of three years of experience installing, configuring, and administering clients in a Windows networked environment and also have experience deploying operating systems and applications. Candidates should be familiar with the client administration capabilities of Windows Server and with management tools such as the System Center suite of products.

Credit Toward Certification
Exam 70-686: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator: counts as credit toward the following certification(s):
Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator

This Tanning will Cover
This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below. The percentages indicate the relative weight of each major topic area on the exam.
Planning and Managing a Client Life Cycle Strategy
* Plan and manage client licensing and activation.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: applications and operating systems; activation method; KMS vs. MAK; prerequisites; choosing a SKU; licensing infrastructure; licensing compliance audits; inventory audits; virtualization licensing considerations; making recommendations for licensing strategy and compliance
* Plan and manage software updates.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: application updates and operating system updates; evaluating and approving software updates; enterprise applications; designing an update strategy; choosing an update tool; planning and deploying a service pack; schedule considerations; network considerations; test updates; auditing for security compliance
* Plan and manage a physical hardware and virtualization strategy.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: analyzing existing hardware environment; determining which systems meet minimum requirements; tradeoffs of physical vs. VDI environment; network load considerations; disk space; direct connection vs. brokered connection; determining a VHD strategy; choosing 32 bit vs. 64 bit

Designing a Standard Image
* Design an image creation strategy.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: identifying operating system and enterprise applications that will be included with the standard image; thick, thin, or hybrid; role-based or geographic-based images vs. single core image; image localization
* Design a custom image.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: identifying applications to be installed; identifying features and components to be enabled or disabled; testing the customized image
* Define an image update strategy.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: performance optimization; security considerations; efficiency; offline servicing vs. online or post-image updates; re-creating; recapturing

Designing Client Configurations
* Design standard system settings.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: choosing methods, including logon scripts, startup scripts, and Group Policy; designing profiles; designing error reporting; designing audit policy
* Define client security standards.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: application control policies; encryption; stopping unnecessary services; designing firewall rules; defining anti-malware settings; changes to Kerberos and NTLM; configuring user rights; defining UAC policy; designing a security template for system lockdown; defining account policies; designing security standards for removable storage
* Define Windows Internet Explorer settings.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: defining security zones; cache location; branding; in-private mode; restricting or allowing plug-ins; add-ons; privacy policy; browser protected mode

Designing a Windows 7 Client Deployment
* Analyze the environment and choose appropriate deployment methods.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: building the infrastructure; advantages of lite-touch vs. zero-touch vs. local install; capacity and scale considerations; determining required changes to the infrastructure
* Design a lite-touch deployment strategy.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: unicast vs. multicast; auto-cast vs. scheduled-cast; staggered deployment; scheduling considerations; network load considerations; choosing a client boot method for deployment; unattended answer files; restricting who can receive images; choosing a delivery mechanism
* Design a zero-touch deployment strategy.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: designing and configuring task sequencing; unattended answer files; scheduling considerations; staggered deployment; network load considerations; restricting who can receive images
* Design a user state migration strategy.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: determining which user data and settings to preserve; local vs. remote storage considerations; determining mitigation plan for non-migrated applications; securing migrated data; testing designed strategy; wipe-and-load migration vs. side-by-side migration

Designing Application Packages for Deployment
* Design a delivery or deployment strategy.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: auditing for prerequisites and minimum requirements; choosing a deployment method such as virtualized, Remote Desktop Services, Group Policy, or software distribution; server-based or client-based install; scheduling considerations; staggered deployment; network considerations; package creation standards
* Manage application compatibility.
o This objective may include but is not limited to: testing incompatibility; choosing a method for resolving incompatibility, such as upgrading, Remote Desktop Services, shim, or VDI; auditing incompatible software