Yesterday, my colleague Daniel Hass (Macastic blog) from Open Line and I have both passed the “OS X Server Essentials 10.8″ exam with scores of over 90%. Because we had already passed the “OS X Support Essentials 10.8″ exam, we’ve earned the title “Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) 10.8” in addition to the “Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) 10.8” title. I prepared for the exam by:
- Taking the Mountain Lion 201 course at LAI (Learning Associates International) in Schiedam by instructor Maurits Sanders.
- Studying the powerpoint handouts from the course.
- Studying a document with screenshots from the course.
- Studying the book : Apple Pro Training Series: OS X Server Essentials: Using and Supporting OS X Server on Mountain Lion and performing the exercises in it. Note: because the Server app had just been updated, the paper version of the book was a bit outdated, but it did not really affect the exam.
- Studying the OS X Server: Advanced Administration resources.
- Creating a testing environment and playing around in it.
- Testing my knowledge with practice exams in the app Revise IT.
- Studying the Exam Preparation Guide
In my opinion the exam was relatively easy. It was key to read the questions and answers very well though.
If I have some time, I’ll try to make a summary similar to the one I did for the “OS X Support Essentials 10.8” exam.
blog.bjornhouben.com 
bentonsimon
April 23, 2013 at 02:50
Do you happen to have the pdf of the book for server essentials ? If so would you kindly share it with me. Much appreciated as I would love to prepare for this exam. Congrats on earning your certification.
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Bjorn Houben
April 23, 2013 at 08:11
I got the book as part of the course. Take a look at Peachpit Press for the paper and digital version. If you decide to buy, search google for coupons. This can save you 40-50%.
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DiP'ER
May 23, 2013 at 19:28
How much prep time did you have with the server test environment before the exam? Did you have experience with previous server versions? The book and instructor both advise to read the book then spend 6 months to a year playing with a server. Do you think this is an accurate statement? I have about a month and a half to read the server book and set up a test environment so their statement has a bit worried.
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Bjorn Houben
May 23, 2013 at 19:37
Personally I took the course where we basically touched a bit on the topics in the book and performed the exercises in the book. Then I studied about 2-3 weeks using both the book and playing around in OS X server.
I only started using OS X Mountain Lion last November and didn’t have any experience with previous OS X Server versions. I do have a lot of ICT experience, which came in handy. But in my opinion to pass the exam in a month and a half is doable, since the exam is not that hard.
In my opinion the only way to really get a good feel of OS X server and all its options and possibilities you just need to work with it more to get more experience. But you continue to do so after you’ve passed the exam.
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Jordan
September 11, 2013 at 02:51
Hey, I’m looking to take the exam in a week and a half. Do you have any guidance on what areas to focus on? Are there certain categories they asked about more than others? Anything you wish you would have studied more? Thanks!
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Bjorn Houben
September 11, 2013 at 02:53
Not really, I found the exam to be relatively easy. The app should give you a good idea of what to expect.
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