Get to Know the New Server Pro

If you flip open a current dictionary, you'll find two primary definitions of the word "server." The first refers to people and objects: A server is a thing or individual who "provides a service or commodity, in particular." In the United States and Canada, "server" also is used more specifically for a waiter or waitress in a restaurant. A server assists with the Eucharist in Christian religious practice, and a sideboard or stand where food is placed is also a server.

The second, perhaps moderately more recognizable definition refers to computer technology: A server is a computer or program that "manages access to a centralized resource or service in a network." A computer server is therefore much like its lexicographic cousin in that its primary function is to facilitate or directly provide some action or actions that meet the needs of a "client." Clients can be human users, but are most often either programs or devices.

In the world or increasingly complex networks that drives modern everything, servers do a lot of behind-the-scenes heavy lifting, and knowing how to set up, run, troubleshoot, and repair them is a valuable IT specialization indeed. Microsoft technology is central to a wide swath of the world's servers, so you can enter the field, or refine your knowledge and sharpen your skills, by jumping into the Microsoft suite of server certifications.

A great point of entry to that realm is the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA): Windows Server 2016 credential. Earning that credential requires passing three exams: Exam 70-740: Installation, Storage, and Compute with Windows Server 2016; Exam 70-741: Networking with Windows Server 2016; and Exam 70-742: Identity with Windows Server 2016. TestOut already has you covered for Exam 70-740 with our Server Pro 2016: Install and Storage course.

At the end of June, we added to that with the release of the brand new Server Pro 2016: Networking course, which addresses Exam 70-741. And we're about to complete the trifecta with the release of Server Pro 2016: Identity to handle Exam 70-742. So if you want to be the hand inside the glove that makes networks function, then we've got exactly what you need. Jump into our Server Pro trio today, and we'll take you down the path to Microsoft certification.