Pass 70-764 MCSA Certification Exam Fast

70-764 Exam Has Been Retired

This exam has been replaced by Microsoft with new exam.

Microsoft 70-764 Exam Details

The Microsoft 70-764 exam is required for two associate-level certifications known as the MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Administration and the MCSA: Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations.

About Certifications and Who They Are Intended for

The first certificate will validate your skills in installing, maintaining, configuring, and using the database, and will help you get started with careers that include but are not limited to the database administrator. The second certification, i.e. the MCSA: Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations, establishes a strong foundation for working as a Dynamics 365 developer and solution architect among others. This certification will validate your skills in working with a cloud-based business application with combined components of CRM and ERP.

About 70-764 Test

The Microsoft 70-764 exam focuses on administering a SQL Database Infrastructure. It validates the individual's skills in setting up, configuring, and maintaining databases as well as ensuring that they work efficiently. Also, candidates will have to verify their skills in backing up, storing, and securing data. Due to the wide use of SQL Server, the Microsoft test 70-764 targets specialists of different job roles. It makes one ready to meet the specifics of varied responsibilities, and thus, it is suitable for not only database administrators but also programmers, technical consultants, business analysts, and IT personnel. In any case, the applicants should be familiar with performing the basic tasks related to databases and need to allocate enough time to master all the set objectives. As we already mentioned, the Microsoft 70-764 is part of the requirements for two associate-level certifications. Firstly, it leads to the MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Administration. To earn it, the candidate should also ace 70-765 test that covers the provisioning of SQL databases. This one emphasizes cloud service models, data storage, and synchronization methods as well as service model architectures. Secondly, 70-764 is one of the options to take when aiming for the MCSA: Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations. For this one, applicants should pass the obligatory test coded MB6-894 and then choose between 70-764 and 70-765. As long as 70-764 is part of the MCSA certification track, it has 40-to 60 questions presented in different types. Candidates are given 2 hours to tackle all the tasks and questions. The candidates will have to pay a registration fee for the test which is priced at $165. The default language for this test is English and there are no additional language options available.

70-764 Exam Domains

The test syllabus is divided into four domains that cover the following skill areas:

1. Configuring auditing as well as data access

The first domain deals with encryption and covers 20 to 25% of the total exam. It tests the candidate's knowledge of various types of encryption levels, connection encryption, and troubleshooting encryption errors. The examinee should as well have an understanding of configuring permissions and data access. This area will also evaluate the candidate’s ability to manage database objects and users along with configuring row-level security and masking dynamic data. The applicant should know about Azure SQL Database, its various options, and configuration. It is also essential to understand auditing on SQL Server. To sum it all up, the examinee should know encryption, data access, and auditing well.

2. Managing of restore and backup of databases

This section also takes up about 20 to 25% of the final exam and deals with database backup and restoration. The candidate is required to have fundamental awareness about the concept of backups and should be capable of building a backup scheme. It is essential to know about altering failed backups, backing up to Azure, managing transaction logs, configuring recovery models, and setting up backup automation. This portion also includes the concept of restoring databases that covers various topics like piecemeal restores, point-in-time recovery, and other multiple types of recovery. The candidate should also be able to maintain database integrity through implementing database consistency blocks, find corruption, and recover from said corruption. To summarize, this domain tests an examinee's knowledge of backup strategies, restoring databases, and managing the integrity of the database.

3. Monitoring and administering SQL Server instances

The third objective of this exam extends to about 35 to 40% of the total exam weightage. Overall, the candidates will be asked to monitor activity inside the database like current sessions, blocking activity, resource consumption, etc. It is also essential for the examinee to be capable of monitoring queries, managing the Query Store, finding problem-causing execution plans, and more. Additionally, it is imperative for the applicant to have an understanding of indexes and statistics and manage them properly. The ability to monitor SQL Server instances, managing its operators, actions, and recognizing performance degrading causes will also be tested in this domain. To sum it all, this section of 70-764 exam will test knowledge of queries, indexes, statistics, and SQL Server instances.

4. Providing disaster recovery and managing high availability

The final part is all about disaster recovery and covers 20 to 25% of the exam content. Here, the examinee should be able to implement, configure, and monitor log shipping. The concept of AlwaysOn Availability Groups, its implementation, and configuration will also be tested in this section. Finally, the applicant should know about failover cluster instances and how to implement and configure them. In short, the applicant should be able to design high availability and disaster recovery solutions along with implementing log shipping, availability groups, and failover clustering.

Career Opportunities and Salaries

The applicant’s career opportunities will slightly vary depending on the chosen certificate. Still, the most popular job roles that require a solid knowledge of managing SQL database infrastructure include:

• Database administrators: $74,035;
• Infrastructure analysts: $62,128;
• Systems infrastructure engineers: $83,904;
• Database analysts: $62,157.

If you decide to join the field of Dynamics 365, you can also apply for jobs such as:

• CRM developer: $77,152;
• Operations management specialist: $65,993.

The aforementioned average annual salaries are as seen on PayScale.

Career Paths

With the Microsoft MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Administration certificate one fulfills one of the two requirements for obtaining the MCSE: Data Management and Analytics certification. To complete this path, you only need to pass one extra exam that can be chosen from a set of eight options. When it comes to the MCSA: Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations, it can be followed by the MCSE: Business Applications certificate issued by Microsoft.