Customer Reviews

MCSE Designing a Windows 2000 Network Study Guide (Exam 70-221)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this study guide twice before taking the exam. I was fairly confident that I had the material in it down cold. I was totally unprepared for the real exam and I didn't make it. I've been working with Win2k for about 6 months now and still got surprised at the exam format and difficulty. Don't depend solely on this book for exam readiness. You probably won't make it.

I used the Syngress book written by the same author to study for my 70-215 and was quite disappointed. However, based on the positive reader reviews for this book, I thought perhaps Schinder did a better job this time, so I bought it. Unfortunately, this book was no better, wandering back and forth, hitting on-topic then straying away, then back again, like a drunk trying to walk a straight line. For example, the author wastes valuable space frequently reviewing the registry entries we can change to modify the system defaults (which we might need some day), or in reviewing the history of a particular topic, but the 70-221 is a DESIGN exam and not a system configuration or history exam. Like the 215 book, the author spends so much time drifting into material that is not relevant for the exam that there is insufficient room left over to actually develop the crucial topics to the depth needed for a passing score. I found myself arriving at the chapter summary and thinking, "Is that ALL he's going to tell us?" I suggest not wasting your time with this book. Granted, there is no single exam prep that will please everybody, but of all the tech books I've read, I've been the least pleased with the Syngress/Schinder books. I passed the exam, but only because I found other resources to study. This book alone will probably get you 60% "there" as far as preparedness goes, but don't expect much more.

Upon completion of this book, I would not recommend it - unless you have a thorough grasp of the subject and do not mind errors/discrepancies. Numerous attempts to contact editors proved futile although a contributing editor provided some help. Contacting publisher to register book and obtain updates and listing of errors placed me in perpetual hold.
If you do not mind misprints and getting updates/seeing listing of errors is not important to you, this may be worthwhile. If not, search elsewhere.

I used this book and my experience to pass the test. It was hands on knowledge, not this book, that allowed me to pass. The material coverage is adequate, but a little thin in some areas (SNA, Proxy). The self test questions are ok, but I found several incorrect answers. Note: I did not review the publishers web site for updates/corrections. If you purchase this book, I recommend also using a second source.

This is the only study guide I used for the test. If you take your time to understand the information put out in this book you will have no trouble passing the exam. If you don't understand something, don't just pass it up hoping that it will be covered again later on in the book. Review each section in little chunks and before you know it, you will be done.

I don't appreciate it when the co-author of the book reviews his own book. If I wrote a book, I would think it was the greatest thing too.

For those of you who worked with Windows NT 4.0 and are a little intimidated by Windows 2000, this book is for you. Learning Windows 2000 is a going to be a longer road compared to learning NT 4.0, and you going to need all the help you can get. This book covers all of the design questions you have about WINS, DHCP, DNS, Clustering, DFS, RRAS, and other network services. It does not cover active directory (because that is in another book), but it is the first book you should read in your quest to learn Windows 2000. No Windows 2000 network will run without a proper implementation of network services, and this book covers them all. As a co-author, I am a bit biased, but this book is really a must have for Windows 2000 newbies. As always, if you have questions, feel free to contact me ....

good book, but I don't understand it very well.