Customer Reviews

MCSA/MCSE: Windows Server 2003 Environment Management and Maintenance Study Guide (70-290)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sybex books are usually my favourite books for the exam.
The book is easy to understand and to read. It contains useful tips and tries to cover most of the topics required.

For this exam, my favourite book is the Syngress book, but after that it is the Sybex book. This book is the best book for the SUS chapter. It has great information for IIS, terminal services and printers.

Unfortunately the questions included are different than the exam.
I recommend to use practice tests like transcender or boson.

It is a really hard exam, if you want to learn and not to pass the exam, this book is recommended.
I recommend this book for beginners and as a reference book.
Experienced users will find some important tips on the book.

Just got back from taking the test after using this book as my only study source (living dangerously..yes). I failed the exam scoring 690 with 700 necessary to pass.

First about me: I orginally obtained my MCSE on NT4 in 1997 and recently decided to upgrade it to 2003. I've been working as a systems administrator/engineer since the early 90's, administering NT networks since 97, and currently administer a large AD domain with 200+ servers spanning 30 sites nationwide. I'm not the best but I've been around the block. I passed the XP exam after brushing up with the Exam Cram 2nd edition book and chose Sybex to prepare me for the 70-290. I figured with my experience and this book to familiarize me with exam objectives I would be able to do ok. That was certainly the case with the XP exam and it was a challenging test.

Second, the book: It had a handful of editorial glitches, but nothing seriously bad. It spends many pages taking you step-by-step through configuration processes. This is a strength of the Sybex books as they allow you to "see" what it is like to do a task without actually having the machine in front of you. This book got a little annoying though in that it would spend a couple of pages of text giving you a step-by-step, then follow it up with a page or two exercise that repeated the same steps. I would have preferred a little less step-by-step repetitiveness and lot more meat and minutae. In the end the book does a good job familiarizing you with the tasks/topics it is addressing, but it just doesn't cover enough material.

Third, the test: It pulled material from everywhere. It also forces you to read very quickly as many questions are long. It also tended to be tricky as often as it could, probably the trickiest I have seen on a certification test (btw: I've taken close to 30 different IT certification tests over the years, I hold numerous certs from Microsoft, Novell, Cisco, CheckPoint and Citrix). Also, the test was annoyingly slow taking 5-10 seconds to move between questions.. really adding to the stress as the clock ticks down. In fairness to Sybex I did miss two questions that were addressed in the book. But let me also say I would have come nowhere close to passing without my real-world experience. There are several questions/topics that weren't even hinted at in the text (most notably a suprising question requiring you to properly edit a vb script..)

In summary, if you are already well-rounded with Win2k this book will give you a decent overview of many exam topics. You will likely need additional sources to pass the test though. If you are new to Windows don't even think about counting on this book alone to get you past the test.

Would I buy it again? Yes, but not as my only source.

Before you do anything, make sure you are looking at the 2nd Edition of this book. If the top of the book does not say "Updated For Windows Server 2003 R2", then this review will probably not be helpful.

I should probably tell a little about my background. I earned an A.A.S. in Computer and Information Science early in 2005 and I have spent the last year working as a junior administrator for a small company. We have a mix of Windows XP clients and Windows 2000 servers. In addition to passing this test this morning and the Windows XP in March, I also have a couple of CompTIA certifications.

I found the book to be an excellent study tool. They chapters do a pretty good job of explaining all of the topics. The practice tests were pretty good as well. Some of the questions were a little too simple while others were very similiar to what was on the real exam.

I gave the book 4 stars because while I couldn't have passed the test without it, there were topics on the test that were not covered in the book. There was also a question on one of the included practice exams that was programmed incorrectly; it marked the correct answer as wrong. I would recommend to anyone about to take to test to use this book as a guide, but I would also set up a test server and do the exercises on a real machine. That's really the only way you can practice for the simulation questions.

Passed this morning. All the topics in this book were covered in the 70-290 exam, or vice versa. The book content is good, the chapter tests are pretty good but the 2 bonus Testsims are another story. If you can get through these test sims without banging your head on your desk or pulling out your hair you are a better person than I am.

...So read the book, take some online sample tests, get the Minasi 2003 book and study hard, you should be all set.

Ben

Sybex has always had a good reputation for MCSE books. Over the course of my career I have needed to update my MCSE certs regularly and have more or less relied on them. This book pretty much follows the pattern of the others: Explanations, screen shots, lab exercises, practice questions. I worked through the book, played around a bit with the more obscure parts of the operating system that I usually don't see, and passed the test. I'd recommend a lot more studying, though, if you don't use Windows 2000 or Server 2003 in your daily work. In short, solid book, covers all of the bases, clear explanations.

Okay you just finished up with the MCSE 200 track and look what Micorosoft does, they release Sever2003 and now you have to re-certify. As luck would have Sybex has released a the 70-290 study guide and you have a great study tool at your disposal.

Having had a limited exposure to Server 2003, I found that this book takes you through the software and allows you see what has changed and what has remained the same. One thing that could be added to the next release is a evaluation version of server 2003. I have found that working with the real thing is an added study tool.

The book seems easy to follow and it has pleanty of exercies for you to work with. If you have the software to work with you are all set. If you don't, fear not, as Sybex has included a 2003 OS simulator. The software simulator, I found to be a very nice addition to the book as it gives you a feel for the real thing.

There wer a couple of new things I was able to pick up, one is the Shadow copies and the other was the information about Terminal Services. The book is laced with excellent review question, as is the CD. The cd includes flashcards, but both seem to handle the exam objectives without missing anything.

Overall I think this book should be a real value for the new exam.

Thought it is the 2nd edition, but not.
Still a good book, good deal for the price.

Firstly, let me qualify why I gave this book 4 stars - especially since I don't think its enough to pass the exam by itself. To clarify, this book is missing some detail, and mostly covers the basics of the operations.

Despite this, it covers the core material VERY well. The book is well written, and the author does a good job keeping it an interesting read. Its clear, concise and gets straight to the point. There is little BS or filler information and, while a little repetitive, the lab exercises get the job done.

Now like I said, this book doesn't cover anything. If you only read this book alone, you will probably not pass. The Microsoft exam was very detail oriented, and it will require more reading and lab practice in addition to this book.

I also read the MS Press book, and while more detailed, it was a horrible read. I had trouble getting through the MS Press book and the information did not flow as easily from it. Nevertheless, I would recommend getting the MS Press book or another source to supplement this book.

Also, I'd highly recommend extensive lab training or computer based training. I used CBT Nuggets, and it was an exceptional resource.


About the exam:

The MS exams are less straightforward (more tricky) than other exams that I've taken. I hear people often complain that they narrow it down to "two possible answers", and have trouble choosing between the two. If you encounter this problem, you aren't reading the question carefully enough. Almost every question like this that I saw had a small detail that would eliminate all but one answer. Not one question had two "correct" answers.

The questions are also a bit more wordy than other exams, so if you aren't the most patient person you may have some trouble. Once again, its important that you look over the details.

While I can't violate the NDA, I can say that a good portion of the questions fell within the core of the objectives. Most were very routine questions that involve average day to day tasks for an Administrator. About 5%-10% of the questions, however, were only LOOSELY related to the core objectives. For instance, the disaster recovery objective could extend to any service in the active directory. Do you know how to backup/replicate/transfer data from ALL the services that are integrated into active directory? Probably not. I was very lucky to have seen these things before, but they were so obscure I doubt most people have even seen them (let alone know how they work).

Also, I have a feeling most people will be unprepared for the automation objections. No one really uses them. Just a wake up call to all of you, they are on the test (its in the objectives!). If you don't know exactly what these automation tools do, you are going to have a hard time. Do you know the format differences, and do you know the functionality differences of LFIDE vs CSVDE vs AD Users and Computers? These tools aren't very automated (too much manual labor for supposedly automated tools).. so no one really uses them (Much easier to use user data to produce dsadd or dsmod scripts). Either way, you should learn the details of all the automation tools.

I would definitely set up a lab, or use CBT training videos. Reading alone isn't going to be enough, especially for the simulations.

Finally, you NEED practice questions for this test. Its coverage is far too broad, and you need to make sure you have all areas of the objectives down pat. Its easy to have some wrong ideas about permissions, and/or group scopes and not realize it until you are tested. If you have a problem like this (especially in these areas), you aren't going to do well.

Don't get me wrong--I like Exam Crams. They are perfect if you have a pretty good understanding of the topic already, and you really just need something to review/refresh the material that is going to be on the exam, and get a lot of review questions, etc. Unfortunately, that's not what I buy Sybex study guides for, but that's what I got! Yes, this book "covers" all of the exam objectives, but not in anywhere near enough depth. Most of the obejectives get barely a paragraph actually EXPLAINING things to you, and then a couple of numbered lists, exercises, definitions, etc. Again, this would be fine for $30 and if you were already an expert w/ Win2000 and just wanted to know what was knew (but, I'm pretty sure that's what the upgrade exams are for). If you are not an expert on Win2000, no way does this book give you enough. I was also disappointed to get the book and find out that it is just 600 pages long when Amazon says it's something like 850. Again, it's just not enough. It is accurate, easy to read, etc. So, if that's all you want, then maybe this book is for you. But, why not save $20 and buy one of the cheaper review-type books?

I have about 3 years of enterprise adminstration in W2K. I heard nothing but good stuff about Sybex books, so I bought this complete set. Unfortunately, the 70-290 book was a complete beginners guide. Not only is this the case, the contents go into very little detail to explain. The questions are no-brainers and since I've taken several exams already I know Microsoft wouldn't have this easy of test questions and material.
If you studying for the 70-290 exam I would NOT recommend this to anyone.
I'm even disappointed that I have to pay my return shipping charges back to Amazon. Sybex should be paying...