MCSA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core Requirements, Exams 70-210, 70-215, 70-216, and 70-218: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core ... 70-218, Second Edition (Pro-Certification) [Paperback]

Microsoft Corporation (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735618089 | ISBN-13: 978-0735618084 | Publication Date: September 4, 2002 | Edition: 2nd

Get in-depth training and practice with the skills measured by the core exams for Microsoft® Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) certification—all in one box. Covering core Exams 70-210, 70-215, and 70-218—plus elective Exam 70-216—these official Microsoft study guides pack the knowledge you need to successfully administer the Windows® 2000 operating system. Work at your own pace through the lessons and hands-on exercises. And use the exam-prep questions and testing tool to measure your progress and sharpen your test-taking skills. As you gain practical experience supporting Windows 2000, you’re also preparing for MCSA certification.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

CORE EXAM 70-210 Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

• Install or upgrade to Windows 2000 Professional
• Administer access to shared files, folders, and printers
• Configure and manage hardware devices and drivers
• Optimize system memory, disk, and application performance
• Troubleshoot the desktop environment
• Implement network protocols and services
• Help ensure data and system security

CORE EXAM 70-215 Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

• Install or upgrade to Windows 2000 Server
• Configure network services for interoperability
• Manage access to shared system and Web-based resources
• Administer Windows 2000 disks and data storage
• Set up and troubleshoot hardware devices and drivers
• Optimize system performance, reliability, and availability
• Implement network protocols and services
• Help ensure system security

CORE EXAM 70-218 Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment

• Set up client and server computers
• Manage data storage, shared resources, and permissions
• Configure network infrastructure
• Install Internet Information Services
• Create user and group objects and administer Microsoft Active Directory® services
• Use group policies to manage desktops and network security
• Troubleshoot remote access and VPN connections
• Monitor server health and performance

ELECTIVE EXAM 70-216 Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration

• Plan the infrastructure for your network
• Install and configure TCP/IP
• Resolve host names with WINS and DNS
• Automate and centrally manage address configuration
• Implement and manage remote access
• Share a single Internet connection with Network Address Translation
• Help secure network communications

Here’s what’s inside:

• Comprehensive self-paced training that maps to MCP exam goals and objectives
• Skill-building exercises on CD-ROM
• Test-readiness tool that generates timed, 50-question practice exams with automated scoring *More than 200 pages of exam prep and objective-by-objective review inside each book
• NEW—Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking, Second Edition, eBook
• 120-day evaluation version of Windows 2000 Server
• Searchable eBooks for all four study guides

Minimum System Requirements: 133-MHz or higher Pentium-compatible processor Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Millennium Edition (Me), 2000 Professional, XP, or Microsoft Windows NT® 4 with SP3 or later operating system Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1 or later browser software 128-MB RAM minimum; 256 MB recommended 2-GB hard disk with a minimum of 1 GB of free space SuperVGA monitor; 256-color display card recommended 8X CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

NOTE: To complete the exercises for Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration, you need two computers, each equipped with a network card and the minimum configuration above. Exercises for Windows 2000 Server also require internal modems on each computer. Running the evaluation copy of Windows 2000 Server requires 256 MB RAM.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A solid set that will help you get through the exam, the MCSA Self-Paced Core Requirements Training Kit is a valuable tool in the arsenal of any potential MCSA student. Not only will you get over a thousand collective pages of excellent MCSA-style questions to dissect, but most of the books are solid tutorials in their own right.

Of the four books that come with it, two are out-of-the-park smash hits, one is a decent guide... and one is an abject, shambling failure. So let's start with the good: Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment is an excellent introduction to how an active Win2K LAN should work. Now, admittedly, much of this book will be redundant to those who already know networking and Windows NT basics--if you already know how to share a file, or how to use TCP/IP properly, there won't be a lot here for you. This is just the absolute minimum you need to know in order to set up and maintain a Win2K environment. But then again, this book isn't written for the advanced user; it's aimed squarely at the beginning user, the person who needs some refreshing on what DNS does or why NetBIOS can't be routed. In addition, this is the only book that really focuses in on elementary troubleshooting, asking the user to "break" certain parts of a network and see what the repercussions are. As such, this is a solid introduction to the basics that the rest of the books are founded upon.

The MCSE Windows 2000 Server book is one of the finest self-paced training kits that Microsoft has ever produced. It goes into a lot of detail on the trickier bits of Windows 2000--things like the boot process, remote installation, and RADIUS--and getting through these sections will be arduous, but ultimately rewarding. In fact, the only real problem with the book can be said to lie in its very technical nature; more than any other book in this package, the Win2K Server book tends to bury you in insignificant details that you probably won't ever be tested on. That said, if you study this guide diligently, you will pass. One of the strengths of this set is how well the books fit into each other, and the Windows 2000 Server book includes enough knowledge to almost guarantee a pass.

The Windows 2000 Professional book is both a lot weaker and, in some senses, stronger. It doesn't go into nearly as many details as Windows 2000 Server does--it barely mentions must-know topics like the HCL and how to create boot floppies. As a standalone book, this would have serious flaws... but taken as part of a whole, it actually forms a nice complement to the Server book. Read in order, the Windows 2000 Professional book goes over the elementary concepts and Windows 2000 Server delves into the details; any topic mentioned in both books is pretty much guaranteed to be on the exam, and reading both gives you a solid shot at passing both exams at once.

The weak link in this set, sadly, is the Network Infrastructure Administration book. Considering that it deals with some of the most complex concepts to be found anywhere in the exam series, it's disappointing that this is the thinnest book in the lot. And the sparseness shows, as this book leaps like a gazelle from topic to topic, lighting briefly upon, say, IPX for a brief moment, then darting off to give you not nearly enough information on routing, then dancing over to IPSec and assuming you understand the basics of cryptography. Admittedly, it has a nice section on DNS and DHCP--but so does Managing a Windows 2000 Network Environment. This book would have been a lot better with an additional 400 pages or so to fully flesh out the skeleton that it so tantalizingly provides.

A common problem, however, is that none of the books are study guides per se. They're excellent tutorials and they do cover the objectives in the exams, but all of the books share the common flaw of treating every fact as if it were equally important. That's nice when it comes to learning software, but let's be honest: you don't want to know the software, you want to pass the test. And every MCSA test has notorious tricky spots--the ones that novices generally tend to screw up, or the bits that are easy to confuse. If you were to use these books as your only references, you might well miss something that a more test-oriented book would flag as a "must-know" topic. But by giving equal weight to every fact, it does take a lot longer to study, even if you ultimately achieve Microsoft's intended goal of knowing how to use the program.

About a third of every book, however, is devoted to tough MCSA-style questions--which means that you'll be able to take a lot of sample tests in this package. Unlike many study guides, the questions included are fairly hard-hitting; they're not quite up to the difficulty of the exam proper, but they're darn close. Furthermore, each set of questions is broken down by objective, and each answer is gone over in full detail. Did you choose A by mistake? All of the books will not only tell you why D is right in a dense paragraph or two, but it explains why A wasn't even close to being right. That alone makes these fairly valuable study guides.

To sum up, this is a pretty excellent boxed set in its own right. The thousand pages' worth of tough MCSA-style questions might be worth the money, and the 120-day trial edition of Windows 2000 Server would definitely push the value close to the edge... but combine those two with the solid tutorials and information that this series provides, and you've got a definite winner that's worth every penny. They may not be the only books that you'll want to buy, but with the exception of the infrastructure exam, you'll purchase any other books in order to focus on what's important. Pretty much everything you're looking for on Windows 2000 is in here. Highly recommended. --William Steinmetz

Product Details

• Paperback: 4592 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 2nd edition (September 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735618089
• ISBN-13: 978-0735618084
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,452,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some imporvements, still a little more work needed., December 26, 2002

By 

Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MCSA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core Requirements, Exams 70-210, 70-215, 70-216, and 70-218: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core ... 70-218, Second Edition (Pro-Certification) (Paperback)

Since beginning my quest for the MCSE or MCSA I have been searching for the self paced study guide that will make it easier for me to learn without breaking the bank. Back in April I looked at the initial release of this package, I found it to have several useful features and there were some updates needed.

One thing need was a copy of Windows 2000 Professional and it is still not included. While the server is included the time limit of 120 days may not be enough for some and therefore this feature needs to be expanded.

I like the updates to the 70-218 book as it has been improved over the last version, but the 70-210 book seems thin as compared to the previous release. I did use the 70-218 book in a class I taught in New Jersey and had fairly good results.

Both the 70-215 and 216 books seem to have some updates, but for the most part they remain the same as before. Each book does map to every objective, and each book does have enough work to keep you busy so for the person trying to break into the IT industry this would be a good place to start from.

For the more experience technician you might find some of the books lacking but there is still things you can learn from them. The cds included, now there are two, have the 120 license of 2000 Server. The other is practice exams and e-books; again I think that the practice exam should be increased.

Overall there is still a few improvements needed, one thing the authors may want to consider is updating the books more like the Microsoft Resource kits or the Inside Out books, which a jammed packed with information that far exceed the actual exams.

Finally, these four books do make a good training tool but you do need other resources to help you along the way. If the next release fixes and updates then the kit would become a go to reference set.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guides!!!, December 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: MCSA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core Requirements, Exams 70-210, 70-215, 70-216, and 70-218: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core ... 70-218, Second Edition (Pro-Certification) (Paperback)

I used this set of study guides to study for my MCSA and easily passed the exams averaging 90% in each exam. I read each guide thorougly and played alot with the Windows 2000 OS to get my grades. The study guides were very indepth in its coverage of each exam and the testing engines were very similar to what i saw in the real exam. The books came with alot of detail plus great summary info on each exam objective...unlike other study guides the Microsoft Press has put heavy emphasis on practical use of the OS to study for the exam...if you are looking for an exam cram style guide that will summarise everything for the test then these books are not for you...BUT if you are after something that will force you to do alot of hands on excercises plus give you indepth coverage then get these study guides. I'll recommend these if you want to really learn about windows 2000 not memorise something quick to pass the test.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Effective means to get MCSA, when used with other materials, March 25, 2004

By 

Saxman642 (Trinidad and Tobago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MCSA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core Requirements, Exams 70-210, 70-215, 70-216, and 70-218: Microsoft Windows 2000 Core ... 70-218, Second Edition (Pro-Certification) (Paperback)

I bought these books in April 2003 along with online study guides to get my MCSA:
Passed 70-210 in July ,70-215 in October and 70-218 in March 2004; all on the first try(combining them with my A+ and Network+ Certificatons). Looking on to MCSE I'll be doing 70-216 at the end of April 2004

They're very good books to use except that sometimes they go into too much detail on stuff you don't need to know for the exams.... however for the purpose of gong through every task that may be performed in using windows, simply excellent. The labs are straightforward and help you quickly understand what you read . I recommend using Cramsession StudyGuides alongside these books for best results. Also have at least 2 networked PCs to practice with.