"Nearly half the core required exams' content demands that the candidate have troubleshooting skills acquired through hands-on experience and working knowledge." --Microsoft, describing the new Windows 2000 testing process
If you've been working out in the field after getting your MCSE and gaining hands-on experience by the fistful, Sybex's MCSE Accelerated Windows 2000 Study Guide can give you the overview that you'll need to get close to finishing the exam. But, if you've been working in a smaller office and you're not savvy about all of the facets of Windows NT--including lesser parts, like certificate servers and DNS zoning issues--you might have problems with this facts-based, experience-light text.
First, the good news: in areas with not a lot of Windows NT crossover, the book goes into extremely good explanations--the chapters on Active Directory and NAT are perhaps some of the finer introductory explanations that are available for those who are not familiar with the topics. The top-notch walk-throughs on the various Windows 2000 components are taken from other Sybex books and guide you exactly through what you need to do--although, in a nod to saving space in an already thick book (775 pages), the walk-throughs come in PDF format on the companion disc. The writing is unfailingly clear and helpful, and it's difficult to find an area that fails to get its point across.
The bad news is that, because Windows 2000 might in fact be too large to be compressed effectively into one book, some cursory explanations might be too shallow. The entire discussion of what Microsoft Certificate Server is, how certificates work, and why a system administrator would use certificates consists of two paragraphs; in fact, everything that this book has to offer on certificates takes up three and a half pages--one of which is in a separate section. Likewise, a highly touted feature of Windows 2000--the ability to use more than one monitor--consists of three paragraphs and a PDF walk-through. Admittedly, tough cuts had to be made to squeeze Windows 2000 into a single weighty tome, but seven pages are devoted to the Boot.ini file and the booting process--a process that's very similar to that in Windows NT.
Another issue to consider when buying this book is the lack of expertise, for lack of a better word. Much of the content in this book is written as if you had everything installed and working properly; which, of course, is wonderful, but not a likely situation to come up on the exam. Some sections, like WINS, Software Deployment, and Terminal Services, have a page or so of troubleshooting guidelines at the end, which is extremely helpful; but these aren't listed in all sections, and some of the more complex interactions, like DNS and Active Directory, tell you absolutely nothing about what could go wrong. If you've been working with large-scale enterprises, you will have the experience already to know what tends to go wrong, and this book will be useful. But, if you either have been resting on your laurels or lack that critical experience, this book might not be enough for you to pass the exam.
In short, this is a fine overview for the experienced MCSE candidate--one who has the year of hands-on work that Microsoft is looking for and who wants a well-done explanation of Windows 2000's new features. The topics that this book covers are covered with astonishing clarity; but someone who needs a tad more handholding or a greater understanding of where Windows 2000 fails might need to look elsewhere. --William Steinmetz
