Customer Reviews

MCSE: Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Planning, Implementation, and Maintenance Study Guide (70-294)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm working on my Server 2003 certification and I'm using all of the Sybex study guides. This book follows the traditional Sybex format with lots of screenshots and exercises, as well as thorough background and theoretical information. All of the information in the book is geared towards the exam objectives, which is great. You don't have to sift through too many topics that you won't see on the exam at all. So far I've passed all of the exams that I've taken, so I'd have to say that this book and the entire series are great.

I used this book and some separate practice questions to study for the exam, and I passed on my first try. The practice questions i bought were ok, but they didn't really explain any of the topics very well. This book covers all of the exam objectives very thoroughly, with lots of theory AND practical information. It also includes what they call "real world scenarios" that do a good job of adding some context to the rest of the information in the chapters. The extra CD content could have been better, but I bought the book for the book, not the CD. The chapters are clearly laid out, explaining the exam objective coverage at the beginning of each one. This book has everything you need to pass the exam and actually learn the material. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone studying for the exam.

A caveat: I don't care about the test. I was searching through lots of books for some information about creating a Windows server based network and this book really stood out. (I was setting up my first network and was lost trying to figure out some things.)

I know many or most of you only care about the test, but I am writing this to tell others that if you need a good book about infrastructure I think you may want to get this one.

You could definitely tell when they switched authors. There were two chapters when I could tell the author really didn't know the subject and was merely regurgitating information. I stopped midway through those chapters and skipped onto the next chapter. I later got the info I needed for Certificate Services and High Availability Services from Whitepapers and I also discovered the MS Press book on this test. It was much better. Reading the Sybex book I had very little confidence in the author. Reading the MS Press book I had complete confidence in the author.

For example in the Sybex book, when they were describing High Availability Services, I kept seeing a single point of failure. After a while I got disgusted and looked for better sources of information. I printed out the chapter from the MS Press book from Safari and my issue was addressed within a few pages. My point being is that the author of the MS Press book obviously knew how the brain of an IT person works and was able to answer my questions and concerns as they arose while reading. This was not the case in Sybex.

I would say the MS Press author definitely understood the subject and me (as an IT professional) much better.

This book will teach you the basics. iT does not prepare you for the test. I read the whole book cover to cover and understood it completely. The test is nowhere as easy as this books questions. It does not go into depth with scenerios that can be helpful. I recommend you get the microsoft books for this test. If you are currently working with 2003 it will help alot. but do not plan to only use this book unless you luck up and get the perfectly tailored test to what this books covers.

Anyone who is seeking a Microsoft Engineering certification should obtain this book. In fact, the entire Sybex series of books are great.

The book is an easy read, which is good. You'll have an easy time getting through the questions, but when you go to take the test you'll fail. This book is no where a good match for the exam. I suggest this book for people who want to learn about Win2k3 AD, but if you're getting it to prepare for the test you should think twice. Nothing this book discuss could have prepared me for the test. Bummer.