Customer Reviews

MCSE: Proxy Server 2 Study Guide

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Everyone is dead right - Too long. If you know TCP/IP skip chapter 2, IIS skip Chapter 5. Any clue about troubleshooting skim the last few chapters. I found that the questions and examples are extreamly close the the actual exam. I wonder how many times the authors had to take it to get so close!

When taking this one, I did exactly what I stated above, review the questions, followed up on those which were weak points. Installed the demo version of proxy on my home system and boom i scored 1000! I can't fault a book that was able to give me all that. Ok, so you skip the first 100 or so pages, get to the intresting stuff, miss 10-15% with poor study habits and minimal playing and you still pass.

I was originally using the Cram version of this book, however, it was too shy on pictures. This book has so many picutres, even If you don't have a computer, you would still be able to pass with this one.

Also, be sure to check Sybex's web page for the ERRATA - The TCP/IP sections (Chapter 2) appears to have a few minor typos - No biggies :)

I like this book. I can't believe how stilly some of the comments up here are. Read this book fast, ignore the slow stuff, take the test the next day. This was the last exam I need for my MSCE. So I'm set till December 2001 - Ya hoo!

If you have half a brain you will pass in your sleep. I never would have though that I could score so high -- 962!

I must have spent half a day in the book store before finally choosing this one. It was extremely thorough and the only study guide I needed to pass the Proxy exam. If your looking for a proxy book, look no further.

This book was long - in part because it covered a lot of NT information that you should know by the time you're taking an elective exam. For this test, I actually perfered the Exam Cram study guide because it clearly defined the three components of Proxy Server and then expanded on all three and how they fit together, where as this book seemed to devote huge chapters to each component leaving the reader to figure out how everything worked together.

Also, some of the sample questions at the end of the chapter were not sample 'exam' questions - they were essay/short answer.

After using Sybex's TCP/IP Study Guide, I looked forward to this book, since two of the three authors are the same. What a disappointment. I had to re-read several chapters, because things aren't always placed into a logical order. A fitting description for the text in this book would be "dry". It just isn't interesting to read. By the time I was done with this book, I really couldn't visualize what I would be tested on, because the authors focus overly much on irrelevant material, and fail to point out the important information. I passed the exam, but I think it was due mostly to familiarity with the product and the more focused Exam Cram than to this book.

Please, please, please! Making it thick doesn't mean it is valuable to the readers. The margin is a joke and the first half of the book (or at least what I have read so far) just never got to the point. Sybex must have told the authors to keep it over 600 pages. There isn't that much about MS proxy 2 server actually! Communication with readers is also a problem, like: Page 277: "For example, if a network contains a live Internet address, such as on a class C network, you would use the dialup networking functions on your server to connect to the Internet without using a proxy server." I spent a while trying to understand what he is talking about. What "live Internet address"? "Live" means registered with InterNIC or the network is already hooked up to the Net? Why dialup? How about delicated routers? Well, anyway, there are not many books about MCSE proxy 2 on the market, this I assume is not the worst. I am tired of reading all these "rush to print" MCSE books. What do we gain afterall? a paper cert or knowledge?

The book is good but too wordy. The others are right if you already have taken the TCP-IP exam you can skip the first 100 pages. This could have been an excellent book if it's not too wordy and focus on subject properly. Reading this book is like reading a novel and it will put you to sleep. I hope the authors re-write this book like an exam cram type.

Based on the reviews in this site I purchased this book. It's a great book and covers the material very well. The Exam objectives are well covered and with screen images of the proxy server different components and tools it's easy to read the book without using an actual Proxy Server (But using the actual product makes life easy and very helpful on the test). The book repeats the material in some instances to help clarify things as it introduces new ideas and concepts. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to Learn Proxy and Prepare for the Exam. Passing Proxy Exam 2.0 with a good grade requires a little bit more than what this book offers, the Exam has some nice tricky questions that integrate in some cases many concepts from the Proxy Services which may cause a problem for non-experienced users.

I thought the material was quite good but for someone who was trying to blast throught the MCSE tests, a lot of wordy material gets in the way. If you like reading and detailed explanations, this is a good book but if you have some experience already and are trying to prepare for the exams, it may seem to drag on. Still would recommend to others.

This book is a fairly good technical source and has great review questions at the end of the chapters, but I have some serious problems with it. First, this book reads like War and Peace, but it is only 500 pages long. I normally have no trouble reading 100 pages or so from other study guides, in one sitting, but with this book after ten pages, I'm ready for bed or to go out or to do anything else except continue reading it. In fact, I'm even writing this review just to avoid it ! Another problem I have is that the first five or so chapters are just an overview of the last five or so chapters. You could easily shave 100 pages off this book and still have the same information. Also, these authors did come up with a great new idea for MCSE study guides, which is to list the Microsoft exam objectives throughout the book. The only problem is that once you see an Exam Objective Alert, wouldn't you expect them to discuss those objectives ? Well, they don't ! I was often left wondering " why in the world did they highlight a specific exam topic in a part of the book that barely even discusses that topic " ? Finally, I think that by focusing too much on the fine details of Proxy Server and other related (and unrelated topics), that this book makes studying for the exam quite confusing. Proxy is really not a difficult program to master, and everything that you need to know for the exam is covered in the online documentation in a much more readable manner. BTW, I'm also an MCSE, MCP + Internet, CNA and A+ Certified.