Customer Reviews

MCSE TCP/IP for Dummies

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Most of the reviews that I've read here have rated this book with 1 star. I can understand their dismay, but I have given this book 3 stars because it did contain some useful info. But I agree with most of the reviewers here. I found the technical and grammatical errors hard to ignore. It is clearly evident that the editors failed to proofread this book. The technical errors were also blatant and can only be blamed on the author although the credits did list technical editors. Brandon is also quick to tell the reader to memorize tables (subnetting section) which does not work for me. It would have been better to give the reader the necessary info to be able to create the table. There is a formula that allows you to calculate the numbers in the table, but Brandon doesn't even mention it. I found this info elsewhere. There is also a lot of "the exam does not cover this so I won't cover this..." Is this really true? I hope so. I know this book was written "for Dummies" but how dumb does Brandon think his readers are?

This book is helpful, but you need to have at least one other book to go off of. This book helped me learn by discovering the errors in this book, approximately 15 (that I caught). That's not a big deal, but the book is supposed to be 100% certified error-free. Anyway, there is no quick and dirty way to pass MSCE tests, you either need a couple books, or a lot of field experience and a good book to get the extra little details MS requires. I used this book along with a MS book, a Sybex book, and an exam cram. I passed the test with a 900. I recommend this book but, not as a sole resource.

Not bad overall. I passed the test 1 and 1/2 months after picking up the book (passed on the first try). I only used this book. All I knew about TCPIP before I got started was that I needed it to connect to the Internet.

However, you've got to be aggressive in your studying and critical of what you read. Read the whole book once. Then read the entire book again with a highlighter. Then go through the whole book a third time taking typewritten notes (my preferred form of notes - easier to save and read) on what you highlighted. Then take all practice tests (beginning of chapter, end of chapter, and CD). Re-read your notes every day. Review all missed practice test questions immediately after taking each exam.

But beware - there are several mistakes in the book, and I got really hung up on them thinking it was me. The subnetting chapter was very confusing, and I never really did get a good understanding of it. I didn't get some of the IP addressing stuff for a while, but when I did, I said to myself, "well why didn't he just SAY that." I'm convinced the author had nothing to do with the production of the accompanying CD; he clearly stated that certain topics would not be tested on the exam, but I got as many as 5-10 questions on the practice exams on these same topics. Then there were questions on things that weren't even mentioned in the book at all. That was frustrating because again, I spent time in the beginning thinking the problem was with me.

Anyway, like I said, I did pass the first time with no background understanding of TCPIP. So, it was worth the time and money. If you're aggressive about it, you can do it too.

Most of the MCSE Dummies books are pretty good but this one is the pits. CD has so many errors as to render it competely USELESS. Although the information in the book is generally good, the study tips and the focus are totally wrong. Honestly I think I would have gotten a better score if I hadn't read this book because I studied what it recommended and not what the test actually focused on. If this book says "the test usually doesn't focus on...." that is what you should be studying, but not from this dummies book.

There are quite a few errors in this book and the content really only touches the surface of TCP/IP. However, it does contain enough info to pass the exam and it does make learning IP relatively easy. This is a good book for people that are new to TCP/IP. If you know a little about subnetting etc. then I would look to something a little more in depth. SAMS TCP/IP in 24 hours is good, but the definitive technical reference is TCP/IP Illustrated by W. Richard Stevens. That said I give this book 3 stars as a entry reference to TCP/IP.

I read alot of IDG books and swear by them, but, so far this has got to be the most dissapointing one so far! I Passed this exam BUT the book only confused me more on several occasions (conflicts with Microsoft's explanations). There are many mistakes, way too many errors to be acceptable. I will give Mr. Cameron Brandon one thing, his explanation of the subnetting subjuct is worth buying the book. Sorry guys, love your books but you'll need to publish a 3rd edition.

I have trusted The Dummies Series and I haven't been disappointed yet. Some topics were more detailed than any other Approved study material.

Dummies books have the reputation to simplify meaning of these MCSE courses. I trusted this book so much to the point that it did not do me any good. I took the test and failed it. I was very disappointed because unlike the past Dummies books it does not give you a grasp on TCP/IP. It was poorly written, organized and too wordy. This book caused so much confusion in TCP/IP.

This book is full of problems... I maintain a mixed Unix and Windows environment for a large hospital laboratory. Being quite familiar with TCP/IP, I figured that a book would be more than enough to review what's on the test and be sure I was ready. While reading this book, I realized I understood more about TCP/IP than the author.

The text and practice tests are riddled with errors. For example, in one scenario type question the author asks "what happened" to a station that no longer works properly. The correct answer according to the software was a "how to fix it" answer. The exact same scenario was presented later in the SAME test, and had a different "correct" answer. Another question has a ip address x.x.x.0 as being a valid gateway.

In the text, the author confuses LMHOSTS and HOSTS files in one section. In a "Quick Assessment" quiz, the answer to one true or false question is "LPR"?? And IIS now can limit a host's ability to use the internet?

I wouldn't trust this book as my only source for definitive information. There are just too many errors. That's not to say the book is without some merit though. Some of the Windows specific TCP/IP information was very good. But because of the other areas having so many errors and this being an area where I'm not as comfortable as straight TCP/IP itself, I felt I needed to check up on this information as well. While it was informative and basically correct, it was not without it's errors as well.

One glance through this book will present anyone skilled in TCP/IP a great reference book on how NOT to learn TCP/IP.

Simple errors on subnet masks, routing, DHCP leasing, and other issues were made very frequently. I read about 50 pages just glancing through in the bookstore and it looks like it was written by an amateur.

It's books like these that make paper MCSE's seem not so bad after all. The author should be ashamed of this book. Did dummies press actually hire an MCSE, or did they just print that on the title of the book? One has to wonder.