MCSE: Windows Directory Services Administration Study Guide (with CD-ROM) [Hardcover]

Anil Desai (Author), James Chellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 078212948X | ISBN-13: 978-0782129489 | Edition: 2

Here's the book you need to prepare for Exam 70-217, Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure.

This study guide provides:

• In-depth coverage of every exam objective—all the information you need
• Practical information on administering Windows 2000 Directory Services
• Hundreds of challenging review questions, in the book and on the CD
• Leading-edge exam preparation software, including a testing engine, electronic flashcards, and simulation software

Authoritative coverage of all exam objectives, including:

• Installing, configuring, and troubleshooting Active Directory
• Installing, configuring, managing, monitoring, and troubleshooting DNS for Active Directory
• Installing, configuring, managing, monitoring, optimizing, and troubleshooting
• Change and Configuration Management
• Managing, monitoring, and optimizing the components of Active Directory
• Configuring, managing, monitoring, and troubleshooting Active Directory security solutions

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The new edition of the MCSE: Windows 2000 Directory Services Administration Study Guide is the ultimate study tool for exam 70-217, Implementing and Administering a Microsoft® Windows® Directory Services Infrastructure. Working in conjunction with our team of expert authors, we've made significant enhancements to the study guide based on reader and instructor feedback gathered over the past year.

So what's new? We've replaced virtually all of the review and bonus exam questions with more challenging questions that better reflect the difficulty of the actual tests; we've added Real World Scenarios to provide additional insights into the intricacies of implementing Microsoft's Directory Services in enterprise networks; and we've added Exam Essentials sections to each chapter, where key exam topics are highlighted. All this in addition to general improvements to the overall instructional quality of the book.

--Neil Edde, Associate Publisher

From the Back Cover

Here’s the book you need to prepare for Exam 70-217, Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure. This study guide provides:

• In-depth coverage of every exam objective--all the information you need
• Practical information on administering Windows 2000 Directory Services
• Hundreds of challenging review questions, in the book and on the CD
• Leading-edge exam preparation software, including a testing engine, electronic flashcards, and simulation software

Authoritative coverage of all exam objectives, including:

• Installing, configuring, and troubleshooting Active Directory
• Installing, configuring, managing, monitoring, and troubleshooting DNS for Active Directory
• Installing, configuring, managing, monitoring, optimizing, and troubleshooting
• Change and Configuration Management
• Managing, monitoring, and optimizing the components of Active Directory
• Configuring, managing, monitoring, and troubleshooting Active Directory security solutions

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Sybex; 2 edition (June 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078212948X
• ISBN-13: 978-0782129489
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.8 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,427,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Chatty, Too Thin on Content, January 18, 2002

By 

A. Wilkinson (New Port Richey, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MCSE: Windows Directory Services Administration Study Guide (with CD-ROM) (Hardcover)

This book was the most disappointing so far of all the Sybex books I've used for Microsoft and Cisco certifications. The author constantly repeats himself from paragraph to paragraph, making the book rather tedious reading. Cut out the redundancy and the book could easily be 150 pages shorter, without cutting any material. Another complaint is the unacceptable lack of depth. This book felt more like a topical overview than an actual exam prep guide. Through the entire book I kept waiting for the author to "get into" the subject material, but after each chapter I was left empty and hopelessly disappointed. A significant portion of my test-prep learning came from using the Transcender practice exams (purchased separately, a bit expensive, but definitely worth it) because they give much more in-depth information as to why right answers are right, and why wrong answers are wrong. Also, let me add that this book is full of errors and inconsistencies, and this was in the 2nd Edition no less. For example, in Ch.12 he lists 5 bulleted points as *mandatory minimum* config for RIS clients: P-166, 32MB, 1.2GB HD, NIC, PXE Boot ROM. In the practice exam he asks which of the following is wrong, and lists P-166, 32MB, 800MB HD, PXE. You'd expect the answer to be the HD, because it's only 800MB instead of 1.2GB, right? WRONG!! His answer is that PXE is not mandatory because you can use a floppy instead. Okay, I can understand that, but when the chapter says minimum 1.2GB and test implies 800MB is acceptable, that's an inexcusable inconsistency-- and this book had many of these, forcing the reader to stop and consult another source (such as the Microsoft website) to get the real answer. Using this book PLUS the Transcenders netted me a score in the low 900s on the exam (taken in Jan 2002) but I can tell you from experience that this book alone does not have NEARLY enough depth of coverage to adequately prepare you.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It has most of what you need to know, September 11, 2001

By 

Steven L. Umbach (Bartlett, Il United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MCSE: Windows Directory Services Administration Study Guide (with CD-ROM) (Hardcover)

The Sybex book for 70-217 is pretty decent for a core study book. I passed the exam with a 906, but I used more than a few other resources. I would say 90% of what is covered in the exam is in this book and I found it to be mostly accurate. However I would have like to seen more "real life" ala Mark Minasi style info in the text. 80% of the book was mostly screen shots and step by step exercises in how to accomplish various important tasks, which is fine and necessary. Even though most everything you need to know is here it would have been better to put more emphasis on critical topics to help in the learning process instead of reading like a manual for a lawn mower at times. I used the Syngress book for 70-216 and found the end of chapter highlights to be very helpful - it would be nice to see this in the Sybex book. It is important to know how to use ntdsutil.exe for file maintenance and I did not find this covered in the book. A more thorough explanation of delegating group policy control on new, existing, and links is also needed. The end of chapter questions have improved, but with few exceptions still are not comparable to what is on the actual exam. I found that the Sybex 70-217 book in combination with Exam Cram for 70-217 make a very good combo. Exam Cram mostly filled in the few areas that the Sybex book was lacking. However I highly recommend as usual using the Microsoft website to research further the main 70-217 topics - active directory, dns, ris, and gpo. As always a practice network is a must to go along with any study guide for the MCSE exams. Criticisms aside I think that the Sybex 70-217 2nd edition is a worthwhile read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very light on detail... The test is much more in depth., July 14, 2003

By 

"fwged" (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MCSE: Windows Directory Services Administration Study Guide (with CD-ROM) (Hardcover)

I read this book from cover to cover and found myself wondering if that was all there was to this test. The book is very light on the details of tracking down errors with AD. It is also very light on the tools that you would use to solve these problems.

The real problem is that the test is very heavy on real world situations and without significant real world experience you will be unable to pass this test by reading this book.