Customer Reviews

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-236): Configuring Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This book is HORRIBLE. This is my 3rd Microsoft book that I have purchased and I will not be buying any more. My logic was "a Microsoft book should help me pass a Microsoft test right?" WRONG.

First of all, the book is FILLED with blatant mistakes and misspelled words. A pattern I've noticed with the Microsoft books is that they fill you with 95% of stuff that's not covered on the exam. So when you take the test, I can guarantee you will see things on the test that weren't in the book.

If you just need to learn about Exchange, then this book is fine for that (although the misspelled words and errors will still throw you off). But if you need a book to pass the exam, stay away from Microsoft. 95% of the Powershell commands that you need to know for the test are NOT in this book.

I truly believe this book series needs to stop advertising that it will adequately prepare you for the exam because it doesn't. And the fact that they couldn't even bother to check their facts and spelling makes me want my money back.

This book is actually about a 2.5. I have been working on exchange 2007 now since just days after its release and have been involved in several medium sized company deployments and one 6500 user migration from groupwise. While this book for the most part is ok information it has so many editing errors, and a few major technical erros I stopped writing them down after Chapter 5. Many of the practices/examples in the book especially relating to powershell scripting flat out won't work. For instance they have you write a ps script that will move-mailbox and tell you that you can schedule it. What they don't include with that is move-mailbox contains a confirmation dialog and they do not explain anywhere in the entire book how to get around it. In other words if you do what they say the next morning you will come into a Yes, No, etc prompt. In many of their scripting examples they forget to close a quote or tick which of course makes the examples not work. If you haven't worked with PS or Exchange 2007 you will probably find this book frustrating if not downright maddening due to the poor editing. It would be a good book for a beginner if the editors had simply done their job. The primary reason purchased this book was for exam prep-which it is very good for minus the editing. When I was finished I felt better prepared for the exam but did not really feel as if any professional knowledge was garnered from the read. Lastly the technical ability of the authors is ok, not anywhere near expert, multiple times in the book they suggest NLB for Hub Transport servers which is not supported or recommended...its a terrible idea that causes lots of problems. There were points where I felt they had never actually seen the product or read the documentation, and other parts where I thought they had some generic lab experience with no real world experience. Overall though compared to Tony redmond's Guide to Successful Implementation this is the better of the two books if looking for a cert prep ONLY. If looking for useful knowledge go Unleached or Tony's book or both :)

First the negatives
+ Loads of mainly minor editing mistakes everywhere, the main body of the text and Q+A at the end of every chapter,
+ The additional tests on the CD are pretty good, but annoyingly the Q+A are not alligned with the book. In most cases you have to go through 2 chapters before being able to test yourself.
+ In the last chapter LCR is not taken through its logical conclusion.
+ The online site does not provide an errata/corrections list.

Postives
+ Covers the material well enough
+ Each chapter has at its end a Q+A section, to re-enforce learning.
+ You get Exchange 2007 32bit+64bit on to DVD plus additional questions on a CD.
+ loads of screenshots, text pretty easy to read

I used this as my main study tool and passed with 96%, so it does what it says.

I would give it 5 stars, if it didnt has so many annoying errors. I think it is unfair and too harsh to lose more than a single star, as

1. This is a technical book and it has a limited life span (3 years max).
2. The authors and publisher are in a race to produce the book for people like me, I rather have the book now with a few errors rather than wait for another 3 months.
3. Most of the errors probably will be corrected with time.

4 stars if it did not have errors.
I bought this book and am currently rereading it. I passed the 70-236 with more than the help of this book. I think the book is a good book to learn Exchange 2007. Unfortunately, it has A LOT of errors. Make sure you go to: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947010/en-us to make the listed corrections to your book. Some are not listed yet (i.e. the Quick Check Answer at the bottom of p233 has a period that should not be there).

I was amazed at how poorly a book can be written. Where was the editor on this book? DO NOT purchase this book to pass exams. You will get things wrong on the exams because of this book and the poor explanations.

Next at a time when CD's at the end of the book contain video and audio, perfectly matched questions to the book and explanations to the answers that allow you to click back to the section to read why the answer they chose is correct, this book DOES NOT do that at all. The questions on the CD had to come from a completely unrelated source.

Please look at the other books for Exchange like Sybex 047018146X. Two exams are covered and it is reall comprehensive. (No I am not associated with the publisher), but I did use the book to easily pass the exam.
It has a CD that contains:
SYBEX TEST ENGINE:
Test your knowledge with advanced testing software. Includes all chapter review questions and bonus exams.

ELECTRONIC FLASHCARDS:
Reinforce your understanding with flashcards that can run on your PC, Pocket PC, or Palm handheld.

Also on CD, you'll find the entire book in searchable and printable PDF. Study anywhere, any time, and approach the exam with confidence.

OR Microsoft Exchange Server 2007: Tony Redmond's Guide to Successful Implementation (Paperback)which has more practical information which can be used in the field.

After 2(fulltime)days, i am at page 124!?!?!?!? Due to the poor editing examples walkthroughs etc. You spend your time more Googling for resolving errors and why stuff don't work like the writers intended to work. Now i am not a newbe in this field and working in the ICT for the last 10 years. I have installed on a 2003 box sql 2005 IIS6 and and exchange 2007. And used 2007 to get mail functionality within PHPBB. It took me almost a week(SQL rights with IIS6) and setting up the database. But after 2 days spending time to wrestle to page 124, you really are in pain. I also bought the other REDMOND book another reviewer opted. And will look if it gives the salvation i need.

Dear Orin and Ian, i know it's though to write a studyguide. With a hugh time constrain. Were also family man right!!!!! But the editing of this guide is really poor. There are smarter ways of telling things, wich cuts in editing time and headaches of your readers. Still the 70-291 is the best Microsoft study guide. I've red.

I bought the book and took the test 3 weeks later. I spent a lot of time reviewing the questions. Although my experience in the IT field was valuable, this book put Exchange 2007 in perspective. Nice job!

I found the Microsoft Exchange 2007 exam prep book an excellent study guide. The use of a lab setup gives you hands on experience, which strengthens your knowledge and confidence when it comes to the real world environment. The review and test questions, which are found on the accompanied CD ROM, present an exam experience which almost replicates the actual exam. You do need to have availability to a good lab, which can be a problem.

This was my first look at Exchange 2007 and I was hoping to use this book to sit the exam but feel that I may have to find another non-Microsoft version now.

The book is full of spelling and grammatical errors, which is tolerable until you start finding them in the command and scripting examples. There are several instances where the spelling of a command is different when used in the same sentence (a description and then an example), leaving you wondering which command was the correct one! The only way to find out is to test it and see which one works.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but it also seems that this book was written based on the beta of Exchange 2007? There seem to be a few differences between what the book says and how the software actually is once installed. Why write a book based on beta software?!

I have specialized in Microsoft Exchange since version 5.0 back in the late 1990s. I have purchased several books on Exchange over the years from varying publishers and have always been pleased with the level of accuracy and organization of the material. I have even purchased several Microsoft Press titles such as this and have never been disappointed. However, this has to be the worst technical book I have ever had the displeasure to waste my time and money on. As I read through the book, I kept noticing parts that didn't make sense or seemed lacking, so I validated the information by Googling the topics and to my extreme disappointment, I have decided that this book is severely lacking, inaccurate and a complete waste of my time.

I have taken thirteen Microsoft exams and have both an NT4 MCSE and 2003 MCSE (which included Exchange elective exams)and have never failed. I recently took the 70-236 exam and didn't pass. I certainly carry some of the blame, but the majority of the blame falls on this book. I was completely caught off guard by several questions not covered in the book or practice exam and after reviewing the book post test, I validated that some of my incorrect answers were due to bad information in this book. I really wish I had read some of the other reviews before buying. Lesson learned.