Customer Reviews

Microsoft SQL Server 7 Data Warehousing Technical Support Training Kit

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

 

 

I took this exam after taking the SQL Admin and Design exams (70-028 and 70-029). I have many years of experience as a DBA, but none with Data Warehousing. Multidemensional schemas and cubes were completely new concepts for me which this book did a fine job of introducing me to. There is a good mix of instruction and hands on exercises. For review, I used the "About this book" section at the front which maps the exam objectives to the individual chapters and lessons. I also read thru the OLAP Services Books Online "Administrators Guide" section that comes with the product. There is a huge amount of material to cover and this book seemed to give about the right breadth and depth that I needed to pass the exam - topics like DSO, DTO and ADO MD objects models, MDX, DTS, replication, English Query, Logical and Physical data warehouse design, and of course OLAP Services. My weakest area, based on the exam results, was in the "Analyzing Business Requirements" and "Developing the Logical Design", predictable, since I had so little experience. More case studies along the lines of "Here's the customer senario - go design the data warehouse" followed by "Here's a good design and why" would help.

I originally bought this book for two reasons. One, to pass an elective exam on my MCSD and second, to utilize on my current consulting job. This book did not let me down at all.

Combining this book with material from Transcenders, I passed the Microsoft exam with room to spare. More importantly though- it allowed me to start developing a data warehousing project on my current assignment.

The book is well written and goes step by step from the fundamentals to advanced DTS. In addition, there is additional exercises in the book that allow you to sharpen your skills with SQL and MDX.

BEWARE- THE CD'S IN THE BOOK ONLY WORK WITH NT 4.0. IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS PROFESSIONAL 2000, YOU MAY KISS OFF TO THE ADDITIONAL DATA AND TRIAL VERSIONS OF SQL SERVER ON THE CD'S THAT ARE PROVIDED. I HAVE MSDE LOADED- SO I COULD USE THE SAMPLES THAT THEY PROVIDED IN THE BOOK AT HOME.

In addition, I feel that Microsoft Press did an excellent job in providing the reader with in depth detail that is mandatory in building a successful data warehouse. Unlike the Oracle Press books that I have used- In my opinion- Microsoft Press goes beyond the surface of memorization of facts and provides the reasoning behind the content of the book that leads to a better level of understanding.

One other complaint-- the spine of the book couldn't keep the pages together under heavy use.

This book was a great book. I have had 3 years of experience in data-warehousing, but after reading this book I was able to learn lot of new things. The exam is a tough one. I would recommend reading the entire book and then going through the transcender. By the way I passed the test.

I was very skeptical when I first purchased this book. It's got Microsoft's name on the spine, which through past experience has shown to mean insufficent information or even abundance of errors. I was plesantly surprised to find the information not only sufficient, but also well written and mildly entertaining. Now you won't curl up with a cup of coffee and enjoy this book like a novel, but it certainly won't strain you brain with each chapter. As with all Technical Certifications, hands on usage is the best possible way to learn, I recommend installing SQL Server and working through all the examples. The only draw back to this book is the set of example questions, they lack the teeth that the test will truly have. So if you have the cash, go get the Transcenders.

Good Luck!

This is a greate book. I studied the book and Transcender , pass the exam with room to spare. I strongly recommend this book

I have been doing Data Warehousing for about 18 months on SQL Server, primary 2000, but 7.0 is pretty much the same.

The toolkit, is not the best guide out there to prepare you for the exam, but there is nothing better than hands-on preparation for the Microsoft exams.

This toolkit is good to give you some very basic overviews on what Microsoft's approach to Data Warehousing is and how to approach a Data Warehouse project.

Remember, for the exam, this book alone will not give you a passing score.

I begins to read this book a few weeks ago and was able to understand a lot better about how Microsoft implement data warehouse using "Microsoft Data Warehousing Framwork". This book is easy to read and ideal for beginner that has little or no data warehouse experience.

While one would think that buying a book from Microsoft Press is like getting the knowledge from the source, it is disappointing to find that the book is riddled with errors and shallow discussion of the most serious issues. If all you care about is passing the MS exam, this book may be enough. But, if you are trying to really learn MS Data Warehousing, then try another book. There are many better books on the market that provide deeper and much more useful examples and discussions.