Customer Reviews

NetWare 5 CNA(SM)/CNE: Administration and Design Study Guide

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

 

 

I passed all three of these CNE exams after studying this book. (I have experience with NetWare 3 & 4 but not NetWare 5.) I agree with other reviewers that this book is not for novices; novices should take a live class or CBT not just read a book. The book is well organized and well written -- much better than the companion volume "Integrating Windows NT" by Scott Reeves. With a few small exceptions, it covers what you need to know to pass the exams. I have some problems with the relevance of Novell's test objectives to real-world networks: there is over-emphasis on ZEN-Works, too little about login scripts, a glib and unrealistic dismissal of Microsoft clients for NetWare, and excessive discussion about an imaginary Project Team lead by an "NDS Expert". But this is Novell's fault, not the book's. The major fault of the book is that the practice questions are much easier than those of the real exam, and are almost all multiple-choice even though the real exam is not.

If you are using this book to pass the three tests it claims tocover good luck, especially if you don't have either hands onexperience or a secondary training source. This book does manage to cover most of the material on the tests, but the practice questions are a joke. Also, the book spends lots of time on sections that have few related questions to the actual test, while skimming some sections that will be tested extensively.

I bought this book for CNA examination. However the practice of the book is not explained in details. So if you are a novice, study more materials before examination.

After reviewing with this book, and little or no 5.0 experience, I passed the 4.11 to 5.0 upgrade test with no problems.

Everything between the covers is a disappointment. I've used several Sybex books and I don't recommend this one at all. If you know nothing of Netware, this will give you an overview, but lacks details on specific subjects. There are a few subjects that it covers some-what in depth, but doesn't cover some of the basic fundementals. I found this especially true for the CNA portion. As far as the other exams it claims to cover (640 & 634) they too fall short. My suggestion, don't use it as your primary study source.

NetWare 5 CNA(SM)/CNE: Administration and Design Study Guide is a decent book about NetWare 5, but a study guide it is not.

If you have little or no prior experience with NetWare, don't even try to pass the Administration test by just studying this book. It skimps on a lot of important info that the test hits you hard on, and omits other things entirely (correct syntax for the command-line utilities FLAG, NDIR and FILER are a good example - the test can get pretty detailed on these).

Find a better study guide and supplement it with practice-testing software - CNEQUIZR [online] is a good one.

I must agree with the other reviewers. I have used other Sybex book and found them very helpful. This one however.......

If you have ALOT of experince with 4.11 and/or can set up a 5.0 network in your home, this MIGHT help. If not, it can cause you to fail the exam.

The book can leave you feeling overconfident, like me. I read the chapters, did the study review (both in the book and online) and did great with them. Today I took the test and FAILED! The book dose not prep you for the type of questions Novell asks nor the style of Novell testing - that freaked me out more then anything (it is not like Microsoft) and may have helped in my poor performance.

The book is a good overview of Netware 5.0, put that is all it is

I used this book for the NetWare 4.x to NetWare 5 Update test. I found it very helpfull for that purpose. I was already proficient in previous versions of NetWare so I can't comment on it from the "newbie" perspective. For those looking to update, this book with a package from SelfTest Software will make a good combo.

This book is a great explanation of Netware. It's the best of the printed materials I've seen on the topic (Novell's own study kit book is horrible by comparison). I just passed the CNA exam, and felt well-prepared, though I agree with other reviewers that you should always use more than one study aid. The one weakness of this book is that the questions at the end of the chapters are not much like the actual test, though in all fairness, it would be impossible to simulate the test in a written format. I also used Self Test Software's exam simulation, which was awesome--just like the real thing.

Although I believe Sybex sells good quality books, I would like to issue a little word of advice. Never use just one source when going for a certification. For my CCNA certification I used both the CCNA Sybex book, and I was in the Cisco Networking Academy, for My Novell CNA certification, I used CBT and the Sybex book. No matter if a book is a 5 star book or not, your more likely to learn something if you read it twice from differant sources and cover everything.