Customer Reviews

MCSE Networking Essentials for Dummies

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have several years experience on NT system administration, but I know lots of guys who don't pass the Microsoft exams by experience. So I did the prudent thing: I bought the Dummies book and also bought the O'Reilly "MCSE: The Core Exams in a Nutshell" book. The O-Reilly book is a no-nonsense book meant for experienced people and fills in the gaps left by the Dummies book. Between the two books and a rash of practice tests available for free online, I passed the test with a 866. Could have been better, but I'm glad to have passed. The CD that came with the book had terrible exam questions! Ignore the CD. But the book is good if you want to learn. What matters is if you have experience or not. If not, get the Dummies and the Sybex MCSE books. If you think you're experienced, follow my path. If you think you're a wizard, go take the test without studying and then come back humbled.... Buy the book, it will help you!

Of the five "MCSE for Dummies" books I've purchased, this one has been the best. A couple minor obvious errors, but fewer than in the other books of the series. Between this and the "Core Exams in a Nutshell" you'll do great.

The CD, on the other hand, is only good for target practice. The sample test questions on it were poorly worded and the diagrams looked like they were drawn (badly) with some primitive low-res monochrome editor. I was supposed to identify what kind of connector this thing was, but it looked more like a broken Fruit Loop than any connector I've ever seen. I still don't know what the dang thing was.

And the "QuickLearn" game to build test taking speed... well if you've got a week to develop the hand/eye coordination required to become competant at this Asteroids-like game then it might be just fine for you. I, however, ran out of patience when it took me half an hour just to get the blasted space ship in the dock so I could get a shot at answering one question.

In summary: Book good. CD bad.

Networking Essentials is a dry and boring subject, and there's no 2 ways around it. You're dealing with a lot of memorization, cable lenghts, topologies, IRQ's and the OSI 7 Layer model. The good thing the Dummies book does is keep things light and sometimes humorous, so the subject matter doesn't come off as dry as it really is. I studied from this book, and then the Exam Cram book, and scored a 900/1000 last week on the test.

Well written and flows well. The CD is just about worthless, and makes a very good frisbee. The questions are somewhat pathetic and the diagrams suck. But the book also has a coupla good practice exams at the end of the book. Go over those, and you'll be fine. If you have networking experience already this is a good book to get. If you have little or no experience, this is definetaly not the book to get because it goes too fast to learn the material. It's meant to be a review before the exam.

I read this book from cover to cover and passed with an 800. I'm sure I would have done better if I had waited and took another Core test before hand but thought I'd go ahead and take a shot at it anyway and BAM! There were a few mistakes in this book but very few and not any critical ones (alot less than any other books I have read). I'm amused when I read these reviews on how this book doesn't have all the materials in it. Remember, that's what it's designed for! This book gets to the point and if you follow their system and studying recommendations and stick with it you can't go wrong! I actually looked forward to reading this book. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you BUY THIS BOOK! and definetely buy that other fat book with all the details too. Let me mention that IDG Books accidentally packaged the wrong CD and when I e-mailed them about the situation they promptly shipped me a new one ASAP. I also called Amazon and their customer service was Top Class (Amazon just sent me all the 4 Core books to make sure I had everything taken care of, WOW! Can't beat that folks! . Thanx for your service's!

I recommend this book for people who are new to networking. A good rule of thumb for passing the MCSE is to read through this book, and then work on NT 4 Server, Workstation and Enterprise. Pass these test and then go back and take the Net Essentials test.

This book gives a great outline of what to expect on the Net Essentials test.

I have used the Dummies books for a few exams and I have always found them to be a good starting point. The information is presented in an easy to follow manner and uses lots of tables to organize information that needs straight memorization. The game included on the CD is a nice bonus.

While I would not wish for this to be my only resource for taking the test, I generally use it as my first one to get an overrall picture.

At least better than 3 stars

The book is good for getting across what it wants to, but does not cover all material. I used this and the Nash IDG one. Neither had all the information (like NWLink and both were severly lacking in the troubleshooting dept.) However, they both provide enough to get through practice exams quickly. That way you can focus on questions pertaining to information they don't provide. Take notes and do as many practice tests as you can, I did and owe my 900 score to it. Beware the new drag and drop questions! The included CD was questionable.

My test was 30 questions, non-adaptive.

I read this book, online study guides/notes, cramseessions, and online practice test. For a little $$ and a little time online - I passed. My ATEC wanted $1200!%$#@!

Buy the book. Get online. PASS!

Enough said.

This product was good and in great condition just as said. Came within time limit. Would buy from again.