Customer Reviews

MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-292 and 70-296): Upgrading Your Certification to Microsoft Windows Server 2003: Upgrading Your ... Windows Server(tm) 2003 (Pro-Certification)

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Big heavy book with some big heavy content. A lot of info in this book. I got through about half of it before I took the exams. I passed the exams, but felt like I didn't really need to spend the time reading the book in order to do so. It comes with the Measure-Up practice tests which are pretty good. None of the questions from the practice tests were on the production exam, but taking them puts you in the test taking mode. Plus the practice tests give you an idea on what they are testing on with these new exams. A previous review mentioned DNS. DNS is big time on the 296 exam, but Microsoft assumes you already know about DNS and they really only ask questions about the new features in 2003 DNS. Conditional forwarding is a big new DNS concept as well as stub-zones. Know what they are. 292 is 55 questions and 296 is 51 questions. The 296 test is set-up a little different. You are asked 24 questions in one section then you can review then you are given another 26 questions. Once you get through the first 24 and you start the second half you cannot go back to review the first 24. Weird I know. Not sure about the method of their madness there, but they are trying to do something different. 292 is all about administering 2003. You really need to know 2000 as well. A lot of scenario questions on 296 regarding design. Windows 2003 introduces a bunch of new modes you can be in. Remember in 2000 you had mixed mode or native mode. In 2003 there are forest-level modes and domain-level modes. It is a little confusing. You need to know each mode or level and understand what features you can use with each. A few drag and drop questions on that. Remember some questions are worth more points than others so getting the big drag and drop or matching questions correct will get you more points. Universal group membership caching is important. Users no longer need a global catalog to log in provided you are in the right 2003 mode. A few questions on trusts as well. Overall this is a good book, but to me it is not 100% necessary to read it in order to pass. You might be better off with a smaller exam cram book and check out the 2003 white papers on Microsoft's website. These are both very passable exams for the MCSA/MCSE. 296 is a little harder, but if you know your stuff it shouldn't be much of a problem. Good luck.

I recently upgraded my MCSE 2000 to MCSE 2003 and used this book as my core study material. First off I must say that unless you are very experienced with Windows 2003 I doubt any single book alone will suffice to provide all the needed material. Having said that for me it was a great start explaining the differences between 2000 and 2003 and hammering home the important points. It makes references to other online sources such as various white papers for more detailed information which should be taken advantage of. The explainations of trusts, dns namespace and name resolution, sites/global catalogs, UPN logon, users/groups, Group Policy, software installations, Organzational Units, redirected folders, Terminal Services/Remote Desktop, and backup/restores/shadow volume, were particualry good and very accurate. However I thought that the information on Certificate Services/PKI was a bit lacking and is HEAVILY covered in the 70-296 exam.

The quiz questions in the book are quite good with some real brain teasers that help you determine if you know a subject good enough. I would not spend too much time on questions that relate to rote memory facts but concentrate on those that present a problem/solution format. The real exams rarely test you on memorizing facts anymore like the maximum memory this edition of the operating system can have, etc. What is very helpful is that many of the questions will supply the answer, why it is right and why the others are wrong. I did not even try the cdrom quizzes. There are several hands on practice examples in the book. Unless you are real familiar with the particular topic I would be sure to do them and at least read through the others as there is often helpful information included such as the permissions needed on a share for redirect folders.

Beyond the book I did supplement my studies with pertinent chapters from the Windows 2003 Server Resource kit which you can download free. Of course I have had a lot of hands on experience with Windows 2003. In my case this was on my own home network, so you don't have to work in a large network. The one area as mentioned previously I thought Upgrading Your Certification to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 was lacking in was Certificate Services/PKI to the extent that the exam covered it. In general the upgrade exams, particularly 70-296, were heavy on security. Much more so than any past exams I took. What I suggest and what worked for me was to also supplement my studies with the Microsoft Press MCSE book on implementing security for the 70-299 exam. That book covered PKI, ipsec, kerberos/ntlm authentication, smart cards, and wireless network security in much more detail that I found helpful.

All in all if found the Micrsoft Press MCSA/MCSE Upgrading Your Certification to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 to be a great core study guide. If you look at it in that regard and not the sole source of information to pass the exams, which in my opinion is unrealistic, I believe you will find it very helpful.

Hey, you all know that people respond differently to different authors styles...

Mark Minasi is quite entertaining; but IMO his style is better suited to conferences and desk references than certification study. This book covers the topics you need to pass the test. If you want entertaining reading, may I recommend the /Lensman/ series by E. E. "Doc" Smith or the /Redwall/ series by Brian Jacques?

I wager you'll find the bad reviews are either from folks who read the book superficially and expected to pass the test without sufficient hands-on experience or people who hate MS Press. Similarly, the good reviews are a mix of MS Press shills and folks who _did_ pass the tests. You can draw what conclusions you will from that bit of overly obvious prose.

I read the book, did the practice work, and passed 70-292 _easily_ (in and out of the test center in less than an hour). And since I'm old and slow, you young'uns could do better than me!! I'm working my way back through, more carefully this time, to prepare for 70-296.

Key Points:

1. When the book says look up something online, look it up.
2. When the book gives an example, try to recreate it in your home or office testing lab.
3. Those who try to short-sheet their studying are wasting their time and money.

Have a blessed day!! And may you meet good fortune on your quest to upgrade your MCSE certification!!

Other reviews have mentioned it, but it's hard to ignore the obvious: this is a huge, massive book. This is because it covers two exams. If you're taking only one of the exams, then it loses some of its value, but it's a great value for those taking both exams. You don't need to read the entire book before taking 70-292 (the cover page of every chapter tells you whether its covering 70-292 or 70-296 content), but I would recommend it. For example, even though the IPSec chapter says it's for 70-296, you can take my word for it that there is IPSec on the 70-292 exam. I recommend reading the entire book and then scheduling the exams just a day or two apart.

This book is well-laid out and packed with practice questions. The included CD also contains a lot of questions. As has been mentioned, there are some small things on the exam that are not covered in this book, but, in all fairness, none of the exam books cover them. In fact, Microsoft re-wrote the 70-292 exam in Dec '04 to make it much more difficult, and most exam books had already been published. This book is still extremely comprehensive and applicable to the new exam; it's just that you may want to supplement this book with a good bit of internet research.

This is a very comprehesive book and a good study guide. It'll get you most of the way to passing, but 70-292 is a very, very difficult exam now and extra study resources are highly encouraged. I've put online study notes for the exam, but I can't include a URL here, so just do a web search. There are also others out there besides mine. 70-296 is more passable and this book should be mostly sufficient. Though this book can't be your only study guide for these two exams, no book can. I, therefore, highly recommend this book.

This book is not designed to be a comprehensive Server 2003 guide but a study guide on passing the Server 2003 upgrade exams. Under that criteria, it is an excellent book. Don't expect to be a Windows Server 2003 guru with this book, but do expect a simple, straight-forward book on understanding the new features of Windows Server 2003 and how to pass the upgrade exams, 70-292 and 70-296.

I used this book as a primary study guide for the 2003 upgrade exams and although it doesn't cover all the material, it is an excellent book and in my humble opinion the single best source of prepartion.

From what I've gathered, the exams changed sometime in late 2005 and some of the content is dated. That however is not the fault of the authors and unlike many of the "Microsoft Press" books, I found this an enjoyable and easy read.

The book is not indended to deeply review the "Core MCSE Curriculum". Its' audience is expected to be familiar with Windows 2000 engineering and administrative principles as well as a practicing administrator. The text will present content that is now covered under the exam (ie: high availibility services and certificate services)and features that are differential to the old product line. So do not expect this to be your sole source for content, at best it covers 80% of the exam's breadth. If you feel in the learch, I can only suggest brushing up on your 2000 or 2003 core infrastructure notes especially dealing with the subjects of GPOs and Site design\ AD-replication.

Subjects that are missing from the book that require research are EMS (in-band\ out of band services), Role Separation for Cerificate services and WIFI GPO administrative practices. A list of references to supportive documentation can be found in the study notes at [...] . The webpage's host has done an admirable job of putting them together.

In final preparation for the exam, I can only suggest Transcenders as a simulation software...accept no other. CBT nuggets has some great multi-media presentations available through their website to aid in reviewing the material and their content is first class.


Good Luck

Having achieved NT, 2000, and now 2003 MCSE certification, I've found the Microsoft Press books to be mixed bags. This one, however, is excellent. Weighing in at nearly 1500 pages, it covers a lot of ground. If you read (and re-read) the entire book, as well as ALL of the test questions in the included Measure Up sample test, and follow up on unclear information/answers with the TechNet website, and of course have real-world experience, then you'll have excellent preparation for the exams.

When reading this book, I kept admiring the editing. Most tech books have some serious editing problems - unclear wording, dubious or flat-out incorrect information. With this one, I was continually impressed with how each sentence was written to say precisely what was intended, with not too many or too few words. That's not to say it's pithy - writing "Windows Server 2003" repeatedly takes up space - just that it's very well written.

The glossary and included ebooks are helpful as well. Only bummer is that you can't print from the ebooks, so when you're studying, you'll need to apply pen to paper, or go to TechNet and do some printing.

The Measure Up practice test is not nearly as well written as the book - some dubious wording, typos, and incorrectly scored questions (like the answer is A, you put A, and the test scores it wrong). However, the practice test covers topics not included in the book (!), so it's worthwile to go through it.

Oh, and Microsoft even managed to inject a bit of humor here and there.

If Microsoft Press continues publishing books like this, they'll be a strong alternative to Sybex and others.

I've used two preparation guides, this one and the one from Sybex. MSPress is definitely the best of these two books. Covers it all, the sybex version is too superficial and just does not cover it all, it actually lacks some important material.

This book contains lots of exercises, so you get hands on experience with all kinds of tools. Believe me, you are going to need it! The actual exam contains several simulations, so just reading about the available tools, options and functions is just not enough.

Futhermore every chapter ends with a small case study with some questions all of course regarding to stuff outlined in the chapter.

Without this book I would not have passed, both exams.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;830865

has quite a few corrections to this book

Not a Microsoft press fan, but this book seems like best in category for Upgrade study.
The book is huge, but the tear out study card leads one through the chapters needed to study, by topic, for each of the two exams covered, 70-292 and 70-296.
A reference in readme.txt on the CD goes to Microsoft site for book corrections, something no other publisher has. Editing in some books is really terrible. My experience even with Sybex is very disappointing. But editing in this book is clear, in order, and interesting.

Criticism of the length of the book by others fails to recognize that if you already know a topic, you can skip it! Everyone who has ever taken a Microsoft exam also knows that never, never, never does any book cover what is required to pass MS exams without further practice tests and reading. Microsoft wants us to retake every exam and pay each time, right! We do some research for web sites that tell us what is missing so we can do other study, as necessary.

Comes with Server2003 CD and second CD with the book on it! Some others do not.