MCSE Training Kit, Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration (It-Training Kit) [Paperback]

Microsoft Corporation (Author)

Book Description

Series: It-Training Kit | Publication Date: June 30, 2000

This official MCSE Training Kit teaches IT professionals how to administer and support the network infrastructure in Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server -- as they prepare for the corresponding MCP exam. Students work at their own pace through an integrated system of lessons and practice exercises. Topics include network topology, addressing and routing, name resolution such as WINS and DNS, virtual private networks, access and security, and troubleshooting information.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Most of Microsoft's training kits are pretty much the same thing: while they aren't a "one-book stop" for the MCSE candidate, they are well-written introductions to the basic concepts. This strategy worked well several years ago, when the MCSEs first came out.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has been ramping up the complexity of its tests steadily, and the Windows 2000 tests are aimed at professionals who have at least one year of networking W2K under their belts--which means that simple concept-based training methods just won't cut it anymore. You can expect to see elaborate troubleshooting scenarios on the actual test, involving multiple DNS zones and strange WINS interactions--and this book simply will not help you there. If you're starting from scratch and don't know the first thing about DNS or TCP/IP, this book is a good starting point. But, if you're hoping actually to get your certification, you'll require probably two, or possibly three, additional good--and more in-depth--books to pass the exam.

This book is basically an introduction to WINS, TCP/IP, IPX, and DNS, with a light touch on certificates and keys. It does a good job of explaining rudimentary TCP/IP addressing--the basic concepts of host and network portions, the TCP/IP architecture, and the Windows 2000 IP configuration commands are written fairly well. You're given a couple of simple exercises ("Installing the TCP/IP Protocol," for example) to get some hands-on experience. However, the more complex TCP/IP portions aren't explained particularly well (such topics as subnetting Class C networks, or the reasons that an admin would use OSPF over RIP) and might require several rereadings.

The IPX section feels at times like a children's primer, with critical routing concepts being shorted on information. SAPs, for example, get a single paragraph and two bullet points--and that's it. That kiddy feel continues into the Network Analyzer and SNMP sections, which tell you how to gather tremendous amounts of information on your network, but not necessarily what to look for when you find it, or what you should do with it.

The DNS chapters go into quite a bit more detail, and are surprisingly well written, explaining with clean skill the concepts of DNS zones and records. This is, in fact, one of the better reasons to purchase this book; if you're hazy on DNS basics, Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration will refresh your memory and fill in the gaps with ease. Be warned, however, that the section on certificates will require several rereadings to make sense before you get the overall picture.

In general, for what it covers, this is a good book and would work very well for the book-learning candidate trying to get a grasp on the essentials. If you already have a grasp on the essentials, however, it won't propel you into the ranks of the MCSE-certified. --William Steinmetz

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (June 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572319046
• ISBN-13: 978-1572319042
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,460,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your Time and Money, August 5, 2000

By 

Joni Ballona (Preston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MCSE Training Kit, Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration (It-Training Kit) (Paperback)

I was looking forward to this book, because I knew there was a lot of new and complicated material on the 70-216 exam. First, I couldn't believe how few pages were in the book. Second, there are no questions or practices that key into the Microsoft exam. The book is so hard to read, I actually had to go to the Help file to figure out what they were trying to say! I passed the exam, but not becuase of this book. This book would fail you, for sure. I read Thomas Lee's TCP/IP and the Syngress TCP/IP troubleshooting book, and those put me over the top.

This book is really sad. I hope they recall it and write a good one soon.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Weak overview of Win2k Networking Services, July 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: MCSE Training Kit, Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration (It-Training Kit) (Paperback)

The MS Press series of self-paced kits have been the standard for learning about Microsoft Operating Systems. This was certainly the case with the Windows NT 4.0 series of MS Press Self-paced study kits.

However, that has changed quite a bit with Windows 2000. The MS Press books are no longer a copy of the Microsoft Official Curriculum, and are put together by a different team of writers. And it shows!

This book purports to prepare you for the 70-216 exam, which is the Implementing and Administering a Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure. To put it plain and simple: It doesn't.

It copies directly from the Help Files and Resource Kits. If anything is unclear in those source documents, it is even more unclear here, since they copy the information without context.

And there are far too many errors in the book In the first chapter on DNS, the exericse states that Win2k Professional is installed on 386 486 and Pentium computers! In another place the write about IIS 4.0, when its clear they were referring to IIS 5.0. And they fail to mention that ISAKMP/Oakley is now called IKE!

The book is a little over 500 pages, but many of the pages are wasted with "In this lesson you will learn" and at the end of the lessons "In this lesson you learned". The book assumes you are moron, and then makes sure you stay that way by not presenting the material in an understanding fashion.

Bottom Line: This is one of the worst books MS Press has published, matched only by their IIS 4.0 Self-paced kit. If you want to learn the material and pass the exam, steer clear of this loser.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a rip-off!, July 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: MCSE Training Kit, Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration (It-Training Kit) (Paperback)

I used the Microsoft Press books to study for my Window NT exams. While those books fell short of being exciting, they did contain just about all the information you needed to pass the exams, as long as you get through the very bad writing. But this book takes the cake!

I memorized this book from cover to cover. I made audio tapes of the chapters and listened to them for several hours a day while I was driving on my job. When I took the test, I was floored! This book is totally worthless if you plan to study for the Microsoft Exam 70-216. I failed the test because this book didn't contain even a fraction of the information I needed to pass. And there are so many mistakes in it, you have to spend half your time wondering if its accurate.

I read their Server and Professional books, and although they aren't too great to read, it looks like they at least have some useful information in them. I hope the next edition of this book tries to cover something from the exam. Right now, I'm keeping this book until Winter, and then I'll use it for kindling.