MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-215): Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Second Edition (Paperback)

~ Microsoft Corporation (Author) "This lesson introduces you to the family of Windows 2000 products, which includes Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and Windows..." (more)
Key Phrases: system state data changes, authentication method that supports, data recovery policy, Active Directory, Device Manager, Correct Answers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Perhaps one of the best Microsoft training kits ever, the Windows 2000 Server training kit has the technical details and punch to make it almost--almost--a one-book passing grade. Unfortunately, the same surfeit of exam-extraneous details that makes this kit a solid reference book simultaneously blinds the reader with technical info that isn't on the MCSE/MCSA proper.

First of all, pop open the champagne bottles and have yourself some caviar... for the first time ever, Microsoft is putting actual MCSE questions in their books! In the past, the Microsoft training kits were notorious for posing essay-style questions while the MCSEs used multiple-choice questions. Evidently, reader feedback has changed their tune, and now a full third of the book is devoted to MCSE/MCSA-style quizzes. The better news is that unlike many study guides, the questions here are fairly hard-hitting; they're not quite up to the difficulty of the exam proper, but they're darn close. Furthermore, each set of questions is broken down by objective, and each answer is gone over in full detail. Did you choose B by mistake? The training guide not only tells you why C is right in a dense paragraph or two, but it explains why B wasn't even close to being right. That alone makes it a valuable study guide.

But the real meat of the book is in the writings and tutorials. The kit walks you through the internals of Windows 2000 Server in a fair amount of detail. If you've used other training kits and found them to be lacking when it came to preparing you for the exam, this kit is different from even the Windows 2000 Professional Guide--it analyzes Win2K fairly closely, going over the boot loading procedure in loving detail, explaining the ins and outs of zone transfers, and discussing permissions as fully as you please. The only section of Win2K that could be said to get the shaft is the comparatively sparse Active Directory section, and even that's a lot more comprehensive than many MCSE guides on the market nowadays.

In fact, that's the problem. Although the MCSE/MCSA exams have been cranking up in toughness over the years, they're still not ever going to ask you for, say, what IrDA is (a bidirectional wireless protocol) or for the WINS/NBT Node Type Code (046). Although the Windows 2000 Server exam is a fairly wide-ranging one and there's a lot of information to pack into any book that'd help get you a passing grade, this book's both wide and deep. As a result, you could well miss a critical exam topic in the flurry of details provided over the course of a thousand pages, or worse, you could waste valuable study time on a topic that you're never going to be tested on in a million years. As a result, you'll definitely pass if you study this book, but you'll have to study it hard to make sure you don't miss anything.

But if you do study it, and study well, you'll pass. That's not a promise that most books can make, but this manages. The complex sections--like remote access, unattended installations, and the boot section--will require a fair amount of rereading to get the gist of things, but once you've cracked down you can burrow into it more than you can in most books.

Another minor problem is that this book is also comparatively low on troubleshooting. It does discuss some of the common problems, of course, and the large (375-page) quiz section in the back definitely helps, but in the end, a lot of MCSE/MCSA questions deal with broken networks and things that need to be fixed. The book tends to focus on how Windows 2000 Server should work, and not on what commonly goes wrong or the errors that novices normally make. Unless you go out of your way to get a lot of hands-on experience--which, of course, you should--you could get tripped up when you encounter your first "Here are the symptoms, now identify the problem" question on the exam.

But still. In the end, this is probably one of the best books that Microsoft has produced for novice-to-intermediate users. If you shell out the shekels for this pile o' pages, you'll get past one of the tougher exams in the MCSE/MCSA arsenal. Highly recommended. --William Steinmetz

Product Description

This official MCSA/MCSE SELF-PACED TRAINING KIT teaches IT professionals how to set up and manage Windows 2000 Server-as they prepare for MCP Exam 70-215, a core requirement for MCSE or MCSA certification. Work at your own pace through a system of skill-building lessons and hands-on exercises. And use the special exam-prep section-more than 200 pages-plus testing tool to assess what you know and where to focus your studies-before taking the actual exam. Topics map directly to the objectives measured by the MCP exam, including installing the Windows 2000 Server operating system; controlling access to system resources; configuring hardware devices and drivers; optimizing system performance, reliability, and availability; managing data storage and disks; configuring network connections; and implementing security. You get the study guide in print and on CD-ROM; exam preparation, including objective-by-objective review; test-readiness tool; MICROSOFT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NETWORKING, Second Edition, eBook; and a 120-day evaluation version of Windows 2000 Server. PLUS, LIMITED-TIME OFFER: this kit includes a voucher for a 15% discount on the exam fee at VUE testing centers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1394 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 2nd edition (September 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735617678
• ISBN-13: 978-0735617674
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.2 x 2.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #892,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for reference., November 3, 2002

By	"ym-70" (Torrance, CA United States) - See all my reviews

The practice exam part of this book shares same questions
as Microsoft Press's "MCSE Microsoft Windows 2000
Server Readiness Review (Exam 70-215)". If you already
have "Readiness Review" and want more practice tests,
this may not be a book for you.

Note: "Readiness Review" has some wrong answers,
which is corrected in this book.

This book is good for reference, but covers too broad
area to concentrate only on 70-215. If you read this book
page by page from page 1 to last just for 70-215, you would
end up spending extremely long time for things that never
come up in the real exam.

Actually, this book has a table that shows which
objectives of the test are covered in which chapters,
so you can skip some chapters not in the table.
If you encoutner some important concept that you are not
so familar with, you can go back and forth in the
book to read the chapter that explains it. This book
surely has such chapter.

This book explains complex concepts, such as Domain
Group, GPO, unattended installation, and VPN, in enough
detail. If you want reference for these things to pass the exam,
this book would be a good choice.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An MCT that upgraded his MCSE in three weeks, December 23, 2003

By A Customer

I found this book to be the best written of its kind. I read a lot of technical books on the Windows OS and related subjects, and most of the time I find them lacking. I felt that this book covered the needed material, and included the study aids as well. I have already recommended this book to other MCSE's that need to upgrade their certification.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, February 14, 2004

By A Customer

I used this book and Measure-up practice tests to prepare for 70-215 Windows 2000 exam. I found the book complete and to the point. I did pass the test. I recommend using this book in combination with such practice tests as Transcender and Measure-up - simply reading the book isn't enough. Make sure you take practice tests and fully understand the problem discussed in each question - why the right answers are right and why the wrong answers are wrong. This approach works; the only problem - it's time-comsuming...