Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit offers a structured, self-paced learning program primarily designed to prepare you for Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) exam 70-028. It also functions well as a solid tutorial for present and prospective database administrators.

Painting with a broad brush, the book covers all of the practical skills necessary for successful administration. It opens with a general overview of the product and a high-level chapter on installation. A section on upgrading follows as well as an introduction to the administration utilities.

While the coverage of database files and data transfers appears to be a bit short-winded, the essentials for administrator survival remain intact. Web site builders will find short discussions on full-text indexing and the production of Web pages from the database. Another three brief chapters focus on backup and restoration issues. Performance monitoring, replication, and maintenance plans are addressed in a similarly brisk manner.

Each chapter comprises structured lessons designed to cover applicable topics with review sections and study questions to keep you on track. A companion CD-ROM includes hands-on lessons and multimedia presentations to help illustrate key concepts. This structured tutorial offers a relatively quick way to prepare for the 70-028 exam and should get you up to speed on basic administration tasks. --Stephen Plain

Product Description

IS staff, database administrators, and system engineers will learn how to install, configure, administer, and troubleshoot Microsoft SQL Server 7.0. Students will attain an understanding of the architecture and, through the accompanying labs, gain hands-on experience with the procedures to plan, configure, and support solutions using the necessary robust Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database management system.

Upon course completion, students will be able to install SQL Server; manage files and databases; configure login security; implement database permissions; transfer and migrate data into databases; back up and restore databases; monitor SQL Server performance and automate administrative tasks; replicate data and distribute database information on the Web and more. This is the self-paced equivalent of the instructor-led training Course #832 and will prepare students for MCP exam 70-028, System Adminstration for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0. CDs include lab exercises and 120-day trial software for SQL Server 7.0.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 623 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572318279
• ISBN-13: 978-1572318274
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,537,093 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adequate but not really enough to satisfy., February 16, 2000

By	Thomas E. Denham (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Database Implementation Training Kit (Paperback)

This was the first book I read in preparation for the Implementing a Database Design on Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (Exam 70-029). The first thing I noticed was that a good portion of what I had been tested on for the System Administration for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (Exam 70-028) was covered in this text. It is clear that you really need to work through both the Administration and Design books to be prepared for either of Microsoft's SQL 7.0 Exams.

This book left me with questions. For example, I could not understand cursors after reading it through but when I consulted Transact-SQL Programming by Kline, Gould, and Zanevsky and Inside Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 by Soukup and Delaney I found the concept very clear and understandable. After reading through all of these I took the Microsoft Official Curriculum course and the 700-page notebook that came with that was my favorite study guide. I was surprised that the MOC material was the most complete even though the Self Study Kit overlaps with a lot of the material covered. I only saw one concept on my version of the 70-029 exam that was not covered in the course material but there were probably 4 or 5 concepts that were not covered in the books I read. Note: None of this reading really prepares you for the rigors of the 70-029 exam. This test really cries out for drilling on good prep software like Transcender so that you can spot the easier questions and answer them quickly to save time for the more demanding questions that require extensive analysis. I spent 20 minutes diagramming the database described in my first question so that I could make sense of what was being asked. Many of the questions appear to require this kind of detailed analysis unless you know to look for the flaws that invalidate all but one of the answers.

The Design book may be overpriced in comparison to other books but it does seem to be the lowest cost access to enough of the material you need to comprehend the range of concepts tested in 70-029. By supplementing it with a lot of reading in Books On Line you might get everything you need. I don't regret paying $1500.00 for the MOC and spending 5 days in class but I understand that not everyone can choose that route.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a serious book for serious students..., August 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Database Implementation Training Kit (Paperback)

You have to keep in mind that a great many of the negative comments you'll be reading are being made by people who failed the test and desperately need someone to blame other than themselves. This is a superb book from start to finish and best of all it provides you with a 120-day evaluation copy of SQL Server 7.0. There is no magic "single-copy" edition of any book for any exam. You need to supplement your studies with several books along with the required hands on experience. Use this book with Microsoft's Resource Guide, Kalen Delaney's "Inside SQL Server 7.0", Exam Cram, and Transcenders. SQL is fierce beyond belief and you have to be willing to do an extraordinary amount of work in order to master it. Be willing to do what's necessary and you'll be writing rave reviews about this book after you pass the exam. If you fail to do the required amount of work, I guarantee you'll be back here firing off Microsoft flames and blaming them for your failing grade. If you need further motivation for hitting the books, just think of the bushels full of money that employers will be throwing at you for passing this exam.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better for test prep than for routine DBA tasks., February 9, 2000

By	Thomas E. Denham (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a pretty good test preparation book. It is the only volume I read cover to cover to prepare for the System Administration for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 exam (70-028). I had spot read several other volumes to prepare a maintenance guide for SQL Server 7.0 installations so had become familiar with admin topics on the job. I did find after passing the Admin test that my margin of safety would have been greater if I had read the companion volume on Implementing a Database Design on Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (Exam 70-029) before I tested. It is clear that you really need to work through both the Administration and Design books to be prepared for either of Microsoft's SQL 7.0 Exams.