Rating: 
Summary: not complete
Review: I almost did not find anything on replication in this book, except for a small lab on how to create a standard publisher and subscriber. Also little info on auditing and troubleshooting, since this is an important part of the exam.
Rating: 
Summary: best preparation book for this exam I found
Review: I have never worked with SQL Server and had no previous knowledge of it until I started studying for this test. Because of that, I read several books (5) in preparation, including the Exam Cram, the one by Joyjit Mukherjee, and the Readiness Review from Microsoft Press. I thought this book was invaluable and taught me by far the most. Unless you are experienced with SQL Server, I would still recommend reading other books, especially the Readiness Review, but I can't say enough about the easy to understand, easy to read, but yet comprehensive coverage I found in this book. My good friend studied for the same test at the same time and felt the same.
Rating:
Summary: best preparation book for this exam I found
Review: I read this book through once. I didn't read it altogether as I had long stints out of town for work. I also didn't do many of the excercies. I ended up almost passing the exam by doing nothing more. I missed by two questions I think. (My exam actually had scores.)I'm sure I could have passed if I did even a little more or reread the book through within a reasonable time period instead of the 4 months or so I stretched it out over.
Rating:
Summary: Almost passed just by reading this book once!
Review: I read this book through once. I didn't read it altogether as I had long stints out of town for work. I also didn't do many of the excercies. I ended up almost passing the exam by doing nothing more. I missed by two questions I think. (My exam actually had scores.) I'm sure I could have passed if I did even a little more or reread the book through within a reasonable time period instead of the 4 months or so I stretched it out over.
Rating: 
Summary: I passed but...
Review: I used this book and practical experience as my main tools for preparation. The material covered in the book is the one required by the exam, and that's a good thing, although there are some inaccuracies. The practice exams contains a lot of questions that are relevants,although there are again some mistakes. Overall, the exam is difficult, and this book does help,so you may consieder it as an aid for your study.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful Towards Certification
Review: My first step for any certification is always a Dummies book. I find them well written and helpful to get me started... and this book was no exception. I did find a few mistakes and wrong information but that's been my experience with every certification book I've ever bought. This is a good book and well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Needs Some Error Checking
Review: There are too many mistakes in this book. You have to read fairly carefully to not get caught by them. For example, one of the "Prep Test" questions for chapter 14 is, "How do you create a temporary backup device?". In the answers it refers the reader to the "Performing Backups" section, which does not contain the specific answer that they're looking for. This is one example out of many where the text does not prepare you at all for a question. There are also quite a few outright errors in the Prep Tests and Answers sections. The book in general is quite informative, I'm only rating it this low because of the poor quality of the questions and answers -- it's as if they were added as an afterthought. I'm using this to prepare for 70-228, and now I wish I had a better book.
Rating:
Summary: Needs Some Error Checking
Review: There are too many mistakes in this book. You have to read fairly carefully to not get caught by them. For example, one of the "Prep Test" questions for chapter 14 is, "How do you create a temporary backup device?". In the answers it refers the reader to the "Performing Backups" section, which does not contain the specific answer that they're looking for. This is one example out of many where the text does not prepare you at all for a question. There are also quite a few outright errors in the Prep Tests and Answers sections. The book in general is quite informative, I'm only rating it this low because of the poor quality of the questions and answers -- it's as if they were added as an afterthought. I'm using this to prepare for 70-228, and now I wish I had a better book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Study Guide for 70-228
Review: This book is the first I've read from the "Dummies" series and it provided a solid foundation for exam 70-228. It's a practical guide for working through and understanding the objectives for the exam. If you have little or no experience with SQL Server, the hands-on exercises will quickly get you on track with SQL administration. I read this book, worked through the exercises and studied the Transcenders to pass the exam.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Study Guide for 70-228
Review: This book is the first I've read from the "Dummies" series and it provided a solid foundation for exam 70-228. It's a practical guide for working through and understanding the objectives for the exam. If you have little or no experience with SQL Server, the hands-on exercises will quickly get you on track with SQL administration. I read this book, worked through the exercises and studied the Transcenders to pass the exam.
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