Rating: 
Summary: Sure miss Exam Cram series...
Review: ...but this one can do the trick. Unfortunately, MS Press has been laborious in providing far more info than needed to pass the test. I work with Win2k Server daily and most things can be figured out by poking around so, really, they've gone overboard with this. If you want more info than you really need, get it.
Rating:
Summary: Sure miss Exam Cram series...
Review: ...but this one can do the trick. Unfortunately, MS Press has been laborious in providing far more info than needed to pass the test. I work with Win2k Server daily and most things can be figured out by poking around so, really, they've gone overboard with this. If you want more info than you really need, get it.
Rating:
Summary: I read it - I passed the test.
Review: All I did to prepare for the test was read this book (took me about a month & a half), use the Transcender practice tests the week before the exam, and then cram a little the night before the test on some topics I was week on. I used Technet W2K Server documentation for the cramming. This book will get you there, but man, it's a lot of work.
Rating: 
Summary: No way
Review: Dont think of this book as a study guide to pass the exam. It has a lot of details that is not related to the exam and many of them are not related to real life also !!! written in a complicated way , i didnt lilke it .
Rating:
Summary: An outright waste of time and money!
Review: First of all let me say that I am not an expert in any of Microsoft OSes, but nevertheless I find myself a qualified buyer of this book. I feel it pertinent to warn people against books from MS Press. Microsoft may have the software (yeah, I know this is a controversial statement), but they certainly have NOT got the books accompanying it - at least not as far as their OSes are concerned.Admittedly this book seems to be well organized and well written at first glance. It is made up of chapters divided into different lessons. Each lesson starts off nicely with an overview of the practical skills you are about to build. Also, at the end of each lesson you will find a summary. The information contained herein provide for "mental hooks" to hang new pieces of knowledge on to. At the end of every chapter you will also find review questions to further enhance learning. Practical exercises are of course always indispensable, and you will find plenty of these in the book (it's a absolute MUST to have two computers at hand though. These computers also must meet the hardware requirements to run Windows 2000 Server). The problem is, however, that the main bulk of text is rather poorly written. I find it an outright mess to be frank. Neither is it easy to read nor is it pedagogic. Read a lesson through, and most likely you will feel confused. "What did I learn right now" you might ask yourself. Read another lesson and feel irritation grow. You are rendered with your mind filled only with fragments of knowledge (and a bundle of technical terms for which you don't have a clue). The important task of putting these fragments together into a meaningful whole (real knowledge that is) is all yours to figure out. The book will not take you any further. A further major drawback with this book as I see it, is the fact that Microsoft scatter technical terms all over the place without providing sufficient explanation for them (if any at all). Microsoft evidently assumes that the reader already knows the meaning of all of these terms. Completely unreasonable concidering the fact that IT-terminology is just over flooded with terms and acronyms. (New terms and acronyms are born every day into this business). As can be read in a previous review, I agree fully to the assertion claiming this book would serve better as a reference for astute technicians rather than a training kit. To wind things up I would recommend the reader to look for alternatives to this book. (My best suggestion would probably be 3rd edition of Mark Minasi's book. Minasi has a superb writing style in which everything is lucently explained in an easy to read manner).
Rating:
Summary: Good OVERVIEW of Win2k Server
Review: Hello Fellow Travellers! I have been using Win2k Pro/Server from beta to final release. I went through the classes for win2k based on beta3. I purchased all the pro/server/ad MCSE training kits. I wanted to get clarification and separation from the win2k classes via the MCSE books. I work with Win2k Pro everyday. I also purchased the Win2k Pro/Server Resource Kits for further clarification. I have a mix and native mode LAN with about 8 computers at home. The MCSE Win2k Server book is a good overview from the classes. They are presenting ALOT I mean ALOT of info and skillsets MS deemed necessary to pass the 70-215 Exam. I always kept a stance that these MCSE Kits are not a MANUAL how to pass the tests, but rather an OVERVIEW of what is important to master. This is what the book actually is, AN OVERVIEW. Is it enough to pass the exam? Yes, with a modern LAN and extensive hands-on and additional sources of info. Why? MS Press with MS has been turning away from Consummer based training to the Enterprise-Level training i.e. training Corporate Level IT people. You can read MS Press new Mission Statement and I believe that this reflects in the new MCSE books/kits. Are these books appropriate for the newbies/people trying to start out? Imho, NO. I believe that these books are geared for people who in the industry or have taken previous MCP courses/tests. Ok, the book is a good overview. But, I am still confused about MS Press move not to give Eval software. They suggest that you download it. DOH. I have the software, but for others..ugh. Perhaps, they think IT people will have Technet copies or real copies from work. Or, they didn't have time to put it in with the book. I agree more with the former. Ok, what do you mean by additional resources? I think reading any white papers, articles, known issues, KB articles, and using the resource kits. My understanding how the new exams are going to be based on are possible real-experience based scenarios. I know that this is what MS claimed earlier with the NT4.0. But, I think it will be different this time.If the new exams are going to be more experience based AND with elements like 70-100 architecture exam, oh boy... I would like to address a popular topic that is somewhat out of the scope of this book, but still related. It is about the 70-240 Exam, the core combo exam for win2k. Take it and you don't need to take the 4 core exams. I think that this is misleading and grossly simplified. I believe that this is an opportunity for people who are FULLY PREPARED for the 4 core exams and are able to take one exam. Let me repeat: FULLY PREPARED. That means, you have the ability to sit and take all 4 exams if you need to. I don't think it is going to be read one book and pass the exam. MS is not messing around with this. They are offering it to people who have core NT 4.0 exams. Then, you have an OPPORTUNITY to take 70-240. Remember, this is ONE TIME DEAL. You can take it only ONCE. If not, you must take all 4 core exams. I believe that MS is raising the bar for MCSE and such. MS is betting alot on Win2K to be the next enterprise/internet level OS to compete with other OSs. I believe that this is going to force 90% of the current MCSE/MCPs to redo all their certs. The other 10% just did it quicker. Does this mean NT 4.0 will be obsolete? No. NT 4.0 will be around for a while, although it will be retired in a couple years. People will still use it and support will be needed. However, MS is basically telling people, this is how MS is moving towards to. Adapt or perish. I will most likely won't pass the 70-240 and have to take at least 5 exams to get re-certified. I have passed 12 exams w/o failing (SQL 70-29 was a close call :)) I accept it and move on. Conclusion: (Finally :P) Good Overview of the skillsets needed but need modern LAN, extensive hands-on, and additional resources to pass exam. Bad: no eval software. Not for newbies. Buy it and make sure you get some copies of the win2k pro/server. My 2 Cents, Seattle Dude MCSE+i MCDBA MCT CCNA CCDA (soon to be MCSD)
Rating:
Summary: Long-winded
Review: I expected that this guide would be much like the excellent Windows 2000 Professional training kit from Microsoft -- it's not. This book wastes too much time presenting topics in laborious detail that aren't covered on the exam. The actual study text is 904 pages, the appendices and glossary add another 100 pages to this tediously long volume. In addition to this, the book references white papers and RFCs (100s of pages of more impertinent text) off on the companion CD and recommends that a person preparing for the exam read these documents. This is an utter waste of time -- once again, I gained nothing from this experience that helped me with the exam. Don't get me wrong -- it's not entirely awful. I will probably use this book as a reference guide in the future with my career. It works well as a reference guide, not an exam preparation guide. I have over a year experience with Windows 2000 Server, so I was able to pass the test (barely) without much additional help from this book (primarily because it's so long that I had to try to selectively choose what may be relevant and what wasn't). I recommend that people without a lot of time to prepare for this test (or on the self-study MCSE super-fast-track) use a more concise and relevant study aide -- don't waste your time with this unless you're looking to know a lot more than you need to pass the test.
Rating:
Summary: Long-winded
Review: I expected that this guide would be much like the excellent Windows 2000 Professional training kit from Microsoft -- it's not. This book wastes too much time presenting topics in laborious detail that aren't covered on the exam. The actual study text is 904 pages, the appendices and glossary add another 100 pages to this tediously long volume. In addition to this, the book references white papers and RFCs (100s of pages of more impertinent text) off on the companion CD and recommends that a person preparing for the exam read these documents. This is an utter waste of time -- once again, I gained nothing from this experience that helped me with the exam. Don't get me wrong -- it's not entirely awful. I will probably use this book as a reference guide in the future with my career. It works well as a reference guide, not an exam preparation guide. I have over a year experience with Windows 2000 Server, so I was able to pass the test (barely) without much additional help from this book (primarily because it's so long that I had to try to selectively choose what may be relevant and what wasn't). I recommend that people without a lot of time to prepare for this test (or on the self-study MCSE super-fast-track) use a more concise and relevant study aide -- don't waste your time with this unless you're looking to know a lot more than you need to pass the test.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Helpful
Review: I found this book to be extremely helpful in my 70-215 studies, as the material in the book easily maps to the test objectives. Another good thing about this one (unlike the other book I bought) is that this one has provided me with a good reference for my bookshelf after I passed the test. With it having the lack of any testing simulator, I borrowed a copy of certificationcorner.com's 70-215 Test Pro test engine from my brother-in-law. This was sort of the icing on the cake that got me through in terms of test questions. It also had a couple of simulation questions, which helped somewhat. The biggest problem with this book is that you really need to have two computers networked together via a hub that are running Windows 2000 Server in order to take full advantage of the exercises. Even if you don't have this type of setup, the exercises are worthwhile study aids.
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly the worst book I have ever read
Review: I have CCNA, A+, Network+, and WIn2k Pro. So I have some basic understanding to fall back on.
The main problem that I found with this book is that it lacked technical detail, it introduced a lot of terms without explaining them before hand, and in general this book is just terrible. I sort of have to go along with it for my class, but I will deviate to the All-In-One series for future exams. Personally I wouldn't waste my money of this book.
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