Rating: 
Summary: Very Helpful for both Microsoft and CompTIA
Review: Anyone who knows what it takes to become an MCSE knows that thefirst step is exam 070-058 or Networking Essentials. Also anyone whoknows certifications knows that Network+ certification replaces the 070-058 exam. Now we have a book that will make sure you can pass both!From the dreaded OSI Model to TCP/IP to network hardware to even networking cables and topologies, this 670 plus page fountain of information is well worth [it.] There is no other book I found like it. The skips no objective on either exam, and gives you a wealth of information to help you pass both exams. There is review questions at the end of each chapter, real world problems throughout the book and even objective test tips making this book a hard to beat deal. As with most books on this subject there is material on cd-rom. This book includes 2, 1 with practice tests and the other with video training material and some of the most comprehensive exercises I have ever seen. Sybex you have a winner! END
Rating: 
Summary: Close, but no cigar.
Review: Chellis et. al. put together a decent book- I have quite a bit of background in the field, but needed to study to pass the 70-058 Microsoft exam- and I work at Microsoft! Anyway, the book had some noticeable proofreading errors, but they usually do not affect the material- typos mostly. The topics seem to jump around, almost a shotgun approach to the material. One chapter will start to move towards a particular topic, and then drop it, only to have it picked up again (sometimes in more detail, sometime less) a few chapters down the road. Some topics were weak- the ODI model for example, compared to texts by Que and others. Needed more diagrams that were useful- alot of the pics are wasted space. Gets in to installing NT Server when this is not covered on the exams- thats for later! Overall, would not recommend. Would suggest QUE or IDG materials. Do have to say this- using other test prep materials (tests available from MS for free and others) I did pass. Barely. If you get this book, the so called optional material on protocals is not optional- read the IPX and TCP sections thouroghly! Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: One of the mcp student's must have book.
Review: hi students and friends who are preparing for mcp examinations, this is one of the three best materials i have used to pass this 70-058 mcp examination . this book has been written in plain english which can be understandable by all students and technicians and it also covers all the informations needed to pass the examination . the two practice exams included in CD-ROM is very good but you should also practice with Transcender examination software which will give you an real life online feelings of examination.
Rating:
Summary: Hard core technical, but Test Success is better for techo's
Review: I have read into the Study Guide and found that it is full of interesting facts, this is good if you have ZERO knowledge of the product from start, but if you have some technical background i.e you can tell a toaster from a hub, then the better book is: Sybex Networking Essentials - MCSE Test Success it breaks it down to simple language and has all those fun filled hours of questions at the end of each chapter plus a final review at the end of the book but NO STOCK fillings.. most manufactorers like New Ryders and Sybex etc seem to think that Fatter is better, well I don't have 6 months to read the book so a comprehensive and effective Slimmer training guide focused on the Exam and the subject is better than just Subject orientated. So, this book is good for Winter escapes but Test Success is better for the piece of paper without compromising reasonable understanding.
Rating:
Summary: A very pleasant read
Review: I highly recommend this book as the first book of several you might want to read in preparation for the 70-058 exam. It presents the information in a very readable and enjoyable format. It would be the perfect book if it just included more summary tables on topics such as cabling, architecture, remote access, protocols, etc. to assist in memorizing the info you need to pass the exam. The two CDs provided with the text book are excellent, although I didn't think much of the LearnKey's NE course "sampler" included on the second disk. Also, there's not enough "scenario-based" questions on the CDs to prepare you for the exam. Transcender practice exams proved helpful to me. Lastly, there's one piece of critical information here ( I believe it was on a practice test) that is wrong and should be corrected: Token Ring frames are NOT smaller than Ethernet frames; they're larger! As for other books, I recommend NE Unleashed (Sportak) for an almost exhaustive treatment of NE, and Accelerated NE Study Guide (Kinnaman, Ballew) for an excellent pre-exam review of critical material. Using these three texts, I passed with a 900.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Start
Review: I used this book in conjunction with a 1st Edition of Microsoft's Networking Essentials text and Sybex's own Exam Cram to score 966/1000 on my 70-058. I had a limited amount of experience with Ethernet, but not much else. I found that reading this book prior to Microsoft's made the latter text a little easier to swallow. I finished with the exam cram and then came back to this book to brush up on any weak points revealed in taking the two sample tests. Be warned that the material doesn't match the exams all that well; there's a lot here that's extraneous, and a lot that isn't covered. On the whole, though, I felt that this provided me the basis for attacking the Microsoft text, which dealt much more closely with the material in the exam.
Rating: 
Summary: Basic Information
Review: I was very disappointed with this book. The information covered in the book was not helpful in preparing for the Networking Essentials exam. The book covered basic terminology, concepts that can be found in other books with less errors. I would not recommend this book in preparing for the Networking Essentials exam.
Rating:
Summary: Get the set, not just this book.
Review: I'm as green as they come, and I bought this set (study guide, exam notes, test success) by a friend's recommendation who is a MCSE+I and a CNE. The extraordinary aspect of this book is the way it gently leads the beginner through a vast sea of information. I have the NT Server set as well. Between the three N.E. books I feel I'm fairly well prepared. I have more work, of course. I do have a suggestion for the authors, however. Grammatical and spelling errors, wordiness, as well as unexplained acronyms are disruptive to a student's concentration. Words like "cabling" are confusing verb transitives/intransitives, not nouns (in English, anyway), regardless of the trade lingo. When we get there, okay, we'll use the slang. Also, Appendix A is entirely redundant. Since you three are dedicated Microsoft folks and must use Word, it does have a grammar and spell checker. Demonstrating that you use that software only enhances students'understanding and displays your expertise in the topic. Properly edited, you could easily eliminate 100 pages from the study guide alone without deleting information. This would cut down your publishing costs, so you could hopefully pass the savings to us. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Not A Beginner's Guide
Review: If you want to pass the Networking Essentials exam then this is the book to get!!! Easily worded allowing the reader to have a clear and precise understanding of network topologies, cabling and protocols and other important areas as well. Added with the Networking Essentials exam notes and you are bound to pass the exam.
Rating:
Summary: Too many errors
Review: One thing which really annoys me about this book is the number of errors. This book has em all, incorrectly labeled diagrams, inconsistencies in units of measurements-half the time the author uses feet and the rest meters makes it a very frustrating experience trying to do comparisons. For some reason, this module of the MCSE suffers from a lack of good books, there doesn't seem to be anything better out there!
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