Rating: 
Summary: Does not address the 70-296 exam
Review: As far as the 70-296 exam is concerned this book is totally irrelevant. I admit that after having successfully done 14 exams in the last 9 months that I am a little mentally exhausted. However it was still easy for me to see that at least 65 -75% of the exam was somewhat foreign when compared to what I studied for. It was not a matter of being completely ignorant of the material being tested but more that the book totally missed the target in terms of preparation. The exam goes into GREAT depth on DNS, Certificate Authorities, GPOs and other aspects, all with a slight focus on security. This book merely skims the surface. The book is better suited to assist with a pratical introduction to Windows 2003.
Let me reiterate - Do not rely on this book in any way, shape or form to prepare for the 70-296 exam.
Rating:
Summary: Does not address the 70-296 exam
Review: As far as the 70-296 exam is concerned this book is totally irrelevant. I admit that after having successfully done 14 exams in the last 9 months that I am a little mentally exhausted. However it was still easy for me to see that at least 65 -75% of the exam was somewhat foreign when compared to what I studied for. It was not a matter of being completely ignorant of the material being tested but more that the book totally missed the target in terms of preparation. The exam goes into GREAT depth on DNS, Certificate Authorities, GPOs and other aspects, all with a slight focus on security. This book merely skims the surface. The book is better suited to assist with a pratical introduction to Windows 2003.
Let me reiterate - Do not rely on this book in any way, shape or form to prepare for the 70-296 exam.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for test prep and real life
Review: Best coverage of W2K3 material I've read and I've read at least 5 other books, some very good in their own right. Best introduction coverage of each topic, best detailed discussion, best "real-life" scenarios (that often map to test questions), and good practices. It's a big book, but for the material it is covering, I could not find a better book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for test prep and real life
Review: Best coverage of W2K3 material I've read and I've read at least 5 other books, some very good in their own right. Best introduction coverage of each topic, best detailed discussion, best "real-life" scenarios (that often map to test questions), and good practices. It's a big book, but for the material it is covering, I could not find a better book.
Rating: 
Summary: Heavy Duty
Review: Big heavy book with some big heavy content. A lot of info in this book. I got through about half of it before I took the exams. I passed the exams, but felt like I didn't really need to spend the time reading the book in order to do so. It comes with the Measure-Up practice tests which are pretty good. None of the questions from the practice tests were on the production exam, but taking them puts you in the test taking mode. Plus the practice tests give you an idea on what they are testing on with these new exams. A previous review mentioned DNS. DNS is big time on the 296 exam, but Microsoft assumes you already know about DNS and they really only ask questions about the new features in 2003 DNS. Conditional forwarding is a big new DNS concept as well as stub-zones. Know what they are. 292 is 55 questions and 296 is 51 questions. The 296 test is set-up a little different. You are asked 24 questions in one section then you can review then you are given another 26 questions. Once you get through the first 24 and you start the second half you cannot go back to review the first 24. Weird I know. Not sure about the method of their madness there, but they are trying to do something different. 292 is all about administering 2003. You really need to know 2000 as well. A lot of scenario questions on 296 regarding design. Windows 2003 introduces a bunch of new modes you can be in. Remember in 2000 you had mixed mode or native mode. In 2003 there are forest-level modes and domain-level modes. It is a little confusing. You need to know each mode or level and understand what features you can use with each. A few drag and drop questions on that. Remember some questions are worth more points than others so getting the big drag and drop or matching questions correct will get you more points. Universal group membership caching is important. Users no longer need a global catalog to log in provided you are in the right 2003 mode. A few questions on trusts as well. Overall this is a good book, but to me it is not 100% necessary to read it in order to pass. You might be better off with a smaller exam cram book and check out the 2003 white papers on Microsoft's website. These are both very passable exams for the MCSA/MCSE. 296 is a little harder, but if you know your stuff it shouldn't be much of a problem. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: The book that meets the exam requirements
Review: Hey, you all know that people respond differently to different authors styles...
Mark Minasi is quite entertaining; but IMO his style is better suited to conferences and desk references than certification study. This book covers the topics you need to pass the test. If you want entertaining reading, may I recommend the /Lensman/ series by E. E. "Doc" Smith or the /Redwall/ series by Brian Jacques?
I wager you'll find the bad reviews are either from folks who read the book superficially and expected to pass the test without sufficient hands-on experience or people who hate MS Press. Similarly, the good reviews are a mix of MS Press shills and folks who _did_ pass the tests. You can draw what conclusions you will from that bit of overly obvious prose.
I read the book, did the practice work, and passed 70-292 _easily_ (in and out of the test center in less than an hour). And since I'm old and slow, you young'uns could do better than me!! I'm working my way back through, more carefully this time, to prepare for 70-296.
Key Points:
1. When the book says look up something online, look it up.
2. When the book gives an example, try to recreate it in your home or office testing lab.
3. Those who try to short-sheet their studying are wasting their time and money.
Have a blessed day!! And may you meet good fortune on your quest to upgrade your MCSE certification!!
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks Depth
Review: I am not using this book to study for the Windows 2003 MCSE certification; I just want a book that would give me the information on the new features of Windows 2003. This book was a disappointment because it would do neither.If you have taken the MCSE exams, you would know that half the battle is knowing what to look for in the trick questions. In my opinion, only the Transcender exam preps gives you a feel for that. But you must first know the basics, and for me the MSCE Training books in the past were the prime source of information. In this new version of the MCSE Training Kit series, the book is divided into 2 parts. The first part discusses the features of Windows Server 2003 and the second part presents some exam questions. The content has changed in emphasis from teaching you how Windows 2003 works in depth to a diluted discussion of the features and a very limited number of exam type questions, with neither done satisfactorily. If you want to prepare for the MCSE exams, this book alone won't help you pass. If you're looking for a tutorial book on Windows Server 2003, this book lacks the depth that the Windows 2000 MCSE series had. In fact, much of the material such as DNS and Active Directory concepts should already be familiar to Windows 2000 MCSEs. The main reason for the repetitiveness could be that Windows 2003 is not too different from Windows 2000, except in the user interface. The biggest downside to this book is the electronic version of the book is now in PDF format instead of the familiar format used in previous Training Kit books. I personally used the electronic versions exclusively because it's so convenient. The new PDF format doesn't allow search by topics and is very clumsy to jump to different sections. Diagrams and screenshots cannot be opened in separate windows for detailed viewing; you must zoom in on the entire page and they are still very fuzzy. In conclusion, this book does not help the Windows 2000 MCSEs who just want to focus on upgrading to Windows 2003.
Rating:
Summary: Lacks Depth
Review: I am not using this book to study for the Windows 2003 MCSE certification; I just want a book that would give me the information on the new features of Windows 2003. This book was a disappointment because it would do neither. If you have taken the MCSE exams, you would know that half the battle is knowing what to look for in the trick questions. In my opinion, only the Transcender exam preps gives you a feel for that. But you must first know the basics, and for me the MSCE Training books in the past were the prime source of information. In this new version of the MCSE Training Kit series, the book is divided into 2 parts. The first part discusses the features of Windows Server 2003 and the second part presents some exam questions. The content has changed in emphasis from teaching you how Windows 2003 works in depth to a diluted discussion of the features and a very limited number of exam type questions, with neither done satisfactorily. If you want to prepare for the MCSE exams, this book alone won't help you pass. If you're looking for a tutorial book on Windows Server 2003, this book lacks the depth that the Windows 2000 MCSE series had. In fact, much of the material such as DNS and Active Directory concepts should already be familiar to Windows 2000 MCSEs. The main reason for the repetitiveness could be that Windows 2003 is not too different from Windows 2000, except in the user interface. The biggest downside to this book is the electronic version of the book is now in PDF format instead of the familiar format used in previous Training Kit books. I personally used the electronic versions exclusively because it's so convenient. The new PDF format doesn't allow search by topics and is very clumsy to jump to different sections. Diagrams and screenshots cannot be opened in separate windows for detailed viewing; you must zoom in on the entire page and they are still very fuzzy. In conclusion, this book does not help the Windows 2000 MCSEs who just want to focus on upgrading to Windows 2003.
Rating:
Summary: This book is an asset
Review: I never wirte book reviews. And, I never had good opinion about Microsoft press books, as they hardly cover anything that really helps in real world or even in exams. But I found this book to be an exception from cover to cover. I read teh book each and every page, and found there was a lot of details covered in very easy to read manner, and a lot features such as the new command line tools are covered very clearly and easy to follow. The DNS is is covered in depth and very detailed. The only missing was the coverage of IPSec, not sufficient details. Otherwise, this book is great.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I received by book last week, and used it to pass the 70-292 exam today. I'm going to finish this book by the end of next week and hopefully pass the 70-296 exam. It's well worth the price and it contains lots of great material and practice tests. I like the case scenarios that it gives. It gets you to think of the real world on how you could implement a solution using Win2003.
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