Training Kit Exam 70-462: Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases Book/CD Package [Paperback]

I've recently bought this book and I'm currently wading through it.

I've worked with various versions of SQL server for about 7 years as a by-product of the job I do, so I thought it was time to get certified. I don't class myself as a beginner, but I'm not a pro either. Put it this way, I don't often come unstuck with regard to implementation or maintenance of a SQL server; certainly nothing that I can't solve by going online for 10 mins.

Firstly, this book seems quite dry. I find myself losing focus every couple of pages. Now, I don't like the style of certain have-fun-learning textbooks e.g. 'Head First' guides, but there has to be a happy medium between those and this in terms of delivering content. This book doesn't strike the balance for me.

Secondly, I've noticed a few mistakes. It's knocking my confidence in the material - if I can see some mistakes with my level of knowledge, what haven't I spotted which a pro might?

Next, the author is open about the fact that you won't find all of the material needed to pass the test within the pages of this book, resulting in frequent links to the Microsoft website. I find this a bit annoying as I can't just sit and read the material, I've got to off and do some alternative research. For £27 I expected a bit more.

The testing environment requires you to implement 6 or 7 virtual machines, or a test lab full of machines to enable you to set up a DC and various member servers. I obviously understand the reasons why but unless you've got access to these resources, you might struggle. They don't all need to be running at once so you might get away with running a few VMs on a server or a powerful PC. I point this out because it isn't obvious until you start reading the book.

This book assumes that you possess knowledge that you mightn't have - such as configuring a domain with a domain controller and various other member servers (including Sever Core!). You'll get the briefest of guides on how to do so, but you'll have to figure the rest out for yourself. I understand that Microsoft Certifications aren't for people who are brand new to the material, but come on! My skill set is software oriented - I manage a product which uses SQL server as its database platform. As such, I'm expected to 'know about SQL' but I'm not expected to know about server o/s configuration and implementation.

You'll probably need more than one book to learn everything you need for the exam. I'm already shopping around for additional material.

I really like SQL Server (ok, I'm a geek, I know) but this book seems to suck all of the fun out of it. I find it really dry and it has made the subject boring.

Aside from all of the above, most of the content is quite good. I am learning from it, slowly, and I've already picked up on things that I can use in my day to day role.

Consider this book to be more of a lengthy syllabus with a few exercises and some practice tests thrown in for good measure and you won't be disappointed.

You will be disappointed if you think you're going to enjoy this book, that it is a 'bible' type textbook containing everything you need to know or that it will make learning the material straight-forward. In short, it doesn't.

If you're an absolute beginner, think twice before buying this book. You'll probably think the learning curve is very steep, and the book itself might put you off unless you're determined to learn the content.

This isn't the first MS Press book which I've found to be like this. I wonder if it is a deliberate ploy by Microsoft to encourage you to go on the official course.

I am am currently going through the process of obtaining the new MCSE in Sql Server BI and bouhgt this book as at time of writing it was the only offical course text available for any of the 5 exams required. I have been using SQL Server for over 10 yeqars so am pretty comfortable with the product. I bought this book as a crach course on the stuff I knew nothing about (eg Clustering, High Availability, Replication and SQL Agent) and refresher on everything else. This book is well written and gave me everything I needed to pass the exam. The first part of the book talks about setting up a virtual lab with domain controller, and 5 SQL Server installations but if you are comfortable with earlier versions of SQL Server and know your way around management studio then you wont need to do all this. It is worth having at least one installation you can use though as some of the exercises are worth performing.
On the whole I'd recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn about the new features of SQL Server 2012 particulary with a view to passing the exam this book is targeted at.

As a seasoned SQL developer under pressure to handle more administration I took the opportunity to brush up on such things and learn about SQL 2012 at the same time. The book covers pretty much all of the topics in a typical Microsoft boilerplate structure. The first part of the book is dedicated to setting up the practice installations and sadly this is full of little errors - nothing that should slow anyone down as common sense should quickly overcome the problems but keeping a close eye on the book's online errata will pay dividends. There are a few quite serious mistakes that need to be noted but if you keep the errata site to hand you should find the correct details with ease.

The key subject matter itself is covered in reasonable depth with clear step-by-step examples but the it can be rather dry at times and keeping focus tricky as it just doesn't flow thanks to constant references to online supplementary material that needs reading. Only the most dedicated sql geek would simply read through even a single chapter without taking a break. The merciful presence of an electronic version of the book included on the CD makes switching between the book and the live web material much easier and less distracting.

Add in the practice exam questions and a discount on the exam and the book literally pays for itself making it very hard not to justify it as ideal if you are going to take the exam - it could just be a little more friendly, especially to the less experienced SQL user.