Amazon.co.uk Review
Considering that the
Windows 2000 Server Exam Cram is supposed to be a last-minute refresher course before the main exam, it seems slightly out of place to wish that it were a bigger book. After all, Exam Crams aren't supposed to be your primary reference--and this book does have enough content to get you past the exam. But Windows 2000 Server is such a large, all-encompassing topic that 300 pages barely covers it--and with so much at stake, you want every potentially testable detail you can grab for.
As with the rest of the books in this fine series, you'd have a hard time finding any fault with the presentation. Written for the professional who's already got a background in Windows 2000 features, the Exam Cram goes over each of the exam-critical topics with an eye towards clarification, memorisation and test-taking pitfalls. The writing is terse and packed with information, getting the point across in as few sentences as possible. And the sample questions, seven or eight at the end of each chapter plus a 50-question exam at the end, are as good as they get, providing fairly complex scenarios with trick questions and similar answers.
But there are certain confusing areas that don't necessarily get the in-depth treatment that other Cram books give. RIS installation and troubleshooting, a fairly complex topic, is covered in a slim page and a half. MMC snap-in delegations are covered, incompletely at that, in a few scant bullets. The section on DNS skims it at a very high level, giving all of two sentences to zone transfers and not even mentioning topics that might arise in a larger network environment. And even when many pages are given to certain complex topics, like OUs and group memberships, it all feels slightly compressed.
Now don't get us wrong--it's still got enough to pass and for the price it is still one of the most economical computer books you can purchase. In fact, this book is superior in content and presentation to many Windows 2000 preparation guides that retail for twice the price. But because this is a small book, cuts had to be made, some of which may starve the reader of background details needed to understand more complex topics. Just do what the publishers themselves recommend--use it as a supplement, not a primary source--and don't make it your only purchase. --William Steinmetz
Book Description
Provides all of the curriculum objectives of the Windows 2000 Server exam, 70-215 and serves as a perfect complement to the MCSE Windows 2000 Server Exam Prep. Each book includes proven test-taking strategies, warnings on trick questions, timesaving study tips and shortcuts. Contains sample questions and practice tests much like the format of the actual exams. Cram Fitness Assessments give readers a way to determine how to proceed with certification by analyzing their educational and experiential background and their subject knowledge level in order to make suggestions about preparation and study.
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