Certification Books

This time only short review. All has already been written. The book is suitable not only for exam but also for beginners. It is thoroughful guide how to develop windows based applications. As usually working examples on concluded CD makes this book two times valuable. After reading and playing with samples you will certainly know all the important aspects of development.

I always use the MS Self-Paced kits for my certification exams. So far I have passed the exams. This particular book was annoying in that there were quite a few editing mistakes and the errata website only had information for the first half of the book. As usual, the index and glossary were useless for me in most cases. Nevertheless, the mixture of facts with practical exercises made it possible to absorb the material with a minimum of pain.

This book at the core is filled with good information. However it is filled with a rather ridiculous amount of typos and minor errors.

After reading this book and passing 70-526 exam, I found the book has 3 problems at least.

1. The book might cover all topics against the exam but doesn't include all necessary information for you to pass it. For example, a question in my real exam asked a question about Thread Monitor. However, the book doesn't mention anything about Monitor.
2. The book has at least 2 different writing styles.
3. The book can't include enough pictures to illustrate what controls it is talking about, how controls are related to one another or how they interact. This leads that sometimes I lost what the book tried to tell me.

It is impossible for you to pass the exam with a high score only by this book.
You might pass the exam with fears by the book.

The purpose of the book is to prepare you for the certification exam. For me it didn't meet that requirement.

The book does have a section for each of the objectives Microsoft has defined for the exam. But is FULL of errors (typos and concepts too!!), lacking good examples, concepts are defined vaguely and there is A LOT left out.

I took the exam and passed but I don't feel it was because of the book. I had to do additional research on each topic because the book wasn't enough. And in the exam there is definitely much more than the book covers.

The 2 stars are because:

1. The CD that comes with the book. The practice tests are very helpful to prepare for the exam, not only because they are exam-like questions but because you see some topics that weren't even mentioned on the book.
2. Considering is the only preparation guide for this exam, it at least guides you very briefly on the topics of the exam.

This book is very good on each topic, it covers many details about configuration and day to day use of a solaris 9 machine. The CD is also very helpful, because you can test yourself and discover your weak knowledge areas, so you could study them again.
Try it!!

Update on my review (04/06/06)
I completed my last exam today and passed it. I found the second part (310-015) more challenging than the first one. You have to know a lot of stuff in order to pass. I used this book with the sybex study guide and I passed both exams with the following scores: 310-014 85% and 310-015 75%. I do recommend this book but use it in as supplement to another study guide.

Previous review (02/22/06)
This book is pretty good for the exam. It goes straight to the essentials. I used it as supplement to the Sybex study guide and it worked out well. The book is concise and full of practice exam questions and explanation.
Overall I recommend it for the exam but don't use it as the only source for your exam.

This is good book, definitely better then average for 310-014, and barely adequate (or even less then adequate) for 310-015. So four stars is for the 310-014. It should be three stars for 310-015.

Actually the test for 310-015 on the book's CD-ROM (PrepLogic Practice Tests) is better then the material in the book.

The author put a lot of efforts distilling and preparing the necessary for the exam 310-014 material but it looks like he became tired after the first part and the second part is much weaker then the first.

This is generally a regular "cram" book: a very short/condensed material, so you can easily keep the focus on exam, the goal that is somewhat different from learning Solaris ;-). It provides you with the summaries of the topics used on the exams. This book doesn't teach you much about Solaris basics and is not intended to. Most chapters require reading Sun material to master the topic to be able to pass, unless you use those software component in your daily work. The recommendations after each chapter about additional reading should be taken seriously, especially for SA_015.

The questions after each chapter are very helpful and test exams (actually two for each part of the test: one in printed form and another on CD-ROM) are probably the most valuable part of the book.

Still in no way it should be your first or only book for the exam preparation. As one Amazon reviewer correctly observed you should get Sun student study guides, if you plan to use this book (review was slightly unfair to the book, IMHO). If you cannot get Sun student study guides for each part then you need to download and read Sun's free eBooks, for example System Administration Guide: Advanced Administration for SA-015. You do need to use other sources for the most difficult topics (like NFS, RBAC, NIS, Jumpstart for the second part of the exam.)

It is very important to do all quizzes after each chapter. The best way to assess your skills is via Sun practice exam, not via book provided exam. You do need to buy a practice exam if you are unsure about you chances to pass. Still an educated guess is that if you can get above 90% on each the book's exams on the first try, you have reasonable chances to pass.

On the negative site the content of the most chapters can be easily improved. Often it is too superficial even taking into limitations of the "cram" style. I would like to stress it again that, for the second exam the book is barely adequate and cannot even be called good. For example long tables in the RBAC section of the ACL+RBAC chapter is a testimony that the author did not know the material well enough himself to present in it a meaningful condensed fashion. That's a blunder no matter how you view it.

Still the quiz after the ACL+RBAC chapter is reasonably good, so not everything is bad even in weak chapters (and they are in majority for the second part of the exam).

Please not the especially bad are chapters for the most difficult topics like NFS, NIS and Jumpstart: all of them are are missing important topics covered in the exam (for example the NFS chapter completely misses troubleshooting). RAID chapter is close to junk contains some extra material on types of RAID not covered by exam (only RAID 0, 1 and 5 are covered) but does not cover SVM well enough.

Like many other reviewers noted the exam goes into details of LDAP that the book didn't cover.

Therefore you probably will be better off creating your own summaries for major topics. Also it pays to print all relevant man pages for utilities involved and keep them in a separate folder that you consult periodically. Sometimes exam questions go into microscopic details that are available only via man pages.

Straight to the point, precise and effective.

I have studied both the Solaris 9 System Administrator Certification and this book for the second test. The System Administrator Cert. book lacked coverage on my subjects.

This book shows the topics in short and easy to understand sections. Lots of exercises with explanations on answers.

If you want to pass the test, studying this book is a must.

This book has a lot going for it. Lammle and Timm are obviously knowledgeable and generally present information in an easy to understand, well organized fashion. I particularly enjoyed the last chapter on Easy VPNs. Short sweet, easy to understand with lots of good info. I also thought chapter 5 was well written - lots of useful tips on how to use CBAC, which seems like it can be especially helpful in securing a network. I like that the book has practical information as well as what you need to pass the exam. The CD is also worthwhile, providing 2 bonus exams (though the answer to question 19 in the first exam has a glaring error that reflects a disturbing lack of understanding of the difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption that is fortunately not duplicated in the book), an electronic version of the book and flashcards.

One annoying thing about this book is that each chapter warms up with a page or two of useless fluff. The book is also riddled with easily correctable though sometimes amusing errors. A few errors are listed on Sybex's web site (which is worth checking out before you read the book) but not nearly all of them. The first chapter is the worst and should probably be skipped altogether. In it the book makes some interesting claims - for example, on pg 4 that TCP/IP has operating system weaknesses (a bizarre claim to make about a protocol suite) and that because of NAT, there is absolutely no reason to use real IP addresses (surely debatable). On page 12 the book claims that "ICMP attacks are known as 'The Ping of Death'". Hm, I always thought that was the name of one specific ICMP attack. Silly me. On page 15 the book claims, in rather amusing fashion, that "the latest trend in the attacker game is the smurf attack" (certainly not true even in 2002 when the book was written) and that "Smurf attacks send a Layer 2 (Data Link layer) broadcast" (I'm sure Lammle and Timm are aware that ICMP is a layer 3 protocol). There are simply too many to list. Errors are sadly not confined to the first chapter. On page 310 the book claims that the Easy VPN Client does not support DH1 (I believe they meant the VPN server). This contradicts page 308 and the answers to the review questions. The explanation of IPSEC theory (ch 7) and configuration (ch 8) is convoluted, incomplete and should definitely be covered in at least 3 chapters.

Perhaps there was a last minute rush to get the book published or maybe quality control is slipping a bit at Sybex. In any case, this book is pretty good but it could have been great with a bit more work.

Additional note: I just took the test and passed it using this book and a Boson practice exam. There were at least 5 questions on SDM on the test (if the test focused on anything I would say it was SDM). Router MC was also covered. Neither topic was covered in this book - though the Boson exam had more than enough info on each. Concentrate on simple topics for the test - it doesn't delve into anything in great detail (I imagine that's saved for later in the CCSP process).

I used this book, along with my experience and I failed the test. As several have mentioned there are questions about SDM & MC on the exam that are not covered in this book. I have about 6 questions on SDM. Unfortunately I had no real life experience with this.

If you use this book, make sure you get other study material! With a score of 860 needed, the SDM questions alone put you very close to failure.

This book will help you pass the exam but you will have to use the Cisco web site to get up to date info on SDM and Management Center if you want to score above 900. You can get upwards of 6 questions on SDM on the exam and every point counts towards the 860 pass mark. Other than the missing SDM and MC stuff, if you have a lab set up running the IOS FW and follow the labs you will be able to spot the errors in the book and help reinforce the correct commands.

This guide will not allow you to pass the Cisco tests by its self. The book is only good in conjunction with the latest Cisco Press books.

The main problem is that this entire Sybex CCSP series is outdated. Cisco added to their tests and updated their books after these were written. (i am giving them the benefit of the doubt there). These book leave a ton of stuff out. There are also some errors in the questions.

Bottom line is that these books do not stand up by themselves.

I bought this book because I have good experiences with Todd Lammle books, his books are usually clearly written and cost little energy to digest (and he did manage to this again in this book).

but.....It does seem out of date at this moment, the CCSP path changes rapidly and some main toppics have been added (such as "securing Cisco Routers using Security device manager" and "management centre (MC) for VPN routers". There is a big chance that the exam will hold quite a few questions on these topics as happened with me. With a passing rate of 860 you just can't afford loosing valuable points just because it wasn't in the book. I am now reading the cisco press self study book (Published: Apr 21, 2004), and indeed like one of the other reviewers says, they might sometimes be crammed with in depth information (perhaps even too much for the exam). Sybex should rewrite this book to match it with the current standards.

I'm happy that a lot of the reviewers passed after using this book, but it might have something to do with a lucky collection of questions.
Regards, Herman

Don't waste your money. I'm taking my recertification exam in March. The layout and more importantly the clinical information provided in the text is useless. The only positive statement I can make is that at least I can use the questions.

This was a great review for those of us who have been out in practice for a long while...still have to take the test but I'm feeling more prepared in those areas which are not a part of my daily responsibilities. I really like the post test disc which gives a rationale for the answers.

I used this book and the A&L board review book,and I PASSED boards on April 2007! I studied these books like a pirate looking for buried treasure! And the study paid off! I started studying in Jan 2007, and took boards in April 2007! What more can I say???
Want to pass boards??? TRY THIS!!!!

I took the PANRE a week ago after a six year hiatus from practice. Needless to say, I was very nervous and had forgotten much during this time. I did some basic review of systems in a book from my school days and then studied this text primarily. I used Current 2007 for more in depth study on some diseases (not many). I received my passing score today. The pre and post tests in this book are excellent and a great source for preparing for the exam. I would highly recommend this book to prepare for the test and feel it has adequate information to get you ready.

I just took the PANRE and this is the book I mainly used to study. The PANRE is very very similar to the test in this book and it gives you an idea of the topics that you'll be tested on. For some of the areas that I was not familiar with, I went to Current to get more info. I think this book is the reason that I passed my PANRE.

Great price good ship and condition would order again.

I am an Oracle Database Administrator but my knowledge of Linux was very weak. I wanted to get the LPIC certification so that I could expand my knowledge and be able to better communicate with our System Administrators and Network Administrators.

This book covered topics in a way that a person with no experience with Linux could understand (you may need some computer background). The software included was a bonus for me. The book also include a pull out summary sheet of the topics and commands learned (great for studying).

In addition to this book, I do recommend that you set up a computer where you can install and practice what you learn. I also recommend that you but additional self testing software. The combination of the three should guarantee that you pass the LPIC exam and have an honest understanding of what you have learned.

The book focuses on Red Hat, RPM, VI, and the command line to the exclusion of the more recent utilities, changes, and tools (such as DHCP) which are now the mainstay of the Linux Administrator. If it helps cram for the LPIC I wouldn't take it -- not only because it would be unnecessarily difficult, but also because it is useless. It would be like taking a trivia test for Linux instead of learning how to become a competent administrator.

This book was quite thorough in its coverage of the material, and the practice questions were superb (although it would have been nice if there were more of them on the CD). I had no trouble setting up the examsim software on my Linux box, so they must have fixed that problem.

The only thing I would complain about is that parts of the chapter on networking were a tad difficult to understand, and I had to find supplemental online resources.

In my opinion, you should be an experienced Linux user before buying this book. It is not worded for people who don't already understand Linux. It may be great for testing, but it's not for trying to learn Linux from scratch.

If you are new to Visual Basic.Net then this book is great for getting a basic understanding of the language. If you are using it to introduce yourself to the language then I would highly recommend it. However, this book miserably fails its' title in preparing for the 70-306 exam.

The best thing the book does is to provide you an outline of what to study for the exam but you will need to do further research on the topics with MSDN. Plus, as other reviewers have stated, there are a few errors throughout the book most notably on the practice tests. But, for an intro study I would not let the errors turn you away from it.

The bottom line is the book is not detailed enough for the exam but a good introduction, especially, for college students taking a VB.Net course.

This book is chalk full of errors. I am not at all convinced that anyone went back through and actually tried to reproduce the examples and assignments found in this book. If you like a challenge and enjoy debugging someone else's code, this is the book for you. If, however, you feel that your time is better spent actually studying for the exam I would skip this book.

This is an excellent book to be used for your certification. It comes loaded with examples, exercises, exams, and plenty of explanations on the answers to the Self-tests on why they are correct AND why they were incorrect!

One bad thing: You will need to watch the syntax on some of the exam watches and self-test question and answers. I highly recommend downloading the errata for this book before you start from [a website]. I have found a handful of important editing errors but they were pretty obvious.

Other than the printing errors, which are very few IMO, this is a better cert book than [certain other] books!

This book is alright, but it does not take into consideration all OS's on which the code might be running (xp users beware on the globalization chapter) and some of the end of chapter questions don't even seem to be based on data discussed in the chapter. That all being said, there aren't many other options exam prep books for 70-306 and this one is at least easy to follow along with although I don't think it is in depth enough for the exam.

It's obvious why this book was the first VB.NET book available. The book was obviously rushed, has many typos, pieces of code that doesn't work, and questions with wrong answers. The content of this title isn't anywhere near the quality of the study guide by Gunderloy. This book is a decent start for beginners, but if you really want to learn and pass the test, look elsewhere.

I have only read 70-210, 215, and 218 books so far from M$. As I am sure you have taken those exams already (hence, you are looking at 218), they all read like a badly written tech menu.

This book by Rory McCaw however, reads more like responds you read from tech forums - right on the spot but sometimes long-winded. I believe it definitely has enough juice to get you thru the exam, but I must agree that this doesn't give you too much in-depth.

Well, as info goes, in-depth is good, but not good when you are trying to cram all the info in your heads in 3 weeks schedule to pass your exam before the next interview. (I once remember all the UDP ports # up to the hundreds; did that help me pass my exam?) I would definitely recommend this book and read thru it casually to pass the exam, THEN refer to TechNet and the M$ book on areas you are unclear on and for reference when you are stuck on a certain problem at work or during practice.

Before my closing, I only have 1 major complain about this book. M$ baby-step you via page 1 to 1300 on their exercises, this book however, sometime assumes too much or are out in order. For example, I remember somewhere around p.150, you where asked to join another server to your main in dynamic. Well, problem is that DHCP, DDNS, and scope has not even been discussed and setup yet! (Those topic comes AFTER this exercise)

In a way, I was glad that this exercise made me realize that I know what I was doing in solving those problem, but for the person who gets frustrated easily from bad instructions (don't we all??), this book could be pretty aggravating as times.

For the ones that already got A+ Net+ Server+ out of the way like me, I wish you luck on this exam, and your first title as MCSA. I got TONS of questions on DHCP, DNS, Protocol, and connectivity issues with replicating servers (remember broadcast doesn't go thru router - REALLY easy to overlook during those exhibit pictures.

Good Luck!

At first, I was a bit disapointed at the minor editorial errors and typos that I encountered and it became apparent that things were not going to improve much as I moved through the book.
I like the author. He has a very 'english' approach and his occasional use of real-life examples make the book more valuable than it should be.
My main issue with this book are the errors that were encountered. These ranged from technical details to misspellings and grammar. Sheesh! The end-of-chapter exams (multiple choice) occasionally had typos in the answers where a character would make the difference between right and wrong.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone new at the material, but for an intermediate who can catch things that don't seem right, it might be worth it as the author is pretty good.

This book is great and I recommend it to anyone taking the 70-218 or 70-216 tests. Although this book says it's for the 70-218, it's also very good for the 70-216 (certainly better then the last ... book I bought for that test). I only wish I had this book from the start : (
It's a relief to see the topics explained in a clear and thorough manner, without the usual useless clutter... which seems to be pretty rare with these types of books.
Good luck.

While working on my MCSE certification, I happened to select this book for the "70-218 MCSA Managing a Windows 2000 Network Environment", and I'm sure glad I did. While not an in depth reference guide, this book was more than adequate as a guide to the exam, which is its intended function. I appreciated not rehashing binary conversion, and as it turned out, there was very little binary on my exam, which I passed. I found it to be an easy read, with good examples and thought provoking review questions. I especially liked the "2-Minute Drill" included at the end of each chapter.

The included practice test did a good job of instilling the exam topics, but with a total of just 70 questions, there could have been more. Also, the Examination Score report didn't actually give you a section analysis, which would have been good for review. While there are probably better practice exams available, the one included will certainly do the job. I did like the answer guide which explains the correct answers for questions you missed, and the reference section available during the "open book" test, which explains why each answer is right or wrong, helping you to understand the logic.

If you're looking for a study guide for the 70-218 exam, I would certainly recommend "MCSA Managing a Windows 2000 Network Environment Study Guide (Exam 70-218), by Alan Simpson, Rory McCaw".

The book covers all the exam topics in an organised manner. Reading the book from cover to cover should be sufficient to pass the MS 70-218 exam.
I would not recommend the book for anyone looking for thorough explanation of the items covered. Too often details are missing, incomplete or even incorrect. For me, this makes the book useless as a reference for the topics included.
Sometimes the book is even frustratingly disappointing. As an example I can quote the paragraph on transforming binary to decimal numbers and vice-versa, something that you should master for some of the network related questions in the exam. Basically all the book says about it is this: "use the windows calculator in scientific mode". Sure, it will do the job, even during the exam where the calculator is available for use in all questions, however, it does not provide you with any understanding of these numbering systems.
So again, for passing the exam the book will do, if you are looking for a good reference and thorough explanation of topics covered in a precise manner, this book will not suffice.

These books are very good for preparing for the Microsoft certification exams. I recommend them highly. They come with 120 trial version software to help you get prepared if you haven't used the actual operating system before.

After reading the book and doing all the exercises I feel that I really know Windows 2000 Server. I also used many practice exams before taking the real exam. I passed the exam but it was the combination of this training kit and 3rd party practice exams that got me through, I suspect this training kit alone would not have been enough to pass the exam. Although the content of this kit is excellent, I only gave 4 stars because there were several subjects in the exam that this kit did not prepare me for.

From previous experience with other Microsoft exams, I recommend Microsoft's own books when studying for these exams. Microsoft Press material is the most accurate and up-to-date.

If one is planning a course of self-study to prepare for MCP exams, the Premium Edition books from Microsoft are a good set of training materials. The text comes in both hard copy and cd format, with some practice test materials and "Readiness Review" included. Don't rely on these kits alone, be sure to use some sort of practice test if you want to be really sure to pass.

The training kit comes with two books, and four CD-Rom. I just passed the exam today, and this was my primary source of info for the test. Be warned however if you do not have two computers to set up as a network you will not get as much 'bang' out of this kit. There are a large number of hands on exersizes that you need to have a small network to complete. One of the CD's does contain an audio-visual presentaion that follows along the training guide, and it contains within the presentation a simulated network enviorment that you can also do exersizes on. Another CD goes hand in hand with the readiness review book, and contains practice tests that are very much in the same format as the actual exam. The last two CDs are evaluation copies of tech net, and Windows 2000 server (120 day eval period for 2000 server). Using this kit, and online resources like the Microsoft knowledge base was all I realy needed to both get a good understanding of the material, and pass the test.

This kit was a very interesting purchase. I felt as though it was well written and easy to follow. I spent around three weeks working through the exercises and reading the material before I attempted a practice exam. On my first try I scored 64%. I was a little disappointed considering the amount of time I had invested in the training. I think the real problem is in the manner of which the test questions are written. The scope of information needed to answer the test questions is MUCH greater than the questions and examples found in the kit. My advise would be to read the kit and do the exercises, this way you will become familiar with the information and gain good insight on the core operating system. Then, if you want to take the MCP exam, go find as many practice reviews as possible and test yourself over and over. Eventually your knowledge of the material will start to connect with the style and complexity of the exam questions and you will pass. Don't expect to purchase this kit and pass the MCP unless you have a lot of working experience with the product.

This was one of the best exam prep books I have ever used. I just passed the Microsoft certification exam with flying colors because of this material. I found it easy to read, understand and study from. My thanks to the authors!

The series of MCSE training guides put together for the 4 core MCSE requirements are written up well enough for the beginners to understand. I recommend these books for the 4 core. But 1 thing though, the TCP/IP, and IIS4 books are just the opposite, I wouldn't waste your money their. I found that Exam Cram has a good series when it comes to them. Dave MCSE+Internet

This book is a little bit outdated but aided me a lot to be able to take the MCSE exam with confidence, it never hurts to have a little more knowledge than the usual!

I bought this book for my 70-67 exam which I was palnning to take on 01/12. After I finished the first 2 chapters I was so frustrated and thought that I would never pass or understand the NT server... It is a kind of a book that makes you read more hoping that you'll understand what you already read later on, until suddenly the chapter is over. To be fair, I think there is nothing wrong with the material, maybe its just the presentation that made me dislike this book.

It's been over a year since I first worked through this book on my way to completing the MCSE certification and it was one of three books I used to pass the Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 exam. Though it may be too late for you if you still plan on passing this test before the deadline of Dec. 31, 2000, for me it proved invaluable today as I began building a small home network.

The simple and clear layout as well as ample screen shots allowed me to skim the entire book in a little over an hour and refresh a lot of the facts and procedures I learned way back when but haven't had to use recently.

Because there are other books out there that are more comprehensive in their coverage of Windows NT Server and its value as a test study guide is gone thanks to Microsoft retiring the NT 4.0 track I can't give it five stars, but as a quick reference when I need it this book will remain on my shelf.

Joe Buchberger

I bought this book (and a few others) to finish my MCSE before the deadline (a few days away). I purchased this particular book because of the reviews. This was my first "Dummies" purchase ever, and I am COMPLETELY SATISFIED!

I had always stayed away from the Dummies series because everyone I knew would poke fun at someone who brought one into work.

Now that I know how awsome these books are I recommend them everytime someone asks, "Which book should I buy for ?"

The author does an excellent job going over all of the material in an orderly and concise manner. From the first page, to the last page you will find yourself understanding key concepts in no time!

If you need to touch up or fill in the holes in your information, this is the book to read. I am taking classes for my MCSE exams and I wasn't sure on a couple of things about two weeks before the test, so I ordered this book NDA and skimmed through. I immediately found the info that I wasn't sure about. I didn't read the whole book, but it was worth the money for the book and the shipping to have passed the test on the first try.

The book itself is a very good exam prep resource, but do yourself a favor and find another source for sample tests. The practice exams contain more errors than any other book in the series. Beg, borrow or steal the Transcender or Sybex tests and then use this book to learn what you don't know.

I used this book and have also used NT Workstation for Dummies with success. I whole heartedly recomend the Flash Cards for Dummies. These can be put on a Palm Pilot for review anywhere.

Please keep in mind that it will be the only book you need if you also use common sense. I had never worked in an enterprise environment before and I crammed this book in 2 nights. Then I went in and passed my enterprise adaptive exam by only missing 2 questions. Some things are not covered in detail in this book, but if you have even a slight understanding of those things then common sense will do the rest.