[.ca] MCSE: Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration ... (ISBN 0782129498)

From Amazon.com:
It's rare that one gets to say this about a 656-page book, but the Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration kit is far too short. First, the good news, and one of the real saving graces of this book: after years of complaints, Microsoft has finally caved in and included actual test questions. The Administrator Kit has over 225 pages' worth of solid MCSE-style, multiple-choice questions on each objective for the exam, along with extremely detailed analyses of the answers. The questions are fairly hard-hitting--almost as hard as what you can expect to see on the exam--and unlike many other MCSE/MCSA books, you're not only given the correct answers to each question, but you also have explanations as to why each answer is right or wrong. If you chose B and it turned out C was correct, you'll get a paragraph's worth of detail on why B would never work. This helps serious students correct their mistakes much more quickly, and the overall quality of the questions raises the value of this book tenfold. Unfortunately, the actual primer portion of the book is undeniably skimpy; for example, the TCP/IP section never mentions subnetting, which is something that you're likely to see numerous times in the real world. In the section on routing, only two styles of routing protocols are mentioned--OSPF and RIP--and they're both breezed over in two pages (and neither of those pages mentions why a network admin would choose one protocol over another). The "Monitoring Network Activity" section tells you all about how to collect network data, but never actually gets around to telling you what you should do with it or how to analyze it. The "Providing Your Clients Remote Access" section has all of three exercises, and none of them have to do with dialing in remotely. There were many times we wished that the book would simply slow down and just take another 15 pages to spell everything out. When it's not short, it's sometimes overly complex. There's a large chapter on IPSec, which is something that every good network admin should know nowadays--but the section on IPSec seems to assume the reader will understand the basic concepts of cryptography, specifically public and private keys, and as such the reader will spend a lot of time floundering about until they finally "get it." You may actually have to do some Internet searches to understand. That's not to say that the Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration kit is without value; actually, its best feature is its tremendously well-done DNS and DHCP section, which explains the oft-misunderstood concepts of automatic IP addressing in clear, simple-to-understand language that's a blessing from above. If you're in need of a refresher course on DNS or just haven't gotten it until now, you'll be quite likely to understand it after you read this section. In short, this book is an excellent adjunct for any serious test taker; Microsoft's wise move of adding MCSE sample questions has made the decision to buy this book a lot easier. It also has some classic sections on addressing and name resolution. But for most students this book will be read in addition to other books; it won't be a primary source. --William Steinmetz

Sub-par, a real disappointment:
I would recommend this book, but only with grave reservations -- don't use it as your only study material. I have been using Sybex's excellent study guides for years (all the way through my NT MCSE certification and now on Windows 2000), and this 70-216 study guide is definitely inferior. The material presented is handled well, but numerous omissions make it unreliable. The chapter tests are particularly atrocious. Questions are badly worded; several tests contain duplicate questions; there are numerous questions on material that is not covered at all in the book (e.g., WINS proxy, DNS round robin, DHCP database migration). I've come to expect far better from Sybex; this has been a major disappointment.

Inconsistent and incorrect writing:
I will be avoiding this author in the future (though other Sybex books have been very good) because 1.)He doesn't explain things very well in general and in particular doesn't cover what is on the MCSE tests (I just failed this one after passing the others using only the Sybex book) and 2.) The answers in the question and answer sections are wrong and in some instances the answers would be a copy/paste of the previous question. A terrible author.

Exams are a money making sham. But the book is useful.:
Exams are a way to make "money for nothing and checks for free." This book is barely discernable from the NT books and I am sure the XP will not be long off. I did not buy it for the exam as People that pass exams only show that they can remember questions. However windows 2000 seems to be with us for a while and this book does a good job of pointing out problems before they happen allowing for a preventive plan. Networking is networking is networking However Windows 2000 is not intuitive and is convoluted. So without this or a similar book your goose is cooked. The book has 14 chapters and an appendix. In them they seem to take you from ground zero to an administrator with a few diagrams and a few pictures. Most of the contents seem to be written by someone who already knows the subject well enough to leave out what he thinks you should already know. As stated before one reason for using this book is to cut through the convolution. On a UNIX based host the use of DHCP is as simple as filling out a form with base information all in one location. This book takes 20 pages to describe where and how to use DHCP as if it was a separate process than the operating system. There are better books but this book is better than not.

Do Not Rely on this Book either for the MCP or for reference:
I used Sybex for a lot of my MCPs, but this one is truly horrid. The style is fun and admittedly the author made an attempt to amuse you while you're reading. This would be a good thing (although unnecessary and uncalled for) if it was accompanied by reliable and well written technical material, which isn't the case. The book is structured in a rather confusing way - you get most of the stuff explained roughly in the first couple of chapters, and then explained in detail afterwards. This is just a stupid approach as it is confusing: if you talk to me about NAT, do it all in one go, and the same for everything else!! After reading the book I took a transcender... wow, the questions there are really tough, and most of them require knowledge that this book doesn't provide at all. The main problem though is in the questions and answers. The questions are often written quite poorly and in a very misleading way. Also, the answers sometime state the opposite of the theory (e.g. according to an "answer" you don't need WINS during a WinNT-Win2k migration in a mixed network!) ... of course, there was another "answer" for an identical scenario where it was stated, correctly, that you do need WINS. Was this book EVER proofread by a tech? I seriously doubt it. I waisted 2 weeks. Now I bought the MS Press book, and everything makes sense. The authors did a very bad job. Sybex was thoroughly disappointing for allowing the publication of the book. Do not buy it.

2nd Edition much improved:
I'm a teacher at a technical training center and we have the opportunity to try several training products. Sybex typically delivers the best all-around package, but of course we also encourage our students to use additional training resources such as the Transcender practice tests. In the case of the Sybex Network Infrastructure book, the first edition was hampered by overly-simplistic practice questions. The second edition is much improved in this regard. Overall, the book provides excellent coverage of both the exam and the skills you will be required to perform in the real-world. In particular, DDNS, DHCP, WINS, routing, RAS, and NAT are fundamental network infrastructure topics that this book nails. Like some other reviewers stated, the voice-work on the included videos leaves much to be desired, but this really doesn't detract from the book itself.