Announcing an all-new Self-Paced Training Kit designed to help maximize your performance on 70-640, the required exam for the new Microsoft® Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration certification. This 2-in-1 kit includes the official Microsoft study guide, plus practice tests on CD to help you assess your skills. It comes packed with the tools and features exam candidates want most including in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and customizable testing options. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for skills and expertise that you can apply to the job.
Work at your own pace through the lessons and lab exercises. Focusing on Active Directory in Windows Server 2008, this official study guide covers configuring, managing, and supporting user and computer accounts, groups, Domain Name System zones and client settings; group policy objects; the new Active Directory Lightweight Directory Service and Active Directory Rights Management Service; backup and recovery; and communication security.
Then assess yourself using 300+ practice and review questions on the CD, which features multiple, customizable testing options to meet your specific needs. Choose timed or untimed testing mode, generate random tests, or focus on discrete objectives. You get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers including pointers back to the book for further study. You also get an evaluation version of Windows Server 2008 and an exam discount voucher making this kit an exceptional value and a great career investment.
Key Book Benefits:
In-depth coverage of exam objectives and sub-objectives plus instructive case studies and troubleshooting scenarios to enhance your performance on the job
300+ practice and review questions
Test engine that enables customized testing, pre-assessment and post-assessment, and automated scoring and feedback
Complete objective-by-objective review section, plus a handy exam-mapping grid
Evaluation version of Windows Server 2008
15 percent exam discount voucher from Microsoft (limited-time offer)
Entire study guide in searchable eBook format
User review
Pretty Good Book
I wanted to wait to give this review until after I took the 70-640 now 83-740 exam. Well I just took it and passed. This book was very well put together as far as topics and how they were covered. I do have to agree there are a few typos that could have been fix before putting to print, but by the end of the book I just got use to it; no big deal. The labs are great, a must if you plan to take the exam, but there were some of the labs that require command line or small scripts that I could not get to work. Overall this book is a very good purchase. It covers things in the exam and things you would need to know in the work world. The only reason I give it four stars is because of the misprints, no 2008 server eval software, and it really is not a complete solution for taking the exam, but what book is.
User review
Good start, but it falls apart at the end
It seems to be a recurring theme among the Microsoft Press books I've been studying for the Windows Server 2008 exams: they get off to a great start with rich information and good detail, but then 1/2 to 2/3 through the book, it's like somebody flipped a switch and can't wait to get the book done. They hurry through what's left with pages of `recipe` step-by-step examples explaining how to do tasks, but not WHY you should do something this way instead of that way. As this book gets to the end, the coverage is sparse. No way do I feel near ready for the exam. Hands on is an essential ingredient in learning this material and being ready for the exam, and I'll do that on my own, but I still expect a better job than this book does for exam prep. Specifically, chapters 10 onward are weak, and the coverage of CS and FS is really poor.
Interestingly, several of the authors in the MS Press series have contributed to portions of several of the books, and some of them have done books for earlier versions, like Windows 2003. Don't rest on your laurels guys! You gotta do better!
User review
Very good, but not perfect
This is a very good book, but not a perfect one. Overall, the book is very well written, and quite readable. Unfortunately, there are a large number of typos and mistakes that markedly detract from it. If you go to the Microsoft Press web site, you can download a very long list of errata for the book and oorrect the mistakes, but that is very time consuming, and frankly, a pain in the butt. Don't let that stop you from getting the book, but at least now you will be aware of the issues with the book ahead of purchasing it. The large amount of errata prevent me from rating this book higher than four stars. I would hope that eventually MS Press would republish the book with all of the mistakes fixed. Aside from the errata, the book is well written, well organized, and presents the material for this test in a logical and appealing manner.
User review
Good Value
I used this book, and passed the test. You do need to check the errata, especially if you are a beginner. The MeasureUp practice questions are a good study tool and are a good simulation for the exam, and they are the reason I am giving 4 stars instead of just 3. Certificate Services should have gotten more coverage. You will want to use supplementary materials for studying, and install it in a lab yourself. There are a lot of links to additional information, but most of them have guids in the URLs (are you going to enter that in your address bar?). Search technet for the material instead.
The last 4 chapters have a lot of material that matches up with information on technet. The information on technet may be written by the same people. So, technet won't be a good secondary source, but Microsoft has on-demand webcasts for RMS, and a little on FS which are great.
Get to know the command line tools. The syntax is shown in the books, and they are presented in a good overview, but you will need to look at the command line references in technet.
User review
Disappointed
I bought the MCITP Enterprise Administrator bundle which included this book. This was the second one I read in preparing for my certification. Overall not bad it goes into some detail on important key AD features. There was some incorrect information and mispellings throughout the whole book. I noticed this within the first 2 chapters. I even looked it up and Microsoft has a web page dedicated to the incorrect data. Including incorrect answers to questions they ask. The other portion that was lacking was the AD LS/CS/FS/RMS chapters. They each had one chapter and for ADFS and ADRMS overview that may be ok. However, they did not cover details on AD LS that was on the test and the AD CS chapter which is 13% of the test was really lacking. It went over some walk throughs for installs and setups, but did not cover much of the details needed for the exam. I recommend reading the book for the exam, but use other resources as well for the AD LS/CS/RMS/FS.
