This self-paced official Microsoft study guide pools the most relevant lessons from the study guides for core MCSE exams 70-210 (Windows 2000 Professional), 70-215 (Windows 2000 Server) 70-216 (Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Administration) and 70-217 (Windows 2000 Active Directory Services).
If you want a perfect entry-level book for an advanced exam, the
MCSE Training Kit is the package for you. Using a wonderful mix of solid walkthroughs, intelligent explanations and relevant screenshots, the book refreshes your memory while still managing to provide deeper content than a host of more "advanced" books.
The book weighs in at a hefty thousand-plus pages, but still manages to be an easy read by MCSE standards thanks to Microsoft's use of short paragraphs and a respect for the reader's intelligence. The book begins by going over the core features of Windows 2000 Professional that are central to all iterations of Win2K, launches into an extended discussion of networking protocols and routing, then finishes up with the more global Windows 2000 topics like Active Directory and Group Policies.
Since many other Accelerated books restrict themselves to only new topics, you will find some topics that aren't handled elsewhere--and some covered in unexpected wealth of detail. For example, from the "information that you probably learned about NT but may be slightly rusty on" area, you will discover this book covers the core Windows NT Architecture and goes over permissions in detail. On the other end of the spectrum, you will find a whopping 60 pages devoted to the theory and implementation of IPSec.
But some of the topics that are given short shrift seem a little strange; IPSec gets 60 pages, but that's the exact same amount of space given to DNS--a far more frequently asked about and misunderstood topic. And Terminal Services, a new and much-discussed feature of Win2K, gets just over 25 pages. Admittedly, these pages are rich with information, but it does show a slight problem with the Kit--using this as an exclusive study guide may require some outside research to discover what are the "hot spots" in the Win2K Accelerated test.
Which brings up the major problem with the book--like all of the Microsoft Training Kits, this isn't really a test preparation guide. It's an education guide, which is a slightly different focus. Unfortunately, the mentality needed to know a topic and the mentality needed to pass an exam are two separate things, and the schism may not be addressed here.
Each chapter is broken down into several subchapters, which in turn are broken into explanations and walkthroughs. The walkthroughs are always fairly simple, but they are at least well-chosen and should get you through the exam--although one does occasionally wish for longer and more difficult walkthroughs and/or troubleshooting sections for potentially more complex implementations, like the NAT and VPN sections.
Basically, you won't go wrong picking this book up. Experienced professionals may find it simplistic in parts and redundant but those who don't know it all will appreciate the magnificent way this book both retreads and expands your knowledge. --William Steinmetz
