It's a Reference! No, It's an Exam Prep!
The truth is, O'Reilly's MCSE guide works well as either.
Looking for a great reference for the Windows
2000 core exams? Look no further than O'Reilly's MCSE
in a Nutshell. This pint-sized book covers each of
the Win2K MCSE core exams in fewer than 500 pages and
does a rather thorough job. Each chapter is devoted to
one of the core exams, with an exam overview that ties
Microsoft's exam context with the pages of this book.
So whether you're taking the Accelerated Exam or taking
each exam in turn, this book is an excellent way of preparing.
Can you use this book as your only guide
to the MCSE exams? Possibly, if you've enough real-world
experience and are willing to use a fine-tooth comb when
reading this book-and you answer all the practice test
questions and case studies. For most people, however,
this book will be a wonderful outline to the exams, along
with research and real-world experience, to fill in the
gaps.
MCSE in a Nutshell can serve as an
informative reference for Win2K if you aren't preparing
for the Win2K MCSE exams. It has quick descriptions of
many aspects of Win2K, from Win2K Professional to Win2K
security. So, if you're looking for a quick answer to
a question, keep this book on your shelf.
Two features of this book that readers should
keep an eye out for are "On the Exam" and "In the Real
World." The "On the Exam" sections are great if you're
using this book as a study guide- so be sure you pay attention
to these sections. The "In the Real World" sections are
a wonderful bridge between the practicalities and the
theories of Win2K.
Make sure you spend time going through the
practical exercises, practice tests and case studies.
The case studies are the one area to which the authors
should have devoted more time. There's only one case study
chapter per exam, so if you're using this book as your
study guide, be prepared for many more case studies on
the exams than you'll find here.
I highly recommend this book as a great start
in preparing for the Win2K exams. I suggest that you also
plan to keep this book around as a good resource after
the exams. The authors have done an excellent job of fusing
the theory found on the exam with real-life experience.
About the Author
Yolanda R. Reid, MCSE, CCNA, works closely with Win2K, Windows NT, and BackOffice products. As an employee of USI, her specialty is enterprise systems and designing Win2K infrastructures.