[.uk] MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-293): Planning and ... (ISBN 0735622876)

"Two thumbs down.":
Generally, MS-Press Self Paced Second Edition books are good. Especially they did a great job on 290 and 291. This book, however, is an exception. This book does not cover many exam areas at all, and I am not talking nuances. There is no mentioning in this book about PKI certificate archival (new feature in Server 2003 family, well tested on 293 exam), or the GC placement, and several other areas. Those subjects that are covered in the book, are not covered in depths, in fact, they look like poor summaries and will not prep you for the exam in any way, nor will they prepare you for real life situations. Author jumps around same topics and is not able to clearly explain most of them. Practices are not worth installing a fresh copy of Server. There are no good "Exam Tips", like in other MS-Press books. I doubt that Craig actually took this exam. I understand that no exam preparation book alone is enough to prepare for the exam, but those that I read so far, did a pretty good job on it. I was able to ACE several Microsoft exams using Self Paced guides and Testout videos. This book tried to trick me into thinking that 293 exam was peace-of-cake. It is not! Do not be fooled. Exam is probably as hard as 291. It may seem easier after taking 291, but without that preparation 293 would be close to impossible to pass for the first time. Yes, it is in some ways similar to 291, but it covers whole bunch of different topics, and focuses on a different agenda. This book will not help you pass the exam. Book is a joke.

Not comprehensive, but definitely worthwhile:
I currently have my MCSA with relatively little experience(comparatively speaking). Therefore, I knew I needed to be thorough with my reading for this particular test. A lot of what's in here is stuff I've never dealt with hands on(ie Clusters, NLB, RRAS, and CA). That said, I figured the most comprehensive route would be LearnKey training videos coupled with a cover to cover reading of this book. I've heard the second edition of these books are much better. While this book does do a very good job covering all the exam topics, it's fatal flaw is that it mentions nearely nothing about dealing with legacy systems within a AD Infrastructure. I was horrified to discover about 10-15% of the questions(and even a simulation) that require you to maintain support for NT4 and Windows 98 clients while simultaneously requiring you to meet the requirements for security or GPO assignments. The book only mentions these OS's in passing really, and says nothing regarding how you handle these scenarios. Needless to say, I was very unprepared for these questions despite a good solid month and a half of comprehensive preparation. However, I did pass with a 775, and if you can find something else to make up for this lapse in coverage(be it experience or another book), you can ace the exam with a thorough reading of this book. Just don't skip the practice questions at the end! They may be tedious and not be anything like the actual exam questions, but they actually do a very good job focusing you on the things you should know for the exam.

Training Aid:
This book was essential for me as a reference for an MCSE boot camp. It is now part of my reference library. Will answer many questions that pop up during the study process.

Getting an MCSE 2003 the long way.:
Well it got 3 stars since I passed and it helped, BUT 1. the book is lacking in the material and needs to be augmented with extra material. 2. There are a lot of small mistakes in it that make you doubt yourself. for example wether subnets are calculated as 2^n-2 or 2^n. 3. Get the CCNA PDF for help in understanding subnetting as the book is bad. 4. Use wiki/cisco website for understanding routing 5. Download windows server 2003 security guide as the book is lacking here too. 6. read the IETF's to get papin and chapping your lips :- ). 7. A lot of questions in the test regarded clustering for some reason. and there is no clustering book around. and the book gives you no idea about how to understand quorums. so for this just pray to allah/jesus/jehova or install servers and play (What I did). 8. You must download VMware workstation and clone like 8 Servers and practive everything. from CA to DNS to relaying and vpn ing. 9. download Vmware's manual and understand how to create SUBNETS and NETWORKS using the interfaces (Add interfaces ) and VMNETXX. Have fun. Finally got rid of the MCSE2k3 Saar.