Book Reviews

Ready for the Tough Stuff?

A review tool for one of the hard exams.

• By Stewart Cawthray
• 03/01/2002

So you've finished your Windows 2000 core exams. Now the real fun begins. As part of the MCSE on Win2K, all candidates must pass at least one design exam. The design exams are a new breed of exam in Microsoft's exam world. They are case study based and require that you have some level of real planning and design experience. The idea is that if you can pass these exams you're an engineer over and above being an administrator. You're not sure about how much real design experience you have? Maybe you have none? Not to worry, these exams are not the juggernaut they may seem to be. With practice and help you can gain the experience you need to pass these exams.

Designing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure Readiness Review is an excellent tool to help you prepare for the 70-219 exam. The book follows a study method that I have taught my students for many years. The book uses the Microsoft exam objectives (available from Microsoft's Web site) and provides a synopsis of the objectives along with specific questions that relate directly to each objective. One feature that I really liked about this book was the way that it provides answers to the questions. Not only does it tell you which answer is correct, but it also explains why it is correct and why each incorrect answer is incorrect. This allows you to learn the material rather than just memorizing answers. The outcome is that you are better prepared because you truly understand the objective being measured. In addition to objective specific questions within the chapters, the book also includes five actual case studies that are similar to those that you will face in the exam. This gives you good experience with what is easily the hardest part of the exam: reading and understanding the requirements presented in the case study. The book includes a CD-ROM with an electronic sample exam for you to practice with as well.

It should be noted that this book is a review tool only. It will not teach you the content you need to know about Windows 2000 and Active Directory; for that you'll need to use other sources. Fortunately, the 70-219 exam does not introduce any new material over and above that which you studied for in the core directory services exam. If you've studied and think you're ready for the exam, this book will tell you whether you're right about that.