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I did read the book thoroughly, cover to cover and did many of the exercises with a virtual environment as a lab. I passed 70-431. I probably won't do the other 2 exams because 2005 is getting old, but based on my satisfaction with this book (I have Kindle format - watch out, no way to get the companion CD or materials with this format) I would look for a 2008 version of it. The book says to allow something like 90 days to prep but I did a major cram session with this book for about a week and passed with a high score. Passing a cert exam every quarter is a requirement where I work. I'm pretty sure with another thorough review I could pass the other 2 exams for the MCITP.
Kind of a pain as its most of the chapter on security.Edit: Downgraded from 2 to 1 stars after contacting McGraw Hill and having a representative agree to exchange my book and then subsequently never responding to later emails. Material seemed pretty helpful until I realized that in lieu of 50 pages of chapter 8 I actually got 50 pages of chapter 7 repeated. Was using the book as a reference so I didn't even notice the issue until months after purchasing (from Amazon) so it's apparently my problem.
Yet, it does not get bogged down in unnecessary detail.Excellent book. After having completed Microsoft's MCAD certification, I am using this text along with the Tom Carpenter text to prepare for MCTS and MCITP certification. Though I haven't taken the exam yet, the material appears to be covered in a thorough and in-depth fashion.
2) You choose to only take one of the tests on the CD. I found the CD questions less useful than books dedicated to one test because of this.These are minor complaints though, and I'm not really sure the issues can be avoided to begin with. Well written and in depth, this book should cover everything necessary to pass these tests.I have two complaints: 1) The book is laid out functionally for SQL Server, not for each test. For example - you couldn't say just test for the 70-441 test. Don't let them stop you from using this as your resource to pass these three tests. So, for example, when you are studying for the 70-442, it may involve a portion of chapter 3, 4, 5, and 8, but all of 12 and 13. All this information is entwined with the stuff for the other tests.
This book seems to point out the exact information needed to get through the test. Be sure to review the topic list for each exam in the front of the book before taking the test. My main reason for purchasing this book is for the next two exams (441,442).
This is definitely the book to use for these exams. The 'what you need to know' section at the end of each chapter is not always accurate. The topics and sample questions are on target with the actual test.
For the 431 exam, I used the (Tom) Carpenter book as my primary study guide and this book as a side reference. Note that the author of this book is the technical editor for the Carpenter book.Update to previous review: I just passed both exams (441 & 442) without difficulty and with plenty of time remaining (each exam took about 2 hours). Also - the explanation of cascade deletes is incorrect in the book.
After taking the 431 test and looking up some questions I guessed at in this book, I regret not using this book as my primary study guide. I look forward to using it for the next two exams.
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