This text impressed me as the worst technical text I've ever read (I went through 4 years of texts for an BSEE). It's as if the authors were given 3 days to write it, the structure and planning of the presentation is so awful.

Horrible experience ! I never received the product that I paid for. What else is there to say ?

The test has questions related to DNS, Subnetting, etc... If you don't know this stuff, then you will most likely fail.

I used thisbook as the only source to take the 70-291 Exam.

I had read reviews on the exam and people were taking up to the third go to pass it... Needless to say I was nervous taking the exam.

I read this book from cover to cover twice for the two days prior to the exam.
Completed the labs and took not of all the tips in the book.
Combined with a few years of on the job experience I passed first go. I found that the text covered all the information required for the exam (and there is a lot to be covered in this one!)
The chapters on DNS I found very well written and also the RRAS chapters in particular.

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to preapre for 291.

I only used this book for passing the exam and it is worth it, it covers many topics in "no deep " detail but if you have been in the field for a while you know what the important stuff is. It is good but not the best, I think they over load aa bunch of useful but useless info at the same time, beyond the exam tipics, like scripting.

Probably you have heard this is the hardest windows server 2003 exam, then i will say that it is. The good news are really study this book and of course really do practice this material on a virtual machine or a test enviroment. Why may this book will not be enough to pass the exam, it is because you will get simulations (you'll have to configure dns, dhcp, etc) and that's why you will need lot of practice. But the book will help you along the way.

This was a great book for the 70-291 exam. Most people refer to this one as the hardest in the MCSE 2003 track so I spent some extra time pouring over this particular book. The information was comprehensive and I'd say it was one of the best in the series in terms of learning that just keeps on giving. I'm studying for the Server 2008 upgrade now and it's nice to see that a lot of the concepts covered in this book are still valid. Passed this exam using the book and a little experience with a healthy margin.

Before I started on my MCSA path, I had basically zero hands on experience with server. I picked up this book along with the book for the 70-290 test and these are ALL I used to pass both the tests.

Just read and make sure you UNDERSTAND what you are reading and do all the exercises and practice quizzes/tests. You really need 2 computers to do all the exercises.

Excellent prep for the exam, but you definitely need a multi computer lab environment. W2003 Server(32 and 64bit) will run on an old machines with only 512Mb memory. Useful to also upgrade old servers via W2000 and various service patches, change and kill old domains etc. Trivial problems can sometimes take a long time to resolve, but you learn a lot in the process.

Well, I'm impressed. For starters, I got a valuable education from this book, not to mention a 980 on the exam. This book is a thorough course and will prepare you as much for the real world as it will the exam, but it requires a practice network of at least 2 computers (I recommend 3), and a lot of time - 250 to 300 hours. This isn't the kind of book that you read in bed or on the couch. The book is approx. 25% reading, 75% hands on lab work.

I give my money to Microsoft reluctantly, especially on products that depend on solid communication skills, but since the book came with a trial version of Server 2003, I plugged my nose and bought it. I expected a litany of typos, endless ambiguity and the "good enough" quality standards that their software has accustomed me to, but that wasn't the case at all. The book was 98% accurate. The practice exam software was an asset, and like I said, it was thorough. It's only shortcoming was in the topic area of "Windows Software Update Service". I should add that I had two years of experience within an Active Directory environment under my belt.

This book lays a very good foundation for the 70-291 exam and is thorough in its explanation of DNS, DHCP and RRAS. The section on security was informative as well. The only reason I am giving it 4 stars is it does not always cover every topic in depth that is tested in the exam.

Taking practice tests with the accompanying CD is a must. I have found that these tests are an essential part of the learning process and really prepare you for the real exam. Some of the questions can be difficult because they may not have been fully covered in the book. Make sure you check out the explanations to these questions and get more information on those topics from TechNet on Microsoft's website, it will really help you pass on your first try.

All in all, I really think the book does a good job in getting you read for the exam.

The first reason to buy this book is the fact that you get a 15 percent reduction on the exam so the book is the cheapest study guide you can buy.

The second reason its a good study guide. The book is easy reading, the writer has a sense of humor. Coverage of topics is good. The CD is nice. With extra readings, Simulation questions as on the exam. Etc.

He gives a lot of tips for the exam also. All said no waste of money.

But to pass the exam dont use this book as a one source but study by other vendors the exam questions. You need that to complete the puzzel.

I found this book to be a great resource and a good foundational book. I goes into enough detail to get a good understanding of the principals of Windows 2003 Network Infrastructure. While I am not sure you can pass the MSCSE 70-291 test with just reading this book it is a great foundation to compliment a good purchased sample test.

It has taken a while to get this book published. 1230 pages of material takes a lot of time to put together. Obviously the stated aim of this book is to prepare the student to take the exam. However, even if you are not planning on taking the exam, the material covered here is a complete book on Windows Server 2003 Networking. It covers everything from defining TCP/IP to troubleshooting nearly any kind of trouble.

Of course the main thrust of the book is to pass the test, so there are a lot of small tests throughout the book and then there are three CD's. This includes a 180 day evaluation version of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition. In addition there is a review test that will give you the look and feel of the real test.

This is by no means light reading for the IT newbie, but it's all you will need to pass the certification test.