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MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenance (Pro-Certification)Author: Solid Quality Learning
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Category: Book

List Price: $59.99
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Seller: bookoutlet1
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 51 reviews
Sales Rank: 19010

Platform: No Operating System
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 992
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.7 x 1.9

MPN: 0-7356-2271-X
ISBN: 073562271X
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9780735622715
ASIN: 073562271X

Publication Date: May 31, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Announcing an all-new MCTS Training Kit designed to help maximize your performance on Exam 70-431, a core exam for the new Microsoft IT Professional certifications. This kit packs the tools and features that exam candidates want most—including in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and a robust testing suite. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for skills and expertise that you can apply to the job.

Focusing on SQL Server 2005, this official study guide covers topics such as installing and configuring SQL Server, implementing database mirroring, managing database snapshots, working with XML and flat files, managing replication, backing up and restoring a database, monitoring and troubleshooting, and creating and implementing database objects.

Ace your exam preparation and ramp up quickly on SQL Server 2005 database administration by working at your own pace through the lessons, hands-on exercises, and practice tests. The flexible, best-of-class test engine on CD features 300 practice questions and pre-assessment and post-assessment capabilities. Choose timed or untimed testing mode, generate random tests, or focus on discrete objectives or chapters, and get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers—including pointers back to the book for further study. You also get a 180-day evaluation version of SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition and a 15 percent exam discount voucher—making this kit an exceptional value and a great career investment.


Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 51
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5 out of 5 stars 2-in-1 training kit   June 9, 2006
Arnel J. Domingo (Phoenix, AZ USA)
33 out of 40 found this review helpful

These 2 extras alone is worth more than the price of this book: First, there is the 15% discount on MCP exams. This translates to about $15. Then, there is the practice test software with 295 questions which is very similar to other commercial practice tests (cost at least $59). NOTE: I bought this book from other site because this book was already available there a week earlier than here at Amazon. The price of this book in Amazon is about $8 lower.

This is a hard bound book (I'm very impressed of the cover design). The papers are white and of high quality.

The contents are organized by exam objectives (there is also a card you can tear from the book that outlines the exam objectives and tells you what chapter and lesson you will find the objective discussed in the book). Every lesson has its summary and review questions. Reading some lessons and browsing through the pages of the book, I believe this is a comprehensive study guide for this exam and is, by itself, sufficient to prepare you to pass the exam.



5 out of 5 stars Outstanding Technical Book   February 24, 2007
Clyde LeBonz (PORTLAND, OR United States)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

Outstanding technical book. It covers many areas of a very rich and complex product, and covers almost all of these areas well. The writing style and presentation is excellent. It will be useful to DBA's whether or not they go for the Microsoft certification. The extremely thorough chapter on XML is particularly impressive.

I am a SQL Server developer and instructor for Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005 certification courses, and recommend this text to students who plan to take MCTS cert exam 70-431.

I recommend reading the book straight through, performing practice labs as desired, then using the Transcender practice exam to reveal your weak areas. If you set yourself a goal of 20-30 pages a day (hard to absorb much more), you'll finish in a month or two.

I passed the MCTS exam with a high grade, but thanks only in part to the practice exam that comes with this text. The text's one weakness is that the practice questions are not at all like those on the real cert exam; they are more like flash-card type questions. Even the Transcender exam was not up to their usual standards, but it is much better than what is included with the book.

The quality of the book itself, however, aside from the practice questions, is excellent. Highly recommended.




5 out of 5 stars Good for reference and for the exam   August 26, 2006
Glenn Berry (Parker, CO)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is one of the best Microsoft Press Training kits that I have seen. It has good overall coverage of the administrative features of SQL Server 2005 in addition to covering the exam objectives. It also has some useful dynamic management view (DMV) queries. It has a good lesson on how table partitioning works, which is very useful. Overall, a very valuable book.


5 out of 5 stars All you need to pass the exam   September 24, 2009
David Martin (South Florida, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The exam is half Q&A, half simulation. I passed the exam (960/1000) using only this book, and several web blogs that discussed this exam and it's simulation questions.

You must practice with SSMS if you want any hope to pass the sims. My office is still SS 2000, so here is what I did to prepare:
1. spent $500 on parts from New Egg to build a test box (quad core, 4 gig memory)
2. installed VMware ESXi v4.0 hypervisor (it's free) ... the MS hyperV product is crap!
3. created 4 separate virtual servers
4. installed Windows 2003 (I am MSDN so easy for me) & SS 2005 (free with this book) on all 4 servers
5. installed AdventureWorks
6. backed up the template so I could restore a server to 'fresh & clean' in 5 minutes
7. worked most of the examples in the book, includng Mirroring, Clustering, Alerts, Log Shipping, Linked Servers, etc.

The questions on the CD are excellent practices for the real exam.

For the SSMS simulation:
1. know how to configure Linked Servers (especially the different security models)
2. know how to set up backup & restore operations
3. *NOTE* MS Best-Practices - if you change from Full recovery to Bulk-Logged, set TORN_PAGE_DETECTION ... not mentioned in the book, but found the hint on a blog.
4. know how to read Activity Monitor

Outside of the hands-on skills you need, this book is the only material you need to study. I found it lively and entertaining ... quite exciting to read. The 70-444 book will put you to sleep!



5 out of 5 stars Extremely well written   May 30, 2007
SharePoint Guru
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I have been working with SQL Server since version 4.2. Since then, there have been a lot of books written, but few of this quality. The principal author has a gift for clear and succinct writing that only comes from knowing a topic well. Time and time again I marveled at how few words he used to explain complex technical topics. I recommend this book highly not only for those seeking certification, but also for those who wish to learn how to implement and maintain SQL Server 2005. Money well spent.

Showing reviews 1-5 of 51
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