MCITP Administrator: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database Server Infrastructure Design Study Guide [With CDROM]

I just finished my test and I was somewhat surprised that a lot of the content in this book was not tested on. I know Microsoft changes the test but I expected that the book would be very close to the exam not in exact questions but in overview. Most of the question on encryption I couldn't find a mention in the book. I would still use this book but I would caution you to add other books, notes to better emcompass the technology.

Having recently studied and sat the prerequisite 070-431 exam, using the 070-431 study guide put out by this same publisher, this book for exam 070-443 is much closer to the Microsoft exam content and format than the 070-431 book. Whereas I gave the 070-431 book 3 stars, due to how closely (or not) the contents matched what was examined, this books in comparison gets 5 stars. It is NOT a rehash of SQL 2000 material and it is present to the reader in the same style as the 070-443 exam. Each chapter covers the material to be examined on and then presents a case study with 10 or so questions based on that case study - just as per the exam. The content is relevant and the style helps the reader become familiar with how the exam is presented. That alone is enough to deserve the 5 stars. As with any exam preparation, if you are planning on sitting the exam I would still recommend supplementing the material in this book with other sources - I am currently reading the equivalent 070-443 MS Press exam book. Personally, for this exam, I have found this Sybex title the better suited study guide.

Microsoft clearly owns the desktop marketplace, and they are clearly lacking such penetration into the world of big IT systems. For the past few years Microsoft has been orienting their company and their software products towards the enterprise level. With the latest version of SQL Server (2005) Microsoft is increasing their focus towards the larger end of the market. Part of this effort is the creation of the Microsoft Certified IT Professional. This certification is much higher end than the earlier certifications in areas like Word or Excel. A person with MCITP certification has evidence that he knows how to set up and operate a truly big database. This means multiple databases, running on multiple servers, perhaps in different countries, backed up against disasters, running the latest software upgrades, protected against intruders, operating efficiently with maximum availability and convenience to users. This book is in part a preparation for the 70-443 examination, but is also a book written by two authors who have been there and done that so that they can speak with personal experience about things that can go wrong.