MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server 2005--Implementation and Maintenance [With CDROM]

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!

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.

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.

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.