NetWare 5 CNA(SM)/CNE: Administration and Design Study Guide

This book is a great explanation of Netware. It's the best of the printed materials I've seen on the topic (Novell's own study kit book is horrible by comparison). I just passed the CNA exam, and felt well-prepared, though I agree with other reviewers that you should always use more than one study aid. The one weakness of this book is that the questions at the end of the chapters are not much like the actual test, though in all fairness, it would be impossible to simulate the test in a written format. I also used Self Test Software's exam simulation, which was awesome--just like the real thing.

Although I believe Sybex sells good quality books, I would like to issue a little word of advice. Never use just one source when going for a certification. For my CCNA certification I used both the CCNA Sybex book, and I was in the Cisco Networking Academy, for My Novell CNA certification, I used CBT and the Sybex book. No matter if a book is a 5 star book or not, your more likely to learn something if you read it twice from differant sources and cover everything.

I passed all three of these CNE exams after studying this book. (I have experience with NetWare 3 & 4 but not NetWare 5.) I agree with other reviewers that this book is not for novices; novices should take a live class or CBT not just read a book. The book is well organized and well written -- much better than the companion volume "Integrating Windows NT" by Scott Reeves. With a few small exceptions, it covers what you need to know to pass the exams. I have some problems with the relevance of Novell's test objectives to real-world networks: there is over-emphasis on ZEN-Works, too little about login scripts, a glib and unrealistic dismissal of Microsoft clients for NetWare, and excessive discussion about an imaginary Project Team lead by an "NDS Expert". But this is Novell's fault, not the book's. The major fault of the book is that the practice questions are much easier than those of the real exam, and are almost all multiple-choice even though the real exam is not.

This is a very good book to catch up on your NOVELL material and get to know NW5. I Do recomend it but the quality of the Sample Questions is not that good. You can pass the test with this book but a good score needs a bit more. NW5 Admin Test is Long and Demanding and covers every single topic including Command Parameters and Lots of NWAdmin Simulation Questions and screens from the actual product. Read Every Single Page and Line in this book Carefully.

After reviewing with this book, and little or no 5.0 experience, I passed the 4.11 to 5.0 upgrade test with no problems.