Reviews for MCTS Self-Placed Training Kit (Exams 70-648 & 70-649): Transitioning Your MCSE/MCSE to Windows Server 2008, Book/DVD Package: Transitioning Your MCSA/MCSE to Windows Server 2008

1. It did the job

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, April 12th, 2010

   Unlike many of the other reviewers here who seem to have taken the more difficult MCSE upgrade path, I studied this book to upgrade my MCSA 2003 to MCTS: Windows 2008 Active Directory and MCTS: Windows 2008 Networking. Thus, I only needed about 60% of the book, i.e., the first ten chapters.
   
   For my 70-648 exam I studied using this book and a copy of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise which I configured on a virtual machine using free VMWare Player. (You can configure multiprocessor support for virtual machines using VMWare but you cannot do with this Microsoft Virtual PC 2007; I strongly recommend using VMWare instead of Virtual PC for much better performance.)
   
   I took and passed my exam a couple of weeks ago, without using any other books. I studied the material in this book thoroughly and it was easily sufficient to pass the exam. The practice exams included on one of the discs are somewhat easier than the actual exam questions but they are nevertheless excellent for revising what you have learned from studying the book.
   
   The text is relatively free of typos and errors of any sort; I believe there were only two or three unimportant typos in the whole of the first ten chapters, or about 550 pages. Also, it covers all the material in more than enough detail to enable you to pass the exam.
   
   I intend to study for the 70-646 exam next to get an MCITP in Windows Server 2008, which has perhaps a couple more years before it will be rendered obsolete by the next release of Windows Server. I intend to keep my revision notes from the 70-648 book to hand when studying for the MCITP exam because in many ways topics discussed in overview there are covered in more detail in the MCTS exams.

2. Time consuming and a hard slog!

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, January 12th, 2010

   I read the three reviews present at the time I bought this book and went looking for other options but there are only a couple of other books on this topic and none of them get rave reviews!
   
   I really don't like the fact this book starts by telling you what you need to have setup for the labs only to get to the labs and discover you need even more! In fairness some labs are described as "optional" but there's far too much reading and not enough praticaly in this book to start with. At a bar minimum you need;
   
   2 x Windows 2008 Servers
   1 x Vista Client
   
   All of the above can be virtualised. Later you discover you ideally need another member server. Later still you discover you need two more member servers although only for Chapter 16 and the two lessons covering "High Availability" and "Storage". Whilst all this can be virtualised when you get to chapter 15 which is "Hyper V" you need to set up a host on which to run your guests so you now need a physical server and it needs to be 64-bit!
   
   That's a total of 6 x VM's and 1 x 64-bit Physical Server!!! Who has that knowcking around at home?
   
   The book covers both 70-648 and 70-649 and I only need to know about 70-649 which was a concern. Actually right at the start there is a guide to which chapters and lessons need to be covered for each which is good news. The bad news is they are in what seems a logical order but if you follow them in that order you get to a lab and it states that an earlier lab is a pre-req. Such as installing something that requires a web server and sure enough in a different lab you install the web server. Very annoying! When you get the list of lessons for 70-649 re-write it in chapter order and do the lessons in each chapter in order as well - makes much more sense!
   
   As per the "Avoid" review I have to agree the editors were on holiday, clearly a number of authors although only two listed and someone has been padding this out with a lot of copying/pasting which is very annoying when continually re-reading the same content half a dozen times.
   
   There are 32 lessons in total for 70-649 and they are generally supposed to be 40-60 minutes. That's with Superman doing them I tell you. Some are this quick and others are a couple of hours. If you took an average of an hour and half per lesson that's 48 hours of studying to get through so plan your exam well.
   
   The back of the book includes a discount voucher for 15% off the exam good through the year 2013. Good bonus but it's well hidden and I found it AFTER I booked and paid for the exam, grrr.
   
   In summary... best of a bad bunch per a heading from another review. It's not fantastic but it will give you what you need it to but it's tough going hence the 3 star rating.

3. Best of the Bunch

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, November 12th, 2009

   This book does exactly what it says on the cover and takes you through knowledge which is already assumed as an MCSE on WS2003 to WS2008. It is a tough read and not for the unprepared - but this is rightly identified at the outset and throughout the chapters. The bonus is the included CD and evaluation copy of the server which is great for labs etc. Take your time and technet where it tells you to! You will have no problems with the exam.

4. Avoid

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2009

   Don't usually review books on Amazon, but this one was so badly written (going over the same stuff over and over again - missing out other stuff completely), I almost killed myself. Reading though it seems like a lot of authors did small sections and the editors were clearly on holiday!
   
   I've been studying for MCSEs though from NT4-2008, 15 MCP exams, and this is the worst book I've used for any of them. Its very dry.
   
   I did pass the MCSA upgrade exam, however I think around 33% of the questions were not covered in this book, all 800+ pages of it!!
   
   Avoid if you can!

5. For anyone thinking of an MCSA 2k3 upgrade

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, July 12th, 2009

   This book covers all the topics required to transition the MCSA Server 2k3 or MCSE onto the Windows Server 2008 platform including IPv6, with good coverage of all the new features. Does not really touch on why MS think the OS is better than Server 03, but then it is not a sales pitch! Would recommend to anyone thinking of making the jump from 03 to 08