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Great study guide for the ones who want to pass the exam in the first try.

Microsoft Press has left no stone unturned in its attempt to help you study for MCP exam 70-218: Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment. Now with that said, if you are studying for this exam you should already be familiar with a majority of topics covered by this book -- having taken the 70-210 and 70-215 test first. Review them again! If it is in the book, you will more than likely see it on the exam. However, if you feel that you have a firm grip on Windows 2000, utilize the "Where to find Specific Skills in the Book" to help cut your study time and concentrate on the skills you need to learn.

This book is divided into two parts. Each chapter in Part 1 is divided into lessons that include hands-on procedures or expound on a particular concept. Each chapter begins with a "Before you Begin" section. This is a brief summation about the material that will be covered. Along with the overview, there is also a description of what you will need to perform the exercises for each lesson in the chapter. Each lesson concludes with a lesson summary and review questions - these questions are not designed to mimic the exam question, but only to test you on the reviewed material.

Part 2 of this book is organized by the exam objectives prescribed by Microsoft. The objectives are broken down into 5 primary groups called Objective Domain. Each of the 5 Objective Domains cover test skills you will need to master to order to pass the exam. One of the things I liked about this section is each Objective Domain provides suggestions for further reading or additional resources to help you grasp the concepts of each objective.

All in all, with the combination of material, notes, hands-on labs and lesson review questions, this book should prepare you for the 70-218 Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment.

Having dealt with Microsoft over the past 14 years and taken some of their exams, I have found that nothing beats study material that not only covers the objectives but also gives you the ability to learn at your pace and has good hands-on exercises. That is what I found here in this book.

This self paced, 1100 page book has been updated since its initial release so there is improvements within the text itself. In part 1 you have over 60 lessons to work at your pace, work them over and over till you understand the material and then move on.

Part 2, which was my favorite part the book, is the test prep section. This is broken down objective by objective with review questions included. The cd included now has practice exams and a 120-day evaluation copy of Windows 2000 Server.

Overall new updates, better lesson breakdown and an very good exam review section make this a very useful tool to work with.