February 24, 2009 at 10:26 am
In Chapter 1 of the 70-432 Sql Server 2008 implementation and maintenance, it lists out the basic features of "all" versions of sql server, but it leaves out Enterprise.
For all editions, it says that multiple instances are not allowed, yet when i check on the sqlserver site it tells me all editions support up to 16 instances except the enterprise version, which supports 50 instances.
Such simple facts wrong so early in the book. is this a sign of the quality of the rest of the book? has anyone else used this book yet? Im thinking of just sending it back if its that inaccurate.
February 24, 2009 at 11:18 am
Sounds to me like the book is probably wrong.
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February 24, 2009 at 11:30 am
Is this an MS Press book? I'm always concerned because they write early, often before RTM and then rush them out.
check the errata from the publisher, if it's not there, I'd be concerned.
What's the ISBN? I'll try to take a look.
February 24, 2009 at 12:52 pm
yea its the Microsoft press 70-432 Microsoft SQL Server implementation and maintenance self paced training kit by Mike Hotek. ISBN: 978-0-7356-2605-8
Here it is on amazon:
ive also done as MS suggest and went to their help and support site to search for errata for the book, based on the ISBN, but with no luck:
http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?catalog=LCID%3D1033&query=978-0-7356-2605-8&mode=r
February 24, 2009 at 2:57 pm
i recieved a reply from MS on this, to my bad review on amazon!
here's what they said:
It often takes at least 8 months to produce a book, from the time the author starts to the moment you hold it in your hands and start reading. To get the book out on schedule, we had to go on the information that was available at the time. Some of this information is subject to change in the shipping version of the software. We try to catch all of these discrepancies and post them online.
Here's the word from our author Mike Hotek:
Thank you for pointing that out. I'll go back through the current feature comparison information and get several entries added to the errata. Books Online as well as the SQL Server website would be correct at this point.
At the time this was written, it was based on the edition comparison chart that was published at http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/editions-compare.aspx. At that time, there wasn't a coherent comparison grid as you see now, only a set of 4 PDFs that required several inferences by omission. Standard Edition and below were very clearly marked in those documents as not supporting multiple instances. The Web Edition didn't even exist when this was written, which is why it isn't even mentioned in the book.
Personally, i find this unacceptable. there are many who would miss this error, as i myself would have not 6 months ago. These people could take the exam and the difference between pass and failure could be this one question. and they would answer with what they have been shown to be the correct answer, but they would still be wrong, and fail, and be down the 160 or so bucks the test costs, along with the 75 bucks for a book that provided incorrect data.
Also, when your writing about software, especially enterprise software, something you can always give a definite YES or NO answer about the features that software contains, its unacceptable to have such errors in a book designed to train you to take an exam on the software
February 24, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I agree that this is a problem but what do you suggest? If they wait for the product to stop changing, they'll never produce any books. Many people will also complain if there are no books to teach us when a new version comes out... and since it really takes almost 1 year to produce the book, they have no choice but to start really early.
The best thing to do is get the book as late as possible (and time it to the product release).... then produce erratums as they come.
This is not as simple as a math problem where 1+1 must = 2. The product changes all the time to fit our needs and this is a great thing for us.
If you have a better way to do things, please post so that they can hear and implemant your ideas if possible.
February 24, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Im not a writer, im not a publisher. i dont have better ideas.
I am a consumer though. and i spend my hard earned cash on these books.
Whats the point in rushing out these books based on a pre-release, "hoping" there wont be any differences between this content and what actually goes into the final release?
What if ford were in development of a new type of airbag. it wasnt ready in time for the car though, so the car was released without?? could ford then go to the consumers and say"schedules were unrealistic and if you have a better method, let us hear it"? I know this is an absurd example but i thought id use an over exaggerated situation, but it makes a point.
Im here to buy a product and be sure the content is correct. the company is there to provide said product. to be honest, you dont make a point, more an excuse.
February 24, 2009 at 4:03 pm
The information you got is also in the SQL Server 2005 MAX CAP so the book is just sloppy. I find most Microsoft exam prep books are written by people with limited skills so see if you can return the book and use the exam skill tested page and BOL. Then get good practice test.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143432(SQL.90).aspx
Here is the skills tested but you should know there are some that may not be clear or even omitted so you need a practice test.
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exams/70-432.mspx
Kind regards,
Gift Peddie
February 25, 2009 at 6:04 am
winston Smith (2/24/2009)
Im not a writer, im not a publisher. i dont have better ideas.I am a consumer though. and i spend my hard earned cash on these books.
Whats the point in rushing out these books based on a pre-release, "hoping" there wont be any differences between this content and what actually goes into the final release?
What if ford were in development of a new type of airbag. it wasnt ready in time for the car though, so the car was released without?? could ford then go to the consumers and say"schedules were unrealistic and if you have a better method, let us hear it"? I know this is an absurd example but i thought id use an over exaggerated situation, but it makes a point.
Im here to buy a product and be sure the content is correct. the company is there to provide said product. to be honest, you dont make a point, more an excuse.
It's like expecting to buy a dictionnary today and expecting it to be 100% accurate and complete 50 years later. That just ain't going to happen.
Sorry you got burned, maybe their books are crap, just like there's crap in any kind of product on the planet. Buy another book, try returning that one pointing out the major problems and move on. Nothing else you can do here....
February 25, 2009 at 10:29 am
50 years, as opposed to SQL 2008, which was released....was it August 2008.
50 years = 6 months...hmm... hmmm... sorry, im just trying to see whats up with that statement. it doesnt look right.
also, im sure when the book was released MS knew it the product would support more than 1 instance in all versions? I mean were they going to take a step back from sql 2005? If they dont know "small" details like that 8months before a release ( the time it takes to write the book apparently), then jes they really are flying by the seat of their pants!!! as im sure they did know, the mistake is just laziness and bad editing.
My old 70-431 book is more up to date than the 70-432 as the table in there states the correct values!!!
February 27, 2009 at 5:54 am
I have got through the first chapter and I have to agree that the book so far seems poor. I note what everybody is saying about timescales BUT how about typo's such as ubisness for buisness (what they don't have a spell checker?) and in one of the test questions, one of the multiple choice answers (and the correct one!) was QL Configuration Manager rather than SQL Configuration Manager. Ok you may say that you would know it SQL but it seems to show the poor quality of the book.
I understand that point about timescale but I have paid good money for a book that is designed to help me to pass an exam, how can it when it gives wrong answers! I'm sure if you go to any school/college/university and found a course text book that had as many errors as this seems to, it would be dropped as a course book.
March 25, 2009 at 6:30 am
I've read through the book now. Apart from the issues already mentioned, I've found it a bit inconsistent in it's presentation and the chapters could be in a better order (e.g. Log Shipping before Replication). The only omission I noticed was that the DAC (Dedicated Administrator Connection) wasn't mentioned. Apart from that, I think this book does contain some useful information, but it's not as good as the 2005 edition.
April 7, 2009 at 4:00 am
Can anyone recommend an alternative to the MS guide for 70-432? After seeing Winston's review on Amazon, I'm a little reluctant to purchase this guide.
April 7, 2009 at 4:22 am
The only thing I can see is "The Real MCTS SQL Server 2008 Exam 70-432 Prep Kit" by Mark Horninger, but it's not due out until 22nd May.
April 7, 2009 at 4:24 am
Thanks Abbs, will keep an eye out for it 😎
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