Microsoft Windows Networking Essentials

I bought this book to study for the 98-366 Microsoft exam so I could get into WGU. Just like everybody else is saying, this book makes a rather drab subject interesting. Also, I did like the information in it, as the info correlated pretty closely to the actual exam. After reading the book, I passed said exam first try within 15 minutes.On a side note, I've noticed a lot of people complaining about the answers to the questions at the end of the chapters not being in the book. Perhaps I got a newer version but the answers to the questions are, in fact, in the book. They are just towards the very back of the book. I didn't know this until I was almost finished with the book because I had read reviews saying the answers weren't in the book, so I didn't bother looking. Just so you know.

This is probably one of the most valuable IT books I own, it really covers a lot of information, it is well-written, and it's worth having regardless if you plan to take the exam or not. I wish I had this book over a decade ago when I started my corporate IT career, it filled in some gaps for me. The author has a skill for keeping the reader interested. I'll be keeping my eye out for more books by Darril Gibson.One thing worth mentioning is that this book did not cover a network topology, the difference between distance-vector and link-state routing, or a three-homed perimeter network. You can find what you need in these articles:[...]

I read this book as an introduction to networking in an attempt to prepare myself for some of the more in-depth books on the subject. I used this along with the Mike Myer's Network+ All-in-One and the CompTIA Network+ Exam Cram to pass my Network+ exam after a month and a half of studying.To start, the quality of this book is something to behold. It really feels like when Sybex made the "Essentials" series they really took an attentive effort to create something that you'd be proud to have on your bookshelf. The book comes with full-color pictures, glossy white pages, and feels like it could stand up to quite a bit of handling.Content-wise this book is truly a godsend for someone who really needs things laid out step by step or may not have a lot of experience in the field. He takes his time and defines a lot of jargon before using it in his explanations which I found to be very beneficial. Also, he doesn't go too deep into a subject as to overwhelm you.This was actually the first book I read by Darril and his ability to effectively model complex subjects is what lead to my decision to buy two of his other books on computer security. Despite all this, there were a few times throughout the book that I felt as if prior information, introduced earlier in the book, was conflicting with what I was currently reading. This was especially the case when it came to the section on subnetting. A few of the models there either felt like they had typos or I wasn't understanding them correctly. I'm sure the book has been thoroughly checked for content errors, so I attribute this more to presentation than anything. All other models in the book I found to be very succinct and exactly what I needed to grasp each concept.I'd recommend this book to the person that has grown up with IT their whole life, but has never actually learned what is going on behind the scenes. Also, this serves a good primer for more in-depth material on the subject.

I used this for a college class. It is really simple to read and contains a ton of information. I ended up with an A in the class, but probably because my instructor was pretty easy. If you are planning to take the Microsoft Network Exam, I believe they are phasing it out in 2022, so verify before you purchase.

I LOVE well written and fun to read books. Pulling that off in the tech field is a rare accomplishment!Coming from a CCNA perspective myself, this book has done a great job of filling in a lot of cracks and resolving a lot of little mysterious things that I never heard explained in plain english. Good use of comparisons and analogies without insulting your intelligence.Im really looking forward to reading all four of the MTA I.T. exam track books that Sybex has published. Good job Sybex in creating these really helpful and attractive volumes!

I took and passed the MTA 98-366 Exam, but it was not by this book alone. (Exam date 3/20/15)While it is a good book and has good information, my problem with it is that it is being sold as a book for the exam listed on the front cover. The reasons I marked it only a 3 star are listed below.This book does not have all the material alone that you will need to pass the exam (maybe 80% of exam objectives). You will want to find some additional exam questions as well. I also used the Microsoft Virtual Academy for free videos on this topic. That also is not enough alone to pass the exam. but together worked well. This book is written in a very reader friendly fashion and explains info well. However there is some critical information missing on WAN technologies and different Network Topologies. ETC.As noted in some other comments, This book has quite a few errors. specifically in the Sub-netting section. and even the corrected answers on the sybex website are wrong. However, if you get the concept of what they are saying in that section then you can Identify the errors. If you don't, then you will be confused and still not understand it.Overall it was a decent book and gave a good amount of information, even if it lacked many key details. It would be a great book if you do not intend to take the exam and just want some basic knowledge of networking. For those taking the exam, the questions in this book are way too easy, you have to understand more practical networking use and troubleshooting.