Considering that the ISA software costs $ 1,500, buying this book to install the software legally and fool around with it in your spare time is a net savings of $ 1,440. The book itself is a step backwards from Microsoft's beginner series is usually very good ', and not fish or poultry - do not offer a gentle introduction to basic concepts that most Microsoft training kits do, and it contains a howling vacuum when it comes to real-life examples. What remains is a book that describes each function ISA in loving detail, without ever telling you why you want to use one of them. Let us give life real instruction from the book to explain what we mean: On the Cache tab, select one of the following options contained in the Cache Content section: If you want all content to be cached, select the All Content, Including Dynamic Content, Will Cached radio button. If you want the content to be cached only if source and request headers indicate to cache, select the If Source and Request title Indicate to Cache, Then the Object Will radio button Cache. If the object is taken should not be cached, select the radio button Will Never Content Cache. See what's missing? At that point there is not this book actually say what the deficiency or excess of caching dynamic content. Why do you want to do it? What is the difference between the real world and caching dynamic content caching only the content that shows the header should be cached - and what option do most system admins choose? You know what ISA can do without being told the reasons behind the choice, or even a clue as what is usually the best choice. Indeed, most Microsoft training kits notorious when it comes to actually preparing you for what you will encounter on the exam - sample questions they are not even in the standard multiple choice MCSE / MCSA format, for the sake of my goodness - but they excel in providing an introduction foundation for beginners and refresher courses are excellent, making them perhaps the best starting point in this business for any serious certification student. This book discusses the attacks that Microsoft can automatically detect, but do not tell you what to look at the log, or what general approaches hackers take, or even what to do when you are under a Denial of Service attacks. That is not to say that you can not learn something from the book - it actually has more content than many other training kits.