either 'A beginners guide to the basics you need to know to get through the rest / MCSE MCSA exam, Managing Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment should be the first book you buy - and it will continue to be useful to the rest of the exam you'll take. Basically, this book is the absolute minimum you need to know in order to manage and conserve the environment Win2k - how to share files, how to manage disks, and how to use TCP / IP correctly. If you do not know what DNS or WINS is you will have a strong idea of what the DNS server is functioning properly at the moment looks like it's all over. This paper weight in the exercises - about a quarter of the book consists of recipes simple task that can be done by two computer network. (Do not worry, they show how to set it right after you finish.) Some aspects of this book is a dramatic improvement over Microsoft's last book - the part about NTFS permissions, for example, is miles ahead of anything Microsoft has done previously, nailed to a fairly complex problem of overlapping licenses with ease and grace. Section on the disc drive also performed very well, and while I doubt anyone will ever be able to write parts of the dry monstrously TCP / IP that can be called fun, Managing Microsoft Windows 2000 Network properly communicate the essence of TCP / IP, DNS, and DHCP. Similarly, weaknesses in Microsoft's books the previous real world experience - the exam itself consists of most of the chaotic network problems. This is still a problem, and the book was not a substitute for experience, but the tips sprinkled throughout this book (which they provided a list of fundamental problems faced in a Win2K network and their solutions) is a nice touch. Unfortunately, most complex part of Windows 2000 - Active Directory and Group Policy famous - is the weakest part of the book. However, this book comes with a 120-day trial version of Windows 2000 Server, enabling you to get your hands dirty with your own version. In short, Managing Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment is not for the expert - but then again, the experts probably would have passed this exam without really need a book.