Hi,
I am looking for good documentation and examples to use to 'study' for Microsoft exam 70-431. This has everything to do with nuts-and-bolts Database Administration of SQL Server 2005.
The December BOL examples, do not cover enough topics. The topics that are covered are not in enough detail. The 70-431 exam requirements are very detailed.
This seems to be a nuts-and-bolts test. I am looking for nuts-and-bolts study material.
No books are published yet.
Does anyone have any good ideas on where to find 'good' samples and tutorials meant for a person who is studying for the new Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database Administrator Exam MCTS 70-431
All answers and ideas in 'any form' are appreciated.
Thank you very much.
Andre

MCTS Exam 70-431 Database Administration Study Documementation and Samples ?
Roman Koreshkov
Here is the url for the (a) book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/073562271X/104-7297463-7574318 v=glance&n=283155
That being said, does anyone know of any sites that contain links to online material for the test Something similar to http://www.codeclinic.com/70-320skills.htm
David Jordan
sivachidambaram
Thanks again,
Alexx
DDT
Thanks so much!
Alexx
Manonbbar
I am also going forward for the exam.
One of the books for MCTS windows application will be out any day now..
winterforever
Hi Andre,
I am also looking out for various resources for preparation of MCTS. We can collaborate, what do u say
Basel2
Has anyone had a chance to check out the new Transcender learning material:
http://www.transcender.com/product.aspx product%5Fid=Cert%2D70%2D431&dept%5Fid=102210
Thanks,
AIMDBA
Tommief
Where is the URL for the book purchase information
AIMDBA
ajstadlin2
francedic
selvabharathi
Later on~
Alexx
GrahamCownie
The 70-431 Training Kit from Microsoft Press that we wrote hit the shelves about 2 weeks ago. We designed this book to not only meet all of the objectives necessary for the exam, but also to become a core reference for SQL Server 2005. This book very definitely goes well beyond the exam while also covering everything that you need to know on the exam.
There's also one really big difference with this book, it contains a voucher for a 15% discount on the exam which is worth almost the price of the entire book. The exam engine that ships with the book was designed with questions that mimic what you are going to see on the exam. So, combine what you get with the 15% exam discount along with the cost of buying exam simulation software, then you are getting a book for free that goes well beyond the exam itself.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/073562271X/mssqlservercom/102-4828681-7857756
Rich Baker
From the amazon book url given above, has anyone checked out the other 70-431 learning books shown below.
Thanks,
AIMDBA
Jason W. Martin
Since you're not going to build a cluster with the 70-431 exam content, then you don't need Virtual Server. Virtual PC will work just fine. That's where I recommend that you do all of your testing. The primary reason is that it provides an isolated environment for your testing that won't impact other things. The second reason is that it becomes a self-contained image. So, you can build the base environment once, stop Virtual PC, make a copy of the .vhd & .vmc files, and then start everything back up. If you blow something up or just want to reset everything, all you have to do is shut down the VPC image and copy the .vhd and .vmc files back over.
All of the instructions for setup are done from a VERY conservative standpoint. I don't necessarily agree with that particular one, but I got overruled.
The SQL Server setup is going to drop .NET Framework 2.0 on your machine along with the Native Access Client and some setup support files. It then installs everything else which includes services and some other things.
It obviously isn't dangerous to do, you just have more software on your machine to contend with and SQL Server is completely stable. For testing/training environments, we're always going to recommend finding a machine you can blow up so that you can play as much as you want without having to worry about impacting anything else you are doing.