Exam Cram 2: Designing And Implementing Databases With SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition - Softcover

Moore, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0789731061 ISBN 13: 9780789731067

Publisher: Que Pub, 2005

Synopsis

The MCAD/MCSE/MCDBA 70-229 Exam Cram 2: Designing & Implementing Databases with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition covers exactly what you need to know to pass the 70-229 exam. It is the ideal refresher that ensures readers cover the essentials and the ultimate complement guide for larger training guides, instructor-led classes or CBT training. This comprehensive reference guide also comes with the popular "Cram Sheet" tear card for your last minute cram sessions, and the accompanying CD includes a practice test engine powered by MeasureUp. You will also benefit from the community support at www.examcram2.com, which features industry news, study tips, practice exams, and discussion boards.

About this title

About the Author

Designing and Implementing Databases with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise EditionAbout the Author

Thomas Moore (MCSE, MCSA, MCSD, MCDBA, MCT, CSE, CTT+) has been in the computer industry for more than 25 years. Thomas has a wide variety of expertise in all hardware environments and with most Microsoft Server products. "My first and lasting love," he says, "besides my wife and family, however, is programming." Thomas is comfortable in any programming language environment, achieving his MCSD and MCDBA certifications from their inception and recently completing his Microsoft CSE certification as a certified software engineer with Microsoft Business Solutions products. Over the past 18 years he has been working for various Microsoft partners and currently is an Intermediate Developer/Technical Consultant with Diamond Municipal Solutions (formerly Diamond Software) in Paris, Ontario, where he has been for the past three years. Thomas enjoys staying up-to-date, although, like most of us, he finds it a challenge to keep up with the pace of the industry.

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Designing and Implementing Databases with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

Designing and Implementing Databases with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

Introduction

So into the world of database development we plunge. The selection you have made of this Exam Cram 2 series book will help you along your way to passing the 70-229 exam. You will find information within this book that will help ensure your success as you pursue this Microsoft exam and MCDBA certification.

This Introduction explains MCDBA certification in general and talks about how the Exam Cram 2 series can help you prepare for the 70-229 exam. This Introduction discusses the basics of the MCDBA certification, including test-taking strategies. Chapters 1 through 10 are designed to remind you of everything you need to know to take and pass the exam. The two sample tests at the end of the book should give you a reasonably accurate assessment of your knowledge and, yes, we've provided the answers and their explanations. Along with the explanations, you will find some particularly useful links to more information on the topic. For each answer there is a reference to the chapter of the book that covers the topic, as well as a link to more information on the Microsoft MSDN site and another to SQL Server books online.

Read the book and understand the material, and you'll stand a very good chance of passing the test. Make use of the additional links to the other materials and points of reference, and that, along with actual product use, will put you in excellent shape to do well on the exam.

Exam Cram 2 books help you understand and appreciate the subjects and materials necessary to pass Microsoft certification exams. Exam Cram 2 books are aimed strictly at test preparation and review. They do not teach you everything you need to know about a topic. Instead, we present and dissect the questions and problems we've found that you're likely to encounter on a test. We've worked to bring together as much information as possible about Microsoft certification exams.

The MCDBA certification will require you to know considerable information about the SQL Server product and its deployment with a network infrastructure. You must pass the two product-specific exams, 70-228 (SQL Administration) and 70-229 (SQL Implementation). You must also pass a networking exam dealing with Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server. Finally, you must select an elective to complete the certification. This could be a networking elective or programming elective, and there are numerous choices to select from. Again, consult the Microsoft website for more specific information.

Approximately 130,000 professionals have earned the MCDBA certification at the time this book was written. This would seem to indicate that even though the certification is challenging, it is most certainly attainable. The 70-229 exam is also one of the possible electives on the MCSD and MCSD.net certification paths.

About the Exam and Content Areas

The exam 70-229: Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition includes a variety of content. For specifics on the exam, check the exam guide on the Microsoft website at this URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-229.asp

The broad topic areas covered by the exam include the following:

• Developing a Logical Data Model—Application of common database development theories to a database design project is initiated using common industry standards.

• Implementing the Physical Database—Turning the design into a reality within the SQL Server framework is the start toward SQL Server–specific implementation.

• Retrieving and Modifying Data—Getting the data in and out and manipulating the data to produce the results will be expected within the business solution.

• Programming Business Logic—Complex task will require procedure development and programming technique.

• Tuning and Optimizing Data Access—An application, once in place, will need to be analyzed and tweaked.

• Designing a Database Security Plan—Confidential data must be protected and access to areas of data controlled to prevent corruption.

Each of the task areas represents elements of a systems design from the outset of a project. The exam will be taking systems from a rough design through to the specifics of the implementation and then following up with fine-tuning of the application to improve performance and guarantee security.

How to Prepare for the Exam

The implementation exam is somewhat difficult to prepare for because it is very broad in scope. This is not an exam you can adequately prepare for by simply rote-memorizing terms and definitions. You need to be able to analyze a scenario and answer by combining various knowledge points from various topic areas. Successfully completing this exam requires a great deal of thought and analysis to properly choose the "best" solution from several "viable" solutions in many cases.

As stated and restated, this exam is best prepared for by doing. You must work with the databases and all the related objects to be comfortable with the material being addressed by the exam.

The only other recommendation we would give is to leave no stone unturned. You should be spending a considerable amount of time within SQL Server Books Online. This help facility is installed with the product, available from the Start menu, and it has a phenomenal amount of information. The other resource is http://www.microsoft.com. In particular, visit the MSDN library site. Within these two additional resources you'll find every answer to every question on the exam.

What This Book Will Do

This book is designed to be read as a pointer to the areas of knowledge you will be tested on. In other words, you might want to read the book one time just to get insight into how comprehensive your knowledge of this topic is. The book is also designed to be read shortly before you go for the actual test. We think you can use this book to get a sense of the underlying context of any topic in the chapters or to skim-read for Exam Alerts, bulleted points, summaries, and topic headings.

We have drawn on material from Microsoft's own listing of knowledge requirements, from other preparation guides, and from the exams themselves. We have also drawn from a battery of technical websites, as well as from our own experience with application development and the exam. Our aim is to walk you through the knowledge you will need. By reading this book, you will gain from the experience of real-world professional development.

What This Book Will Not Do

This book will not teach you everything you need to know about database development. The scope of the book is exam preparation. The book is intended to ramp you up and give you confidence heading into the exam. This book is also not intended as an introduction to database design and implementation. It reviews what you need to know before you take the test, with its fundamental purpose dedicated to reviewing the information needed on the Microsoft certification exam.

This book uses various teaching and memorization techniques to analyze the exam-related topics and to provide you with everything you will need to know to pass the test.

About the Book

We suggest that you read this book from front to back. You will not be wasting your time, because nothing we have written is a guess about an unknown exam. We have had to explain certain underlying information on such a regular basis that we have included those explanations here.

After you have read the book, you can brush up on a certain area by using the index or the table of contents to go straight to the topics and questions you want to reexamine. We have trie...

Edition details

• Publisher: Que Pub
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0789731061
• ISBN 13: 9780789731067
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 473