Best-selling authors and expert instructors Don Poulton and David Camardella share preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve both your conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills. Material is presented in a concise manner, focusing on increasing your understanding and retention of exam topics. The book presents you with an organised test preparation routine through the use of proven series elements and techniques. Exam topic lists make referencing easy. Chapter-ending Exam Preparation Tasks help you drill on key concepts you must know thoroughly. Review questions help you assess your knowledge, and a final preparation chapter guides you through tools and resources to help you craft your final study plan. The companion CD contains the powerful Pearson IT Certification Practice Test engine, complete with hundreds of exam-realistic questions. The assessment engine offers you a wealth of customisation options and reporting features, laying out a complete assessment of your knowledge to help you focus your study where it is needed most. Well-regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, and challenging review questions and exercises, this study guide helps you master the concepts and techniques that will enable you to succeed on the exam the first time. The CD contains two free, complete practice exams.

Don Poulton (A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA, MCSE) is an independent consultantwho has been involved with computers since the days of 80-column punch cards. After more than 20 years in environmental science, Don switched careers and trained as a Windows NT 4.0 MCSE. He has been involved in consulting with a couple of small training providers as a technical writer, during which time he wrote training and exam prep materials for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Don has written or contributed to several titles, including Security+ Lab Manual (Que, 2004); MCSA/MCSE 70-299 Exam Cram 2: Implementing and Administering Security in a Windows 2003 Network (Exam Cram 2) (Que, 2004); MCSE 70-294 Exam Prep: Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure (Que, 2006); MCTS 70-620 Exam Prep: Microsoft Windows Vista, Configuring (Que, 2008); MCTS 70-680 Cert Guide: Microsoft Windows 7, Configuring (Que, 2011); MCTS 70-640 Cert Guide: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring (Que, 2011); MCTS 70-642 Cert Guide: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring (Que, 2012); and MCSA 70-687 Cert Guide: Configuring Microsoft Windows 8.1 (Que, 2014).    David G. Camardella has more than 14 years of experience as a systems architect, network engineer, and IT manager. Throughout his career, David has used his technical and leadership skills to successfully support infrastructures from small to large organizations. David's experience includes managing a North American datacenter, branch office server rooms, LAN/WLAN/WAN infrastructures, Active Directory/Messaging infrastructures, private clouds, and client computing systems. Over the years, David has performed technical editing for several Microsoft and Cisco books.