MCDBA 70-229- 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 aimedstrictly 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:

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 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 tried to use the headings and subheadings to provide outline information about each given topic. After you have been certified, we think you will find this book useful as a tightly focused reference and an essential foundation of information systems and controls auditing.

Each Exam Cram 2 chapter follows a regular structure, and provides graphical cues about especially important or useful material. The structure of a typical chapter is as follows:

• Opening hotlists--Each chapter begins with lists of the terms you will need to understand and the concepts you will need to master before you can be fully conversant in the chapter's subject matter. We follow the hotlists with a few introductory paragraphs, setting the stage for the rest of the chapter.

• Topical coverage--After the opening hotlists, each chapter covers the topics related to the chapter's subject.

• Exam Alerts--Throughout the text, we highlight material most likely to appear on the exam by using a special Exam Alert that looks like this:

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  Caution - This is what an Exam Alert looks like. An Exam Alert stresses concepts, terms, or best practices that will most likely appear in one or more certification exam questions. For that reason, we think any information presented in an Exam Alert is worthy of unusual attentiveness on your part.

• Even if material is not flagged as an Exam Alert, all the content in this book is associated in some way with test-related material. What appears in the chapter content is critical knowledge.

• Notes--This book is an overall examination of database design and implementation. As such, we delve into many aspects of business systems. Where a body of knowledge is deeper than the scope of the book, we use notes to indicate areas of concern.

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  Note - Cramming for an exam will get you through a test, but it will not make you a competent database implementation professional. Although you can memorize just the facts you need to know in order to become certified, your daily work in the field will rapidly put you in water over your head if you do not know the underlying principles.

• Tips--We provide tips that will help you build a better foundation of knowledge or focus your attention on an important concept that reappears later in the provide a helpful way to remind you of the context surrounding a particular area of a topic under discussion.

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  Tip - Much of the performance of a database system comes out of a strong design. In contrast, a poor design will not perform well after it's implemented. Take the time during the initial stages of design to put together a sound foundation for the system.

• Practice questions--This section presents a short list of test questions related to the specific chapter topic. Following each question is an explanation of both correct and incorrect answers. The practice questions highlight the areas we found to be most important on the exam.

The bulk of the book follows this chapter structure, but we would like to point out a few other elements:

• The Cram Sheet--This appears as a tear-away sheet inside the front cover of this Exam Cram 2 book. It is a valuable tool that represents a collection of the most difficult-to-remember facts and numbers we think you should memorize before taking the test. Remember, you can dump this information out of your head onto a piece of paper as soon as you enter the testing room. These are usually facts that we have found require brute-force memorization. You need to remember this information only long enough to write it down when you walk into the test room. Be advised that you will be asked to surrender all personal belongings other than pencils before you enter the exam room itself.

• You might want to look at the Cram Sheet while in your car or in the lobby of the testing center just before you walk into the testing center. The Cram Sheet information is div headings, so you can review the appropriate parts just before each test.

• Self-Assessment--This is a quick look at your current status in preparing for the 70-229 Exam. This section contains some quick questions to ask yourself prior to diving into the book. Answer the questions honestly, and the advice given will allow you to make better use of your preparation time.

• Glossary--This is an extensive list of important terms used in this book.

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