Is the 70-463 (Data Warehousing) book worth it?

  • Hi all,

    I passed the 70-461 on Wednesday and am pretty keen to move onto 70-463.

    I'm from a data warehousing background so I should be comfortable with the 70-463 subject matter. However I have some questions that maybe someone can answer:

    Question 1:

    I found the 70-461 book to be really good for helping me to pass the exam but I'm hearing terrible things about the 463 book. Reviews refer to topics being covered badly, errors all over the place, code samples that don't work. Has anyone read the book yet and what did they think?

    Question 2:

    I work for a consultancy and am stuck on a very long running data warehousing project that uses SQL Server 2008. I'm experienced in Data Warehousing, SSIS and SSAS. I do not have day to day practical experience of SQL 2012 (yeah I know, I know!). How much has changed in terms of SSIS and SSAS between 2008 and 2012? Will much of the 2008 stuff I know be applicable for 2012?

    Once I start studying the answer to Question 2 will be answered I guess but I thought I'd ask anyway while I'm here. Question 1 is really important to me though - Is the book a waste time and I need to buy something else instead?

    Thanks,

  • I would say its worth it, I used this very book to pass the exam. Without breaking the NDA, topics also covered are Master Data Services and Data Quality Services which are documented in the book.

    Also the deployment and configuration methods are different in SQL 2012 for SSIS projects and packages which is covered in detail within the book.

    MCITP SQL 2005, MCSA SQL 2012

  • Thanks for the response.

    I guess buying the book makes sense as it is more or less going to be inline with the exam's requirements.

  • I've been studying with the 70-463 book, and not having much Data Warehousing experience, I'm having a tough time with it. There's a lot of technical information without a lot of context about why you'd want to use one feature or another. I suppose it would be easier to grasp if you were very falimiar with BIDS in SQL 2008. I've also wasted a lot of time banging my head only to find it was one of the errors that were mentioned.

    If you're very familiar with BIDS in SQL 2008 R2 I'd study this page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb522534.aspx

    as well as the Exam Objectives described on the Microsoft Certification page. Is the Second Shot promotion still going on? If so, you can go ahead and take the exam if you feel somewhat confident, and if you don't pass you'll have a better idea which areas you need to brush up on for the second attempt.

  • Yes the book is worth byuing, and you can get it from Amazon, link.

    As you said you are already working with SSIS/AS/RS, so the exams should be easy for you. And with just brushing up on the topics that are asked in the exam you will be able to pass easily.

    You can also refer to the MSDN Books-on-Line, check here you will get the links to the required study material to go thru.

    Link: http://sqlwithmanoj.com/2013/12/05/preparing-for-70-463-exam-implementing-a-data-warehouse-with-microsoft-sql-server-2012/[/url]

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