Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell

Rating:
Summary: Are you ready to take on Windows Server 2003...
Review: Are you ready to take on Windows Server 2003 without a 1,500 page tome? This is the book; it has more Windows Server 2003 information per cubic inch than any other.

Unfortunately, some things were left out. While the coverage of the pre-installed shell commands is excellent, the resource kit and support tools are ignored. Also missing are advanced features such as network load balancing, message queuing, and clustering.

Still, an excellent book and definitely better than Stanek's.


Rating:
Summary: An invaluable reference
Review: Mitch Tulloch's "Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell" has 5 main sections. (1) A brief section on upgrading from NT or 2000 to W2003. (2) A brief section on changes from W2000 to W2003. (3) A small section outlining common administrative tasks (often referencing other areas of the book). (4) A "GUI reference" which is an alphabetical reference to the features and functions of W2003. (5) A command line reference. The last two sections occupy the majority of the book.

This book follows the same pattern as Tulloch's "Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell". That is, topics are arranged alphabetically - the (seemingly) obvious way to organize information in a book that is meant to be a reference, not a tutorial. But the W2003 book also improves on the arrangement of the W2000 book.

Tulloch's W2000 book had separate sections for the "concepts" and "tasks" of each topic. The W2003 book improves on this by combining concepts, tools, tasks and notes for each topic under a single heading. (By the way, the "notes" part of each topic alone probably makes the book worth purchasing). The beauty of this is that a topic can be easily found alphabetically with all the relevant information in one place.

I do have a couple of complaints. Many items that were covered as separate topics in the Windows 2000 book are combined under a single section in the Windows 2003 book. For instance, encryption and compression, separate topics in the Windows 2000 book, are under "Files and folders" in the 2003 book, making them harder to find (at least to me). Some minor headings in the W2000 book are no longer in the W2003 book. Overall, I liked the more granular approach of the 2000 book, although I realize there is a limit to how granular you can get.

The second complaint is that a few (very few) topics are strangely missing. There is, for instance, virtually nothing on the Registry or on Operations Masters - both important topics. (The 2000 book had the same omissions).

Overall, I found Tulloch's W2000 book far and away the most useful of the dozen or so Windows 2000 books I have. It was not only the best organized reference book making information easy to find, but Tulloch's writing is clear and concise. It became the textbook that I use in my college classes. "Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell" will now take its place. A great book that I already find invaluable.