Book Reviews
Make Win2K Work—And Keep it Working
Use this “text book” to learn the ins and outs of Win2K administration.
- By Paul G. Brown
- 12/01/2000
This volume is a slightly irreverent look at Microsoft’s
newest operating system, and its title perfectly describes
its focus: administration. Nothing fancy or gee-whiz here;
just make Win2K work and keep it working.
You might be tempted to skip the introduction, which
would be a mistake as it’s such a great starting point.
A chapter-by-chapter breakdown explains what’s covered;
rather than sorting through a table of contents or index,
you can quickly identify the chapter containing the information
you need.
The administrator’s job begins at installation—good thing,
since that’s where this book starts. Two chapters cover
Win2K installation. Many books would deal strictly with
the server, but this starts with the client. One chapter
is dedicated to Win2K Professional installation and configuration
and talks about performing unattended installations. The
book then completely covers new and upgrade installations.
Those upgrading from NT 4.0 will be happy with the amount
of relevant information found in the book.
Active Directory takes up four chapters. Chapter 9 starts
with a discussion of AD and how it is installed, and so
on. Again, NT isn’t forgotten, as there’s a detailed discussion
of how to handle the upgrading of NT PDC/BDCs and Mixed/Native
Mode.
Chapter 11 is a must-read for the day-to-day administrator.
It digs deeply into Organizational Units management and
other administrative tasks. From groups to shared printers,
this chapter explains how to achieve the control needed
without wasting hours clicking on every icon in the Management
Console.
One of the book’s best parts is the author’s approach—he’s
not afraid to admit he likes both Microsoft and Win2K.
Yet, when appropriate, he’s not afraid to rake Microsoft
over the coals. This style can be read with a mental wink
and nudge, and you may even find yourself chuckling a
few times. One thing’s for sure, leave the pillow at home—you
won’t need it.
While a solid book, this volume could’ve been made even
better with more liberal use of “text callouts.” The author
is careful to point out traps and pitfalls when working
with Win2K, but often these bits of wisdom are buried
in the text. Had these snippets been pulled out and highlighted,
for example, as larger text in a box, they would’ve been
immediately apparent to the reader.
If you’re looking for a well-rounded guide to Win2K network
administration, this is the book for you. The number of
screenshots employed ensures that you won’t be lost when
trying to step through a process. I see this as a “text
book” for network administrators.
About the Author
Paul G. Brown, MCSD, a developer, speaker, and a frequent contributor to MCPmag.com, lives in New Berlin, Illinois. When not in front of the computer, he can be found chasing Jerry, Wesley, Jordan and Dillon for Mom.