Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administrator's Companion [With CD-ROM]

Don't get scared by its size. I thought the contents were very well presented and easy to read & understand. I thougth notes about what one can avoid from the author's years of experience was very helpful and proved to be true in many occasions for me as well. I used this book to plan out a server deployment and migration for a client and I was very grateful for the deployment tips.

If you are looking for a book with best practices on how to deploy IAS or to write a script that will automate the creation of user accounts, this is not the book for you. Though it goes through some best practices for setup for the most part, this is a how to book."How do I raise the domain function level in Active Directory?"Turn to page 396 to find out, this book is designed for queries like that. Though you can read the book and pick up tips and techniques, it is no way as in depth as a dedicated book. But I highly recommend this book to be on the desk of any administrator who's primary responsibilities include managing Windows Server 2003.

Having used Russel & Crawford's Windows 2000 Companion book for the last 3 years, I looked forward to their latest edition for Microsoft's 2003 Server. It has a solid clustering chapter, extensive planning and preparation chapters for those planning to migrate to Server 2003, and is simply the best single reference out there. Clearly another winner from Russel and Crawford.

This book is one of the most complete Windows 2000 books you could find. I read this book from cover to cover and is a great book to have as a complete Windows 2000 Server reference. Not full on every aspects (if you are looking for clustering configuration, this is not the book to purchase). It covers DHCP, WINS, DNS, Active Directory, Internet Information Services...and the rest of the Windows 2000 features very well. A very thick book, but worth the time.

I found this book to be a superb single volume reference. Easy to read, thorough, and well written. Especially strong chapters on the critical preparatory work that needs to be done before upgrading your network to Windows 2000. Clearly written by authors with real world knowledge of corporate networks, with excellent advise on avoiding and surviving disasters. And the CD has an actually useful online version of the book. A copy of this book is on every one of my system administrator's desktops, and it's always the first place they look for help.