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.