Windows 2000 (Win2K) and Exchange 2000 Server contain a lot of new technology that you need to master before you can efficiently deploy and manage these products in your systems. You can attend training classes and attempt to read all the information that Microsoft and others provide. However, too many sources distribute too much information to assimilate quicklywhich is where books come in.
A good book on computer technology assembles information from many sources and makes sense of complex subjects. A plethora of books are on the market, but the quality of the information varies enormously. The computer publishing trade faces some formidable obstacles.
1. The speed of change makes updating difficult. In the past, new versions of OSs and application programs appeared on a multiyear schedule, so you could measure a books lifetime in years. The Internet has increased the rate of change for technology, forcing developers to come up with new releases that implement a wide range of new features almost yearly. These rapid changes have shortened technology books shelf life and accelerated the pace of releasing new versions or updates.
Publishers must decide when to update texts as the technology evolves, but none have really yet solved this problem. Therefore, Exchange Server 5.5 books written in 1997 cover technology as it was then, but not necessarily now. Expect the same to happen with Exchange 2000, which introduces a new technology base that is expected to evolve rapidly over the next few years. Books are still valuable, but they can never represent the definitive answer for a technology, just a view of what it was at a specific time.
2. Too many books are based on beta code. The introduction of new technology starts a race to get computer books onto the market. Publishers want to release their books first, to gain market share. However, the publishing cycle takes many weeks, so if publishers time a books release to appear with a new products introduction, authors must base the text on beta code. Basing a book on beta code isnt all bad, as long as the development group has frozen features and functionality. However, sometimes the product changes in the final stages of development, and these details can be important. For example, if an Exchange Server 5.5 book specifies Edbutil instead of Eseutil as the name for the database maintenance utility, the author undoubtedly based the book on beta code and never updated the information for the final release.
I prefer to look for books that are based on a product that has been available for a while so that the text reflects real-life experience with the product in production. The publication date is often the best way to know whether a book was released early in a products life cycle.
3. Too many books only rehash Microsoft material. To its credit, Microsoft generates a huge amount of information about new technology, including white papers, Knowledge Base articles, and sample code. Sometimes, I see evidence that an author has merely reworked the Microsoft material into a book. I dont mind when an author takes important information and uses it to make a point, but some books are no more than evidence that people know how to use cut and paste far too well.
4. Writing for the enterprise market is difficult. Microsoft operates in several distinct markets. The company has huge sales in the small to mid-sized enterprise market and has special packages such as the Small Business Server (SBS), which integrates versions of popular applications such as Exchange. On the other end of the spectrum, global enterprises use the same products, but they use design, deployment, and operational techniques that are radically different from the techniques that smaller businesses use. Hardware and the type of network connectivity differ, too. Large companies are interested in clusters and Storage Area Networks (SANs), but small companies get by fine with single servers and direct connected storage. From an authors perspective, writing for the small enterprise is easier. You can set up the software on a single server, work with it for a while, and find out how the software works. Writing for people who have to work in an enterprise network that spans multiple domains, hundreds or thousands of servers, a variety of clients, and applications that must work together seamlessly in the environment is an entirely different matter. You cant emulate a corporate deployment of Win2K by installing Win2K Server on your notebook PC! Exchange 2000 is particularly difficult in this respect, because it depends on a solid Win2K deployment and probably requires a migration from an existing Exchange Server 5.5 organization.
These points need not stop you from buying computer books, which remain a prime source of information about technology. However, take time to investigate book recommendations before you invest money in what can be a disappointing and inaccurate read. Humans write books, and humans are fallible, so books have mistakes. The difference is that good books have small mistakes that dont affect you to a great extent. Bad books lead into black holes that waste time and money.
Tonys Booklist
My favorite books are written by authors who demonstrate their knowledge of technology through practical application. Here is a list of the books I have recently read and enjoyed. I recommend them all.
Sean Deuby, Windows 2000 Server: Planning and Migration (Macmillan Technical Publishing, 1999). Although based on beta code, a good overview of the steps you need to take to plan for a Win2K deployment.
Microsoft Consulting Services, Building Enterprise Active Directory Services: Notes from the Field (Microsoft Press, 2000). A lot of interesting information about the Active Directory (AD), including replication workload and sizing. The authors arent all Microsoft employees, and they present the information in an understandable manner.
Kieran McCorry, Connecting Microsoft Exchange Server (Digital Press, 1999). A practical guide to connecting Exchange Server 5.5 to SMTP and X.400 messaging environments, including a section on directory synchronization, which authors often overlook in discussions of connectivity.
Sue Mosher, Microsoft Outlook 2000 E-mail and Fax Guide (Digital Press, 2000). The best book on Outlook 2000; contains more information on the finer points of using Outlook than most brains care to remember.
Morten Strunge Nielsen, Windows 2000 Server Architecture and Planning (Coriolis Technology Press, 1999). A well written book from someone who knows his subject. The problem with any Win2K book available now is that it cant cover aspects such as the Win2K DataCenter Server or clustering well, but this book covers most other topics effectively.
Simon Robinson, Professional ADSI Programming (Wrox Press, 1999). A great insight into the AD from a programming perspective. You might not want to write any Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) code, but youll learn some valuable background information.