The toughest part of selecting a good technical reference book from those available might be telling them apart: The titles are often too similar to be of much help. For example, George Spaldings Windows 2000 Administration doesnt sound too different from the inevitable competitors named "Administration of Windows 2000" or "Windows 2000 System Administration." Spaldings book, however, is worth finding. The book is exceptionally thorough and it offers a broad perspective that is rare among administrative guides.
Most books that aim to instruct users about an operating system take one of two approaches: They provide exhaustive detail about procedures or they offer a high-level discussion of strategies for implementing or using the OS. One of the great strengths of Windows 2000 Administration is that Spalding walks the razors edge between these two approaches and gives us a book that comes admirably close to serving both detail and conceptual needs.
You could give the first chapter of Windows 2000 Administration to Information Systems managers to orient them to Win2K. The chapter covers the operating system's scope and importance, as well as specific functional features. Spalding addresses the client component, Windows 2000 Professional, as well as the Server versions, so Windows 2000 Administration is truly about the enterprise-wide changes that Win2K brings about.
If there is a weakness to Windows 2000 Administration, it is more the need for clarification than a failing: This book is not addressed to Win2K users in a small LAN, but is aimed at large multi-server, possibly multi-site, networks. Spalding writes primarily for server administrators, so Windows 2000 Administration is not a Win2K Professional users guide, with desktop tips and tricks. The book addresses Win2K Professional as a client in a larger network environment, with attention paid to desktop components that integrate with Active Directory (AD), Group Policies, and Distributed File System.
Still, much of the information in Windows 2000 Administration, especially the books hands-on tutorial sections, is applicable to any Win2K installation. Spalding's chapters cover the kind of material that will be included in many Microsoft Official Curriculum classes, including installing the operating system, using administrative tools, creating user accounts, sharing printers, and backing up data. Each of these tutorial sections is fully illustrated with screen images and any Win2K Server administrator, whether managing one server or hundreds, can gain a great deal of practical knowledge.
Because we are early in the life cycle of Win2K, Windows 2000 Administration also gives some attention to migration strategies. Unfortunately, the book falls down in this area a bit because it deals exclusively with converting Windows NT servers to Win2K. Except for a section dealing with metadirectories, the author gives almost no attention to Novell NetWare or Unix systems. Considering that Spalding has considerable experience working with NetWare, this is surprising -- and disappointing. Many enterprises will need to integrate NetWare and Win2K or replace NetWare with Win2K.
It is in discussion of topics such as metadirectories, which integrate independent directories like Microsofts AD and Novells NDS, that Windows 2000 Administration sets itself apart from other "how to" administrative guides. Instead of the shareware-loaded CD-ROMs that now seem to accompany most technical texts as an attempt to add value, Spalding has a unique "bonus": eight pages of "blueprints" walk you through the choices and implications involved in AD planning.
The book divides its attention equally between the strategic implementation of AD and implementing Win2K as a tactical operating system upgrade. The author devotes as much space to dealing with planning and design as he does to performing administrative tasks. Spalding clearly sees Win2Ks potential as a broad replacement for an enterprises computing environment, not merely as an operating system upgrade.
Windows 2000 Administration offers a very comprehensive look at the issues critical to integrating Win2K in a large network, as well as the functional procedures required to run the operating system. As a result, it is as close as one might come to a book that can serve as a single reference for Win2K.
Windows 2000 Administration
Author: George Spalding
Publisher: Osborne / McGraw-Hill
Date published: 4/2000
ISBN 0-07-882582-2
$44.99
634 pages