Simple Solutions
The Windows XP/2000 Answer Book brings complex topics into focus.
- By Randy Muller
- February 01, 2003
There are few computer books I consider mandatory reading for new administrators
as well as experienced administrators and support staff.
The Windows
2000/XP Answer Book: A Complete Resource from the Desktop to the Enterprise
definitely falls into this category.
This monumental book is unique because it covers a great range of topics
and is organized around the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) found at
the author's (John Savill) Web site. Each chapter covers a specific area
of networking, emphasizing Windows 2000/XP, but including some NT coverage.
Each chapter is subdivided into one of the 1,500-plus FAQs, which makes
the book easy to read and follow.
The book covers the common areas of networking, as well as some that
are less popular. It starts off with a brief introduction to previous
versions of NT and then moves on to the specifics of the installation,
service packs, registry and recovery of Win2K and XP operating systems.
Other chapters address Active Directory, DFS, DNS, Group Policy, performance,
RAID, RAS and RRAS, Terminal Services, TCP/IP and so on. The largest section
covers system configuration. This chapter, when used in conjunction with
the chapters devoted to user configuration and desktop environments, will
assist even seasoned administrators in setting up and configuring appropriate
settings for users and networks.
There are several topics worth mentioning, as the FAQs they cover simply
don't fit into a specific chapter or are of a more general or esoteric
nature and might have easily been left out altogether. These sections
include Windows Scripting Host, batch files and command prompt. One common
area of networking that can only be learned from experience is problem-solving.
The book provides a section covering this topic that will prove invaluable
to all networking professionals. One of the newer proxy server/firewall
security products covered is Microsoft's Internet Security and Acceleration
Server 2000. This chapter covers the basics of installation, configuration
and troubleshooting.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Throughout, there are clear and concise
instructions on how to install, create and modify elements of all three
covered operating systems. I have only two criticisms. The first is the
sheer scope and size of this book. There's so much information that, at
times, it can be daunting to find the specific item you require. Including
a searchable copy of this book on a CD would have been invaluable. Second,
I was disappointed in the sections covering Group Policy and security.
I felt there should have been more coverage of these important subjects.
These are, however, only minor quibbles to this otherwise outstanding
effort.
About the Author
Randy Muller, MCSE, MCT, MCSA, is mainly teaches Windows 2000 classes. He has worked with Windows NT and Windows 2000 in Germany, Australia and the United States.