windows server 2003 active directory design and implementation
Anyone can learn the basics of Active Directory in a few hours; it's not rocket science. It's when you start implementing Active Directory that you'll run into some snags. This book tries to clear those snags up -- and does a decent job of it, too!
John Savill took a nice approach to writing this book: scenarios and real-world examples. He creates four scenarios that any Windows Administrator will run into sometime or another:
- Upgrading from NT4 to an Active Directory infrastructure
- Creating an AD domain that spans multiple sites
- Upgrading from a Windows 2000 domain to a 2003 domain
- Merging two companies into a forest
Each scenario is explained very clearly and the steps to reach the solution are complete and nicely detailed. However, don't think that the author is just going to list the steps to the answer and let the reader be on their way. John also explains the concepts and workings of Active Directory throughout the book. By doing this, you get a nice mixture of theory and implementation. The book also has several screenshots and diagrams which serve as excellent visual aids.
There're two things I would've liked to have seen in this book, however. The first is lab-type exercises. The scenarios are great and get the point across nicely, but it would have been much better if steps were given to set up the scenario in a testing lab. This way, the reader can actually do the processes in the book instead of just reading them. Of course, you could always just assume the network layout, but then you always run the risk of making a wrong guess and get tangled.
The second request is a better book layout. As it stands right now, most scenarios take up one chapter but one takes up two chapters. This breaks the uniformity of a consistant layout. I think splitting the book up into Parts and subdivide the Parts into Chapters would have been a better approach. Each Part could designate a scenario. But that's just cosmetic stuff!
In ending, while this book isn't a total Active Directory learning tool, John has definitely written a must read. If you're new to Active Directory, my opinion would to read this once you've got your basics covered.
I give it 9/10
