We’ve all seen the 1500-page mammoth tomes that show you how to do anything and everything for Windows Server. That’s great if you have absolutely no experience and you need help using an MMC snap-in. But what if you already know Windows Server 2000 cold? Or you know one particular area well enough to do your job and you want to see how Windows Server 2003 changes your responsibilities?
Enter the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Delta Guide. This short guide, under 300 pages, dives straight into the changes. No need to wade through all the stuff you already know. It clearly and concisely illustrates all of the new features and changes to existing features in Microsoft’s latest Server edition. There are plenty of screenshots to show what is going on, especially with the new “Manage Your Server” wizard.
What if you aren’t familiar enough with a topic to understand the changes? No problem. The book provides links to 29 online articles that cover the basics. These online articles are written in more of a tutorial fashion, assuming little to no familiarity with the topic. If you are not already familiar with Windows Server 2000, I would not suggest buying this book and trying to pick up the basics from the online articles. The depth of coverage just isn’t there, nor is it meant to be.
This book attempts to cover all of the changes in Windows Server 2003, so if you are a developer looking for coverage of only IIS 6 changes, don’t buy this book. On the other hand, if you are a sysadmin that manages Windows servers, and you need the latest info on Windows Server 2003, this is the book.
NOTE: If you really do need the 1500-page megatome, I’ve seen none better than Inside Windows Server 2003 by William Boswell.
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