Customer Reviews

IBM Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are a few great things about this book that set it apart from the IBM documentation, one major difference, before even getting into the content of the book, is the fact it's a book. It's available physically, you can read this in bed, read it in your bathtub, read it on the toilet, it really doesn't matter it's a physical book! Try that with the IBM documentation, Wikis or Infocenter.

But there's a lot more about this book that is better than the IBM documentation than just it's physical attributes. Reading this book it is obvious that the writers have actually performed the install, they've experienced the real life gotchas that the IBM Documentation doesn't. It also explains things in terms you're more likely to understand. This book was written by people that know the older versions of Sametime that weren't WebSphere based (that for many people were easier to understand), and with that knowledge they spend extra time focusing on the areas they know traditional Sametime Administrators may struggle.

IBM documentation is so bad, there is even an IBMer that has taken to making presentations that consist of nothing but screenshots to get admins through an installation without really explaining what is going on,so there is a definite need for alternative forms of assistance/information, especially one that explains what's going on, and that's where this book comes in.

Whilst this book may not cover every possible property file setting, or every Websphere service pack release note, this publication provides a great overview of Sametime 8.5.2 Administration and enough documentation to get you started with your initial deployment/migration.

Note: I was a technical reviewer of this publication, and PACKT provided me with a free copy of the book for my services.

Sametime 8.5.2 is a very different beast then previous versions. With the new WebSphere components there is a lot to learn for somebody who has never used WebSphere and this book really helped explain a lot of the WebSphere concepts which are really different to anything a Domino admin has ever dealt with before.

With the help of this book I was able to get our new SameTime 8.5.2 environment up and running perfectly and now our users are able to use the new system with their iPhones/iPads and other devices while on the road.

A great read for anybody new to WebSphere who has to deploy SameTime 8.5.2

Nearly 500 pages of content from three of the best Domino and Sametime admins in the world. I am fortunate enough to know all three personally, and can tell you that they checked every single word and tested every single suggestion and recommendation in this book personally. There are very few people in the world who are personally responsible for more end users using Sametime, for more servers running it, or for more integration projects with it.

This book is a "must have" for Sametime administrators and explains the installations, administration and also explains
the purpose of the single parts of a Sametime 8.5.2 environment very well.

Perfect job from the authors.

I've received my copy of IBM Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide and I can say I was eagerly looking forward to reading it. I was not disappointed. The book clearly covers Sametime 8.5.2 from A to Z.

One thing that struck me in a positive way is how logically the chapters are arranged. Starting with an overview of Sametime, including what's new in 8.5.2, the book covers topics that include infrastructure, different features including telephony integration, and Sametime security, to name just a few. One has the feeling that this is how IBM should have written the documentation for Sametime. I know I have at one time or another had that feeling that IBM's documentation was missing a piece of information that could have made my life a lot easier. This book would have done just that - made installing Sametime much easier.

The book is full of charts and tables. For example, it has a list of Sametime server system requirements. Instead of using the IBM term "32-bitness" the book actually spells out in plain English language which versions of Sametime and their components run on which version of each supported operating system. I would dare say the price of the book is worth this type of information alone. One neat feature of this book is the really helpful "checklists". Not only do these checklists force you to have the required information before your first click of a Sametime install, the checklists make system documentation much easier. All user names, hostnames, passwords, etc all ready to be printed out and binded.

The book covers basic information and more advanced topics. The writing is such that a beginner will not have a hard time understanding what is being described, and advanced administrators will not be bored either. The writing style is concise and informative. There are numerous instances where learn by experience tips are given. These tips should be noted as they will come in handy when you are performing your Sametime install.

Here are a few of items that really impressed me with this book.

Sametime worksheets/checklists
Several example scenarios for each topic are outlined in the Chapter introduction
Troubleshooting and additional resources sections
Excellent WAS information for Domino Administrators who are just getting started with WAS

Overall I feel this book covers just about every aspect of Sametime you need or want to know. The book is easy to read and covers advanced information and concepts with ease.
If I had to describe this book I would say it's similar to some recent Lotusphere presentations:
IBM Lotus Sametime 8.5: From "Zero to Hero" in Just Two Hours on Steroids

Note: PACKT provided me with a free copy of the book for my services.

As both an admin and developer, I do not work much with Sametime other than as an end user. Occasionally I do get pulled into a Sametime project and have always wanted a solid, reliable source of information on Sametime from an administrator's point-of-view. Finally, this resource exists in the form of the IBM Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide written by the extremely knowledgeable nerd girls Gabriella Davis and Marie L. Scott, and the incomparable Thomas "Duffbert" Duff.

The book opens with a useful introduction to Sametime 8.5.2. The chapter gives overviews of the different aspects of the Sametime architecture (system console, community server, meeting server, proxy server, etc.), along with helpful information on licensing, and helps admins with an existing Sametime environment answer the install or upgrade question.

Chapters 2 - 5 take a deeper dive into the architecture and pre-installation planning needed for Sametime 8.5.2. Chapter 2 is all about installation requirements, customization (when applicable) and deployment scenarios of the different aspects of Sametime that were touched on in Chapter 1. Chapter 3 is all about telephony. Chapter 4: The Infrastructure: Understanding Sametime and WebSphere Application Server Architecture is a must read chapter for all Sametime admins who have not had prior WebSphere experience! It explains the different concepts and terms that admins will come across in WebSphere, the location of files (profiles, logs, etc.), and the different deployment scenarios. Finally, Chapter 5 hits on those key decisions points such as infrastructure design, piloting Sametime, integration, software and hardware requirements, planning for DB2 and LDAP, migration, etc.

Chapter 6 is the requisite "installing [software name goes here]" chapter. I usually skip these chapters as they are nothing more than cheap filler. But not with this book! With Sametime now running on WebSphere, unless you are already a WebSphere admin, this chapter is a life saver! Detailing every step of the process across 90 pages, this chapter will be your guide to a clean install.

Chapter 7 - 11 cover the post-installation items such as setting up authentication (Chapter 7), the Sametime business cards (Chapter 8), connecting to Sametime Advanced and Sametime Gateway (Chapter 9), Sametime client deployment (Chapter 10), and finally mobile (Chapter 11).

The book wraps up with Chapter 12 and the all important topic of monitoring and basic WebSphere troubleshooting, as well as some useful worksheets, widget information, and SDK information in the four appendices.

Disclaimer: Packt Publishing provided a free review copy of the book for the purpose of this review.

It took me a while to go thru all of the content, but inally I made it and here is my review.
IBM Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide was written by Gabriella Davis, Marie L. Scott and Thomas "Duffbert" Duff.
I have attended sessions by Gabriella Davis and Thomas Duff at several conferences and while reading the book, I sometimes felt like sitting in the audience and hear Gabriella and Tom talking. I never had the chance to meet Marie L. Scott but I'm sure that she is as enthusiastic as the other authors.
All of them have a deep knowledge and so is the content of the book.
Every detail of the installation and administration is covered and one should be able to setup a Sametime environment following the description in the book step by step. If I only had this book a year ago, it would have saved me a lot of time then.
My first installation took me more than a week. One week with reading documentation, hanging around in forums and chatting with IBMer Frank Altenburg. And a lot of try and error.
Be asured that, following the book, you can do the installation in less time.
Also, if you are new to Websphere, this book is for you. IBM Sametime is not as easy to setup as double-click a setup.exe and wait. There are many places to look into and numerous properties that can be set or eaven been set wrong.
You can do it the hard way and find out on your own, or invest some money buying this book. There will be an immediate ROI.
The book may also help planning the resources by finding out, what exactly is needed, both hardware and soft skills.
I recommend "IBM Sametime 8.5.2 Administration Guide" to everyone who is new to Sametime, wants to upgrade from an older version and even to those, who already have a Sametime 8.5.x environment running. You will for sure find something in the book that is new to you.

Great walk through of the technology and "real world" scenarios. Makes a welcome reference that ties together several whitepapers, redbooks and technotes for a complete deployment.

This book was written by three people who definitely made their mark in the IBM Lotus Community and are known for giving great presentations on this subject. The goal of the book is to help administrators and architects who want to start using or upgrade to Lotus Sametime 8.5.x, to plan, install and administer this new environment. I feel they've succeeded in this attempt. They've come up with a book that's complete and well structured.
The book starts off with an explanation of the different components in the Lotus Sametime portfolio. As the Sametime Standard Server alone already consists of 8 different parts, that's very welcome. Not every company will need all the components and the book describes clearly when you need which component. The book also describes the other Sametime licenses which add extra components to the Sametime infrastructure: Sametime Advanced and Sametime Unified Telephony. While the first is handled like the other Sametime components, the latter is out of scope for the rest of this book. A very nice addition in this book is the extensive list with system requirements for all OS versions and the components that are available for a particular OS version (e.g. not all components are available for AIX or IBM System i).

Since Sametime 8.5, many of the Sametime components have to be installed on IBM WebSphere. This is a large change for administrators/architects who were used to previous versions of Sametime. Before only the Sametime Gateway and Sametime Advanced had to be installed on WebSphere, but those components weren't installed that often. With Sametime 8.5, there's no escape from installing components on WebSphere if you'd like to do more than just instant messaging (and even then you might want to install the Proxy WebSphere component). The book describes those parts of the WebSphere architecture that are relevant for installing the Sametime components. The book also gives you a good start in how to install IBM WebSphere and gives an administrator the feeling he/she will be able to install and administer the Sametime WebSphere components successfully. The book focuses next on several installation scenario's and here it becomes very clear that the authors have a broad experience in installing Lotus Sametime 8.5.x. The Sametime clients also get their share of attention including how to administer the clients using policies. The book finishes with how to administer and monitor the Sametime environment.

I noticed that on Amazon next to many positive reviews, there was also a review of someone who felt this book didn't add anything to the already existing information. I couldn't disagree more. There's a lot of information in the wiki's and the information center for Sametime, but a real overview over the entire product and well structured information for someone who needs to start with Sametime 8.5.x are hard to find. This book has great value for anyone who would like to do something with Lotus Sametime 8.5.x.
This doesn't mean there's nothing to criticize. Something which disturbed me while reading the book was the mixing up of version numbers. It looks as if part of the book was written before the release of Sametime 8.5.2 and when this release became available they did a search & replace not only on 8.5.1, but also on 8.5. This leads to sentences like "In versions of Sametime prior to 8.5.2 it was relatively simple to install Sametime server software. It was a single package...". The .2 addition here, simply makes this sentence incorrect. In my opinion, it would have been better to speak of Sametime 8.5.x and spend a separate part of what's new in Sametime 8.5.2. In the remainder of the book they could have put a warning sign when they discussed components, like the bandwidth manager, which are only available in version 8.5.2 and higher. This would also make it easier to update the book for Sametime 8.5.3 once it becomes available. Another criticism are the items which are not mentioned. For an architect or administrator it's often interesting to read what a product can't do, as this means they can stop searching on how to get it done. Although none of the authors is employed by IBM, you won't find this kind of critical comments in this book. You won't find e.g. that the Sametime Gateway can't connect to the MSN network. It does btw integrate with Microsoft OCS/Lync though that's also not mentioned in the book. However, these small flaws do not change the fact that this is a very well written and very useful book. A must have for anyone who plans to do something with Sametime 8.5.x in their company!

Not much new here at all, save your money and don't buy this book. Not sure why it's being offered at all.