Customer Reviews

Small Business Server 2000 Best Practices

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think the value of this book depends on the amount of experience you've had installing and using prior versions of SBS or even with installing and using Windows 2000 Server or NT4 server. If you've had virtually none then you may find this book of some use. Otherwise I think you'll find it of little value.

The author uses his "SSL Methodology" to guide the reader through setting up SBS 2000. What the author is really doing is setting up a sample company called Springer Spaniels Limited (SSL). The text tells you to do this, do that, click here, etc. and gives screen shots of various things along the way. This may give those with little SBS experience the "warm fuzzies" that they are doing things correctly. However, the SBS 2000 set up is pretty intuitive and there is a good amount of help information built into SBS 2000 that is available as you go from step to step through the set up. My complaint is that, since this is true, the book does little more than give you the same information without any more insight. Worse, there is nothing to really help you if you need or want to deviate from the "SSL Methodology" or run into problems.

I encountered some problems trying to connect workstations to a new SBS 2000 server that had previously been connected to an SBS 4.5 server. The book was of no help for this. In another case I had a new XP Pro machine that when setup did not load the firewall client (the successor to WSP Client). Again, the book was of no help in dealing with this. (The solution was easily found on the MS Knowledge Base).

With no real help for doing things differently from the "SSL Methodology" this book is of limited value. Ditto for no real trouble shooting info.

I purchased the book based on nearly unanimous 5 star ratings. Based on those I was hoping for a book that would be more informative and useful (something akin to Manasi's Windows 2000 server book). I was disappointed.

I rate this as pretty much a novice's book. At virtually $... a copy it certainly isn't worth what you get.

As an aside I note the photo the author provides of an SBS 2000 installation. Apparently this is his work and he points to it with apparent pride. I certainly wouldn't hold up this sloppy job as an example of a quality installation and I hope no one follows it as an example.

Harry has done a great job of presenting the nooks and crannies of SBS 2000. Before reading "Best Practices" I knew very little about SBS 2000... and now I have completed my first SBS 2000 installation and will be starting my next within a week. Thanks to Harry's insights and years of SBS experience I am growing my SBS consulting business!

Harry's writing style appeals to us techies as well as non-technical business owners who want to admin their own installations. I highly recommend this book to all who work with SBS.

For the first time user, this contains a by the numbers installation that will let you get an actual site up and running, as well as sneaking in the technical reasons for doing things. The language is simple and the real life stories make it easy to remember when you set up your own organization.

For the experienced user, this provides plenty of detail of the pesky quirks that normally require hours of researching. Harry does a great job of alerting you to possible unintended consequences of various settings and interactions of the many powerful servers included in SBS.

He has done an excellent job of providing the "must know" of SQL Server, Exchange and ISA to operate SBS and leaving the hard details to other references. This keeps this book manageable and on track.

Readable, complete and well done, your return on investment is immediate.

Maybe there are two books by Harry Brelsford with the same title. In the book I got Bob Clough, a marketing manager at Microsoft, wrote the forward to Mr. Brelsford's book. He was not a co-author. The book I got is not a 5 star book.

This book needs an editor. There are many typos (what is a 3/18" nut driver?) and Harry's good-old-boy prose is annoying. As proof of this I also bought Harry's "MCSE Consulting Bible" which was published by IDG Books. This book is well edited and Harry comes across as the smart and informed business man I'm sure he is. This is a 5 star book. What a difference an editor makes!

"Small Business Server 2000 Best Practices" is a book filled with tips and a few best practices by a man who has extensive experience installing small business server. I can recommend this book because of the great advice and despite the poor editing and high price.

I had the opportunity to attend a Microsoft Licenced to Sell Event this week where I won a copy of this book as a door prize. I have spent the last couple of days reading this excellent and entertaining book...yes I said entertaining. The book is written as if you are talking directly to Harry...and not in a classroom style setting. It is very easy to read and covers just about every major topic on SBS 2000. The book also contains places for you to make notes because no well used book should be unmarked. Probably the best feature of this book is the best practices. Many books tell you what to do, with these best practice you'll not only what to do but why you need to do it. Keep this book handy whenever you are onsite!!!

This book is absolutely awesome. I've just gotten my copy (after waiting for weeks for the book to get published) and am about half way through. It is one of the most informative books I've read. I've been working with Windows 2000 and the individual server products for quite some time. After reading this book I'm completely sold on the benefits of SBS. Harry really knows his stuff.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm well versed on Windows 2000, but haven't had much exposure to SBS. I really enjoyed the writing style and learned a few tips and tricks along the way. The Linux comments were a lot of fun, having myself lost many a battle with the Linux beast. Two fat thumbs up for this book!

Like Harry i have been working with sbs since it's first inception in 1997 - sbs 4.0.

The firts two chapters are about what sbs is and is not. Harry has a lot of experience in the field, and He will take through the process of preparing political, comercial and tecnical details of a sbs deployment.

Basically we are talking about someone that really loves sbs, and having said that you do notice he is a bit biased. but that's alright as long you get the tecnical details about common administration tasks.

I have to stay that this book could have been easily kept to under 600 pages as oposed to the 800. Sometimes Harry is too descriptive. things like dowloading winzip and installing it, does not need a step by step description. this is not supposed to be a dummies book Harry!

The chapter about exchange is really good, exchange is huge... but the author was able to descbribe breafly and effectively it's day to day administration. also i really enjoyed installing the conference server add-on and messaging component.

I read his first book about sbs - teach yourself sbs 4.5 in 21 days, and at that time i was critical about the lack of in depth in proxy and iis. somewhere in the book harry gets back to mee saying that is impossible to desbribe those two servers, (now in ISA and IIS 5.0 encarnation), in a single chapter allocated to them.

I agree, but let's put things straight, HOST HEADERS CANNOT CONTAIN SPACES! In chapter 17 , when describing how to create a web site in IIS manager, the author tells you to put SSl Intranet in the host header field. this is a knowledge flaw. since this site will never work with such mapping.

I am not giving it 5 stars, because Harry has not done completely his homework. Sharpen up that IIS knowledge!!!

Anyway, thanks a lot for the book. You are still someone I admire just for pushing so much SBS, and by reporting directly to the sbs developer team.

This book is wonderful! For a SOHO like me, it was perfect. It cut right to the point and I set everything up in one weekend. I shipped the Microsoft's book back!

Also, I was quoted [a lot] for hardware/Software. I paid [much less] for the server and saved the rest because this book.

I was able to set up the server myself with only a peer to peer networking background.

Quick, what do you do? You're a small business owner who would rather devote time to growing your business than learning about a software package. But you suspect Microsoft's Small Business Server (SBS) might be just the ticket to help manage, organize and streamline your operation.

What do you do? If you're smart, you buy this book.

Considered an expert in the field and with 8 previous books to his name, Brelsford uses his Texas humor and extensive knowledge of Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) to give the reader what they need. Starting with the basics ("Defining SBS") onto installation and then into using consoles and other nifty features. Explanations are down-to-earth in a conversational tone. The book furnishes information without burying the reader in computer jargon.

Computer networks, by nature, are complicated things. Microsoft's approach is to break it down into manageable parts or "components." These components make up Small Business Server and include an operating system, e-mail program, powerful database, Internet security and so much more.

But with so many features (read "overwhelming") in SBS, where do you start? What should you know before installing? How do you make full use of its features? "Small Business Server 2000 Best Practices provides the answers. Hardware suggestions, network layouts and workstation installation plans are covered as is extensive installation details ("When you see the following screen, insert this disk...").

A nice feature is the detailed Table of Contents. Beyond chapter titles, entries are bolded within each chapter and also listed for easy reference, making quick work of finding what you're after.

Whether to be used for implementing SBS for a small business or as the `go to' book for operational answers, odds are it's in there. Want to build a presence on the Internet? In there. Want to use other Microsoft software, such as Exchange Server and Outlook with SBS? In there. Want your customers to never encounter a busy signal when trying to send you a fax? Yes, it's in there. Want to run the business remotely in your P.J.s? Well, almost.

Bottom line, you don't have to be an IT professional to install and use SBS, but with "Small Business Server 2000 Best Practices" at your side, you can look like one.