Customer Reviews

Tuning & Sizing NT Server

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I obtained Curt Aubley's book because I had a performance problem on one of my NT File Servers. I'm glad I did because my end users are loading programs in 14 seconds that used to take 186 seconds. They may not thank me, but they're not complaining.

The book included a CD-ROM that had some scripts that were easily customized for my environment so that I could collect some baseline performance information (this was really easy with the scripts). Also, the CD included some performance monitor workspace templates that helped me to easily turn on the important metrics that needed to be tracked. There are many sections in the book that give definite recommendations about what to, and what not to, do. There was one section of the book where the author said to "never, ever, ever" do something that I had done - I undid it. The book also helped me by identifying several third party products that proved to be useful in analyzing and fixing my problems.

My recommendation to anyone considering this book is that it should not be purchased when you have a problem - buy it before you have the problem. But if you have a problem, this book will help you.

Mr. Aubley's book is an excellent technical resource which addresses the difficult task of correctly sizing NT Server implementations and also how to tune NT for maximum performance with regards to various hardware and software considerations. Mr. Aubley explains the complex tasks succinctly and concisely and draws on many obvious years of experience to present hands-on solutions and case studies for reference. I would recommend this book to any NT admin that is responsible for scaling NT beyond humble file and print services. It has presented approaches to the tasks at hand that I have successfully used to effect client solutions.

This is an excellent book! The information on tuning and sizing in the NT Resource Kits is scattered and haphazard. Also, the Resource Kits have a profound reluctance to discuss real figures, and to give examples of reasonable values for counters. That's exactly what Curt's book comes to the rescue. It gives concrete examples, methodologies, and tips. Tuning and Sizing is really where it's at. Anyone can install an NT server, but to know whether a server is running optimally is much harder.

Well done Curt! Excellent value!!

Curt Aubley has written the essential resource for system administrators who are interested in getting the most from the NT systems they manage. Not merely a rehash of other published work, this book breaks new ground and is a direct result of the author's extensive independent and collaborative research into the relationship between the NT operating system and the hardware on which it resides. Want a foolproof means of justifying to management a requirement for more money to fund IS upgrades and replacements? This book shows you how to conclusively spot performance bottlenecks, and how to accurately predict the point at which increased usage levels compromise a system's ability to meet customer needs. Take this information to the "bean counters" and you won't be denied! But more important than that, if you really want to understand what it takes to monitor performance and make your systems super responsive, you'll find all that, plus more, laid out step by step, and thoroughly explained in this book. Furthermore, the practical nature of this book lends itself to an immediate payback for the reader. In the first few pages, Curt describes steps that can be easily implemented for immediate results. AND I will say it again; this is not a repeat of information found in other publications. I highly recommend "Tuning & Sizing NT Server" to those of us who live and die by the utility of our systems.

Within very little time, we applied the case study from the network performance chapter, and experienced a three-fold increase in our tape restore operations. This saved us an incredible amount of time and resources. Would highly recommend this book to other NT professionals.

I've been very impressed with the results of implementing what I've learned from this book. I've used the techniques at a few different Fortune 500 companies, and all my clients have been very satisfied. I would reccomend this book to anyone who takes tuning Windows NT for the Enterprise seriously.

This is the best written book I have read to date. It starts out like it should...what to do if you don't want to read the whole book. I have suggested this book to many of my friends and they have the same feeling. Great Job Curt !!!! Publish another one !!!!

I own a lot of books on NT Server (too many in fact) and this is one of my favorites. Anyone responsible for the support of NT Server should have this book without question. Curt Aubley has produced a book that is easy to digest yet comprehensively covers all aspects of optimizing NT Server in your own environment.

It includes many ideas and suggestions that you can implement immediately and see true performance gains. If you've ever wondered, "What RAID configuration would be best for my new application server?" or "Which performance monitor counter is really the best to use to monitor this or that?", then this book is definitely for you.

Let's hope Curt produces a similar book of the same quality for Windows 2000. This book sits right beside Mastering Windows NT Server by Mark Minasi on my desk, and between the two of these and Technet, one doesn't need much more to support an enterprise Windows NT 4.0 environment.

I own a lot of books on NT Server (too many in fact) and this is one of my favorites. Anyone responsible for the support of NT Server should have this book without question. Curt Aubley has produced a book that is easy to digest yet comprehensively covers all aspects of optimizing NT Server in your own environment.

It includes many ideas and suggestions that you can implement immediately and see true performance gains. If you've ever wondered, "What RAID configuration would be best for my new application server?" or "Which perfmon counter should I use to monitor this or that?", then this book is definitely for you.

Let's hope Curt produces a similar book of the same quality for Windows 2000. This book sits right beside Mastering Windows NT Server by Mark Minasin on my desk, and between the two of these and Technet, one doesn't need much more to support an enterprise Windows NT 4.0 environment.