Customer Reviews

Windows Server 2008 Networking and Network Access Protection (NAP)

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

 

 

Since my previous Windows networking reference (Troubleshooting Windows 2000 TCP/IP by Shinder & Shinder) is now outdated, I needed a new practical Server 2008 resource to replace it. This book was exactly what I needed. Whereas most of my other TCP/IP texts have a primary Unix focus, this book specifically addresses networking and TCP/IP from a Microsoft perspective.

This guide assumes a basic knowledge of Windows networking and TCP/IP, but that's about all you need to get started. Everything else is introduced in a clear and logical manner, starting with a brief overview of TCP/IP concepts, including a quick review of the OSI seven-layer model.

Chapter 1 focuses exclusively on IPv4 addressing, with IPv6 being introduced in Chapter 2. From here the book progresses into discussions on DHCP, Windows Firewall, QoS, DNS, and WINS. These topics comprise the first two of the book's four parts.

Part 3 of the text is devoted to network access infrastructure, including authentication infrastructure in wired and wireless networks, ending with a treatment of VPNs. Part 4, the final part of the book, introduces Network Access Protection (NAP) infrastructure and enforcement policies for IPsec, 802.1X, VPNs, and DHCP. Since NAP and its policy-based network access controls is a new feature of Server 2008, it's the most exciting part of the book for me, and one of the main reasons I bought this guide.

This is a well-ordered volume, with each chapter building on the previous ones, and each new feature accompanied by clear, step-by-step instructions for its implementation in Windows Server 2008. Unlike its companion text, Windows Server 2008 TCP/IP Protocols and Services by Joseph Davies, this book is not a protocol reference, but instead is a practical guide to implementing and maintaining networking and NAP on Windows Server 2008.

In this regard it succeeds admirably, and I warmly recommend this book as a worthwhile guide to the new world of Microsoft networking.