I have a number of O'Reilly books and have come to expect a lot from them. However, this one raises the standard. Concepts and tasks are listed alphabetically, providing an encyclopedic approach which makes finding topics a snap and beats looking up 50 references in an index to find the one you want. I only wish more tech manuals were organized this way. Perhaps the idea will catch on.
This is not to leave out Mitch Tulloch's writing which, although concise, is highly readable - a rarity in technical manuals (with the exception of the esteemed Mr. Minasi!). Although this book is not meant as a tutorial, I actually found that the organization helped me in understanding certain topics better. This is because each topic is treated in its entirety rather than scattered here and there throughout the book. As mentioned in an above review, this does lead to some redundancy, but the payoff is worth it.
Although I have discovered a lack of information on a couple of more obscure items, overall the book is very comprehensive with virtually no filler material. Of the four W2K handbooks I have, this is the one that remains as my prime reference. It is simply invaluable.

This book is the 80/20 rule in motion. 80% of the day to day issues are resolved with 20% of the product information. The key is knowing which 20%. This book seems to have done a fairly good job of distilling out the 20% most often needed and putting it in a single package. It falls short of a 5 star rating due to organization. Presenting the W2K concepts in alphabetical order is confusing and counter productive. It would have been far better done if the concepts had been organized in a logical hierarchy leaving the referred-to tasks, procedures and utilities in alphabetical order. Overall a very handy manual for W2K setup and admin once you get past the layout.

This book is the 80/20 rule in motion. 80% of the day to day issues are resolved with 20% of the product information. The key is knowing which 20%. This book seems to have done a fairly good job of distilling out the 20% most often needed and putting it in a single package. It falls short of a 5 star rating due to organization. Presenting the W2K concepts in alphabetical order is confusing and counter productive. It would have been far better done if the concepts had been organized in a logical hierarchy leaving the referred-to tasks, procedures and utilities in alphabetical order. Overall a very handy manual for W2K setup and admin once you get past the layout.

This book didn't work for me, though I like Nutshell books. I think that alphabetical approach didn't work this time. It might be good for utilities and commands, but for Tasks and Concepts? It's much easier to find what you want on topic basis. And why on earth to use alphabetical approach if most books have good index? I have discovered another book, "Mastering W2K Server" by Mark Minasi. That book is great. I have found there everything I needed. It has a lot of cross-references to NT and even 95/98 without boasting much about it. Nutshell book arrogantly states that you have to be very good at NT to read it. I think that might be just to cover up the confusion created. True, Minasi's book is 50% more expensive, but it's twice bigger also, and much more useful.

Even though it is over 700 pages I call it mini because of the complexity of Windows 2000, and that the Microsoft reference set is over 7000 pages! First off this is NOT a book for beginners and the author states that on the first page - it is intended for NT experienced people as a quick reference for Windows 2000 networking. No OSI model explaination here. Depending on how much time and depth you want to spend learning Windows 2000, you might first want to pick up Mark Minasis' Mastering Windows 2000 Server 3RD edition which I highly recommend. Active Directory and dns are a big deal in Windows 2000, which takes some time to master and calls for very detailed explainations and examples. However Windows 2000 Administration IN A Nutshell is another winner from O'Reilly. The layout of the book is unique in that instead of a bunch of topic chapters it is broken down into segments on concepts, tasks, consoles, utilities, and commands. Each chapter is conveniently indexed by alphabetical highlighting of subjects to find what you need fast. Page 354 under F for example - folder redirection, about one page on how to do it. No fluff here - just the facts and a lots of them. There is a lot of redundancy here which may bug some people, but this is not a training manual though I consider this book an excellent read for upgrade MCSE studies. There are a LOT of helpful tables, charts, and "boxed" highlights of important topics (such as the one on page 151 "Using Universal Groups"). The author has a section called notes after most topics that are answers to a lot of questions one might have after reading it - the section on disks has 28 such notes, dynamic disks are new to us NT folks and I found them vey helpful. The quick start section has five pages of charts listing Windows NT tools and then the Windows 2000 couterpart and how to access it. There is a full 124 page chapter of administering Windows 2000 from the command line in an alphabetical list! Overall I find the writing style of the author very articulate, non confusing, and enjoyable considering it is a quick reference. Mitch sprinkes enough humor in the text to keep it from becoming tearfully dry. On page 143 he says "The Resource Kit is expected to swell to a staggering 15,000 pages - unless legal action by Greenpeace blocks it." The author obviously knows his stuff on Windows 2000. Windows 2000 Administration In A Nutshell is a great book that will prove very handy to many people using Windows 2000.

Even though it is over 700 pages I call it mini because of the complexity of Windows 2000, and that the Microsoft reference set is over 7000 pages! First off this is NOT a book for beginners and the author states that on the first page - it is intended for NT experienced people as a quick reference for Windows 2000 networking. No OSI model explaination here. Depending on how much time and depth you want to spend learning Windows 2000, you might first want to pick up Mark Minasis' Mastering Windows 2000 Server 3RD edition which I highly recommend. Active Directory and dns are a big deal in Windows 2000, which takes some time to master and calls for very detailed explainations and examples. However Windows 2000 Administration IN A Nutshell is another winner from O'Reilly. The layout of the book is unique in that instead of a bunch of topic chapters it is broken down into segments on concepts, tasks, consoles, utilities, and commands. Each chapter is conveniently indexed by alphabetical highlighting of subjects to find what you need fast. Page 354 under F for example - folder redirection, about one page on how to do it. No fluff here - just the facts and a lots of them. There is a lot of redundancy here which may bug some people, but this is not a training manual though I consider this book an excellent read for upgrade MCSE studies. There are a LOT of helpful tables, charts, and "boxed" highlights of important topics (such as the one on page 151 "Using Universal Groups"). The author has a section called notes after most topics that are answers to a lot of questions one might have after reading it - the section on disks has 28 such notes, dynamic disks are new to us NT folks and I found them vey helpful. The quick start section has five pages of charts listing Windows NT tools and then the Windows 2000 couterpart and how to access it. There is a full 124 page chapter of administering Windows 2000 from the command line in an alphabetical list! Overall I find the writing style of the author very articulate, non confusing, and enjoyable considering it is a quick reference. Mitch sprinkes enough humor in the text to keep it from becoming tearfully dry. On page 143 he says "The Resource Kit is expected to swell to a staggering 15,000 pages - unless legal action by Greenpeace blocks it." The author obviously knows his stuff on Windows 2000. Windows 2000 Administration In A Nutshell is a great book that will prove very handy to many people using Windows 2000.

This is a great desktop reference book for the Win 2k Network Administrator. It has all of the big subjects, but without the unnecessary content. Subjects are easily broken down by sections and available for quick reference. Sections include concepts, tasks, console, and a great section on command line functions. Within each section are the specific 2k subjects i.e. AD, TCP/IP, Install, DNS, DHCP, etc. A great little book.

Quite good value for money at 786 pages but not well laid out and lacking important details.

For instance, I couldn't figure out whether I should configure my (small) network for static IP, DHCP or APIPA. So I picked APIPA but there are no clear instructions on how to configure it for both server and client computers.

Obviously - 786 pages are insufficient to fully cover networking! - the most important topic. Look for something better - with clear instructions for setting up the major flavors of networks.