We bought a copy of OS X Server to set up a network file system, mail server, and print server. Unfortunately this book has proven completely useless in helping on those tasks. The only purpose of this book is to prepare you to pass an examination certifying that you understand OS X Server administration. Frankly, anyone who only has that certification will not really be prepared for the challenges of system administration.

I was hoping for a volume that would help me to identify the kinds of services that we need to offer in a mixed-client-OS system, something that would help design the network, install and configure the client machines, troubleshoot and debug in case of problems, and so on.

What I got was a book that says: "Insert the DVD in the DVD drive. Reboot the system from the DVD. Enter these values into the first panel that you see...." On and on and on, it's purely a monkey-see, monkey-do approach.

There's only one reason to buy this book: to pass an exam. Otherwise, look at the online guides to server administration that Apple provides on their website. They suffer from many deficiencies, but they are still far superior to this effort.

Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Server Essentials (2nd Edition) (Apple Training)

This book was a complete waste of money. I was looking for assistance with 2 things, neither of which were covered in any detail.

The first and biggest failing was with Mail Services; the entire discussion encompassed a small paragraph which basically states that mail services are available. No discussion of how to configure mail accounts, no discussion on how to get started with mail services. What I was looking for was a walk-through of setting up a new account that was easier to follow than Apple's PDF, which is so sketchy and poorly-written that it took me hours upon hours to figure out how to configure mail accounts.

I've read some excellent books whose goal was to demystify complex processes like server setup, but this is not one of them. Pass this book by.

The second edition book reads well and is presented very nicely. What it presents it seems to do well.

However, it stops short of presenting some major key information. The biggest two I've noticed so far are a total lack of information on setting up web hosting SSL (security) and nothing on setting up Ruby On Rails on Leopard server. What a shame. I believe the author would do a great job on the basics of such topics.

With the oversights of SSL security and Ruby On Rails (the essential web service), I find the book disappointing as a guidebook to OSX server, and feel wary of expecting it to be comprehensive of the "Essentials" on any of its topics. It's a shame, because the style and hands-on feel with all the screen captures is very effective presentation wise. If the web hosting oversights weren't so gaping (YMMV), I would give the book four stars for excellent presentation of the basics.