The book works overall. If you have no idea how to do things in server core, it gives you most everything you need. I did not like the organization of the book. It was chopped up in sections like security, disk management, etc. I found myself flipping back and forth quite often. I would have preferred a book that made it more of a how-to everything. There were times where I wanted to know how to do something from start to finish that meant using sections from chapters 4, 7 and 11 for example.

The index is great though and helps you out quite a bit in locating things easily, otherwise it would have been a disaster. It is the only book though that focuses on Server Core that I have seen so far, so take it for what it is. I recommend it but be ready to do a lot of skimming.

For those of us who've performed more than 50 percent of our administration tasks from the command line (in Windows) for that past 15+ years, it's nice to see that Microsoft is still committed to this method of administration. It's also good to see a book like this that teaches a new generation of technology professionals how to get things done most efficiently - at the command prompt.

Windows Server 2008 intrduces the "core" concept, which is an implementation of Windows Server without the full GUI. You use command line commands to do everything from creating user accounts to setting up services. This book is your one-stop shop to find out how to get it all done.

Divided into seven parts, this book provides you with detailed step-by-step instructions for every major task (and most minor ones) that you'll need to perform in a Windows Server Core installation. The books starts by explaining what Windows Server Core actually is and then moves on to coverage of basic command line usage. For those who've been working at the command line for years, you may be able to skip straight to Part 3, "Working with the Hardware".

Parts 3-5 will probably be used most frequently as an ongoing refernce. Part 3 teaches you how to work with files, the network and other hardware devices. Part 4 moves to working with applications and services and also the monitoring of the same. Part 5 provides an overview of user management and security.

Parts 6 and 7 also provide beneficial coverage of third-party addons and working with IIS. The Appendices are very helpful as they provide lists of command line tricks, as well as various listings of the available commands.

The batch file section will also be invaluable for those who may have created batch files in the past (for example, when working in DOS), but have grown rusty through lack of utilization.

Overall, this is the best Window Server 2008 book on my shelf so far (among five others).

This book seems to be the first 2008 Core Server book out. Sometimes, a fancy title might be picked, but it doesn't really apply to the book contents... That is not the case here. This book is a handy reference guide for administering the GUI-less version of Server 2008.

Being faced with pretty much only a DOS command-line can seem pretty intimidating, but this book helps you figure out how to do those typical administration tasks that would be required when dealing with a networked server.

This is definitely a good reference to have handy. Also, pretty much everything in the book will also apply to the other versions of 2008 with a GUI. With the GUI version, this book will definitely help you with automating various tasks.

Marco Shaw
Microsoft MVP (2008)
Windows Server-Admin Frameworks
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