The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
For the bookshelf
Stephen Davey

Mastering Windows NT Server 3.5

This is a substantial book - some 750 pages of detailed information - yet it is surprisingly light and easy to read and comprehend.

Anyone involved with server-based networks, whether Windows NT or not, will find this an informative and interesting book.

With Windows 95 all the rage (hype?) many computer users or managers are looking carefully at the structure of their networks. Windows NT may be the stable NOS that they have been looking for.

This book will serve two main functions.
  • Firstly for those who do not have Windows NT, the book gives a clear indication of NT's strengths and limitations and a guide to hardware requirements, installation routines, known problems and workarounds. For Novell users it gives a very good comparison between the two, highlighting differences and elaborating on the pros and cons of both.
  • Secondly, for sites already using NT, the book provides much that the actual NT manual omits and provides much more in-depth discussions of some important areas.
The book is broken up into four, very well-written major parts; A general overview of NT, Setting Up NT Server, NT Server Administration, and Advanced NTS Management. Throughout each part are many step-by-step procedure boxes that make setting up specific features very easy.

Part 1, the general overview, discusses topics such as Architecture Independence, Multiple Processor Support, Multithreaded Multitasking, Memory Space, Enterprise Networking features, Netware support and Macintosh Connectivity. It also expands on Microsoft Enterprise Concepts such as Workgroups vs. Domains and a brief outline of what each piece of network software does.

Setting Up a NT Server is part 2. Detailed step-by-step advice is given on how to prepare the server and then install the NT server software, set up users and applications. Common installation problems are discussed and solutions offered.

Hard disk subjects such as RAID and general formatting and partitioning are clearly described along with various methods of monitoring your system.

Part 3 details NT Server Administration including user, file, server and printer management and customisation techniques.

More advanced and wide-area topics are covered in part 4, which includes Cross-Domain Management, How Netware and NT Interact, The Internet TCP/IP, Macintosh Connections and Disaster Recovery.

As a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to managing NT Server the book is most informative and a very worthwhile addition to the library of any advanced networked computer user.
Mark Minasi, Christa Anderson and Elizabeth Creegan
Mastering Windows NT Server 3.5:
The complete Guide to Enterprise Networking
Published by Sybex
ISBN 0 7821 1622 1
RRP $80

Reprinted from the June 1996 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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