BKTWNTS4.RVW   990502

"Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows NT Server 4 in 21 Days", Peter
Davis/Barry Lewis, 1999, 0-672-31555-6, U$29.99/C$44.95/UK#26.95
%A   Peter Davis ptdavis@pdaconsulting.com
%A   Barry Lewis lewisb@cerberus-isc.com
%C   201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN   46290
%D   1999
%G   0-672-31555-6
%I   Macmillan Computer Publishing (MCP)
%O   U$29.99/C$44.95/UK#26.95 800-858-7674 http://www.mcp.com
%P   860 p.
%T   "Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows NT Server 4 in 21 Days"

Because of the "days" conceit of the series, the book is divided into
seven chapter parts.  Despite the arbitrary nature of this structure,
the authors have managed to make a reasonable stab at logical
partitions.

Part one looks at basic operation and concepts.  Chapter one
introduces networks and NT.  The material is heavily biased in favour
of Microsoft, and topics ranging from routers to the Pareto Principle
are presented in so limited a fashion as to be almost caricatures. 
The installation advice in chapter two is quite a bit more realistic
than most, pointing out a number of traps into which the user might
fall.  There is a grab bag of material in chapter three, from a useful
overview of the command line network management functions to
instructions on how to vary the size of the command line (without any
mention of a purpose).  The registry, and registry editors, are
described in chapter four.  Chapter five discusses domains and trust
relationships,  but, given the importance of the concept to NT
networks, could have included more explanatory material.  Some
security related functions of NT are outlined in chapter six. 
Programs for user account management are described in chapter seven.

Part two outlines fundamental administrative tasks and operations. 
Chapter eight reviews disk and filesystem operations.  There is
another miscellany in chapter nine, including topics from stopping
network services to a rather useless section on viruses.  Printing is
covered in chapter ten.  Chapter eleven's overview of remote access
stops short of being useful in many places, as do the related
discussions of DNS (Domain Name System), DHCP (Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol), and WINS (Windows Internet Name Service) in
twelve, thirteen, and fourteen.

Part three includes miscellaneous or advanced topics.  Chapter
fifteen's documentation for NTBACKUP is quite pedestrian, and
therefore doesn't mention most of the limitations.  Fault tolerance,
in chapter sixteen, is mostly concerned with RAID (Redundant Array of
Inexpensive Disks) capabilities and replication.  Chapter seventeen is
alright as long as it sticks to auditing dialogue boxes.  When it
ventures further, the text may dance around the issue all it likes,
but NT Server 4 is not certified as C2 compliant, and Microsoft can
suggest as much as it wants, but that doesn't make any of the products
B2 compliant.  (With a little work, a standalone NT 3.5 workstation
can be put into a configuration that has been certified C2 compliant.) 
A number of the BackOffice programs are mentioned in chapter eighteen. 
The Internet Information Server and other parts of the option pack are
briefly described in chapter nineteen.  Performance monitoring, in
chapter twenty, deals with some of the diagnostic tools.  Network
tools are mentioned in chapter twenty.

This book does, in places, cover points that are not generally found
in other NT references.  On the other hand, it misses topics, too.  On
balance, it can command a reasonably high rank among the introductory
works, but is far from complete.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1999   BKTWNTS4.RVW   990502