This book is due for release in the next few months - from what I hear from the authors it will be a real solid volume of information.

Reviewed by Wayne Small [SBS-MVP] - 16/10/05

 

I should preface my review by stating openly that I was a contributing author to the SMB Nation Press book Windows 2003 Small Business Server Advanced Best Practices - I wrote Chapter 8 which was all about the Remote Web Workplace facilities of SBS2003. 

 

I was approached by the publishing company of this book to display it on my website www.sbsfaq.com.  Prior to that I had not heard of the publisher or the author.  They graciously sent me two copies - one for me to review and the other for our local SBS Group as a giveaway.  Now that I've had a chance to review the book I thought it best to post my review.

 

The book claims to be the "perfect companion to keep with you as you setup Windows Small Business Server 2003, maintain it and troubleshoot the issues that arise".  That in itself is a grand claim to fame, so I expected the book to give me an overview of the features and then dive into the maintenance and troubleshooting facets of an SBS2003 environment.

 

My impression of the book overall is that it is a combination of chapters that may have been written for a more enterprise level book and they've downsized it to meet the SBS market by throwing in a few SBS comments here and there.  Now that may sound very harsh, but it's the feeling I could not help get out of my mind.  In many places they mention things that would never be used in your average or even more advanced SBS network.  To give an example, in the Exchange section they talk about Administrative Groups when in reality this is only of any use if you have multiple exchange servers in the SBS2003 domain.  They even recommend against installing Exchange 2003 Service Pack 1 which I do not understand.  They also suggest using the /3GB switch with more than 2GB of RAM, which is not recommended by Microsoft on any machine on which you run as a domain controller AND and Exchange server.

 

In one area they talk about SBS2003 being able to have additional domain controllers (which you can and I have a number of running sites like this) and then in the section on Active Directory they say categorically that you can't have additional domain controllers in SBS networks (page 21).

 

I found the SQL section quite good as it gave a good understanding of the basics of what SQL server is about, the various parts of the database, management console etc - good to get up and running, but then the chapter ends too quickly.  There is also good coverage on Group Policy in later chapters and even some tips on how you can export and import GPO's from one domain to another (although I've not tried it myself) which would be really handy if your doing a number of setups for your clients and wish to use the same GPO's across multiple SBS2003 installations.

 

Now with all I've said you would think that I would not recommend this book at all.  To be honest, there is some good information in there, but it's not SBSised enough for me to warrant the title of and SBS2003 book.  In my opinion the information is more suited to the midsize Windows 2003 network. 

 

The following review was written by Robert Crane of CIAOPs.  Robert is a leading member of the Sydney SBS Group.  Robert can be contacted directly on director@ciaops.com if you have any feedback for him.

 

Thanks Robert for taking the time to provide the review - Wayne
 
If you spend anytime online with the members of the SBS community you'll know there are some real experts out there, experienced with every facet of the product. For many people running IT businesses focused on SBS it is almost impossible to keep up to date with these experts and their recommendations but now you can !
 
Harry Brelsford new Advanced Windows Small Business Server 2003 Best Practices Book combines the knowledge of all these expert into an old world technology book that you can actually sit down and read. This book is not designed for end users it is really aimed at the IT consultant who is implementing SBS for customers. But more than that I believe the book it aimed at those consultants who want to "do more" with SBS and provide real value for their clients.
 
The book deals with advanced topics including Sharepoint, Remote Web Workplace, Understanding hardware and more. The book also includes a chapter written by our own Australian SBS MVP Wayne Small that looks at Advanced Mobility options and SBS. The book covers a lot of ground and each chapter has a vast amount of highly relevant information about improving the implementation of SBS. The authors come from the "real world" and most run SBS focused consulting businesses so they are more than well qualified to speak about these topics. In the books you'll find ways to do things better, install options you never knew existed and generally improve any installation of SBS to the point where a potential customer just can't say no. Being written by so many talented authors the book delivers on its promises and should be a mandatory addition to any SBS consultants books shelf ( along with Harry's other books of course ).
 
The only disappointing factor in the book was the fact that it didn't delve into the world or virtual machines. Microsoft's virtual PC, and server as well as VMWare's offering provide excellent ways to test and demo all sorts of software not just SBS. In my experience every consultant supporting a variety of software on any platform ( but especially SBS ) should be using these technologies extensively.

However, fitting yet another chapter in the book would almost make it too big to bind ! Maybe it will be covered in Harry's next book.
 
There are few other places around where you will get so much information, from so many experienced people in topics directly related to SBS. This book is not really designed for those consultants new to SBS ( they should read Harry's other books first ) but is aimed at those professionals already familiar with SBS who want to take the product to higher levels. After reading this book there is little doubt you will have increased not only your knowledge of SBS but also your marketability to customers. Benefit from the experience of the best in field and take SBS to a new level.