Mr. Minasi has achieved quite an accomplishment with Mastering Windows 2000 Server. I am in the process of reading cover-to-cover (and there's a lot of space in between those covers!), currently about half way through, and this is honestly the only computer book I've read thus far that has not left me with one question. As you read through this massive tome, it's as if Mr. Minasi is reading your mind and the answer to the very question you've been conjuring is no farther away than the next page. His writing style is also a delight, keeping your interest from one page to the next (that's not an easy thing to do when your explaining such topics as group policy or creating the proper DNS infrastructure).
Near the beginning of the book the authot explains that the book is not meant for MCSA/MCSE preparation. However, I'll be going for these exams very soon, and I already feel like my knowledge on the topics contained in this text have increased exponentially. I wouldn't think of becoming 2K certified without consulting the high points of Mastering first.
In short...the $50 you drop on this monster will repay you tenfold in the knowledge that you'll get out of it. You won't be dissapointed!!!
Some of the things I like were excellent sections on support for legacy systems, even profile support for DOS-based Windows (Win 95/98/Me) and Windows NT OSes (3.x and 4.x). There's also coverage on nice features like creating MSI packages, terminal services, macintosh support, smtp services, etc.
Some things I wish were there, even if only an appendix or a small section, would be coverage of command line tools like netsh, net, netstat, tracert, ipconfig, etc., scripting with perl/vbs/jscript with MSI, ADSI, WSH, etc., and some notes on registry tweaks like turning off certain annoying "features" like APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing), toggling encryption for SMB authentication, etc.
Overall, if you do anything with W2K Server, this book is absolutely a must. If you are in a shop using Win 2K/XP/2K3 and older legacy systems Win 9X/Me/NT, then this book is very useful as well.
