

Series: Unleashed
Hardcover: 1680 pages
Publisher: Sams Publishing; 1 edition (September 26, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0672336227
ISBN-13: 978-0672336225
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 2.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #200,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #62 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business Technology > Windows Server #73 in Books > Computers & Technology > Networking & Cloud Computing > Data in the Enterprise > Client-Server Systems #191 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > Windows > Windows Desktop

So, i'm three chapters into this book. Obviously it's a doozy...we're looking at over 1000 pages.Reading it carefully, I'm getting very annoyed at the obviousness & repetition of some of this stuff.I don't need to be told that automatic update will do automatic update. I know that it's in the name, so tell me something I don't know. Secondly - STOP trying to get me in the MS customer experience program. It's like buying a freaking car...you're trying to sell me on something and instead are just aggravating me.Finally, the biggest and most severe problem I've found & the one that may have me returning the book shortly. The author says:NoteAs with the previous two versions of the operating system, there is no choice as to the file system on the partition. Windows Server 2012 automatically uses the new ReFS file system for all created partitions. ReFS is an improved and updated version of the NTFS file system. You can find more information aboutReFS in Chapter 28, "File System Management and Fault Tolerance."This is untrue. The system volume is NTFS, NOT ReFS, if that what it's saying. Minimally, it's confusing but I think it's just flat wrong. If the writers got this level of credibility wrong, I'm beginning to suspect everything I'm reading & may soon consider the book a waste of time.Further, the book is extremely obvious in some places. There are places where I wanted to more detail and the book failed to deliver. I'll have more about what I like / don't like as I go
This book is, as my title states, a complete waste of time. When reading through the book, it has the feel of a 2008 R2 book that was hacked and made into a 2012 book. There are countless errors, both technical and grammatical, so many in fact that it's hard to accept what the book says without looking it up to verify it. Just as an example, they mot the maximum supported memory of 2012 Standard incorrect, the book states 32GB max, whereas Microsoft states 4TB. They also stated migration paths from 2008/R2 to 2012 incorrectly as well. These are things that are so basic, seeing them printed incorrectly just doesn't give me much faith in anything else it has to say.For anyone looking to buy this book, I would highly recommend you wait until the MS Press books, or the Mastering 2012 book is released.
I'm a big fan of the Windows Server Unleashed books. I have purchased editions for Server 2008 and R2 and enjoyed them. I think this time around they were in too much of a hurry.I'm 23 pages into the book, and on every page there has been some glaring error, from randomly misplaced punctuation to sentences so poorly written I have to read them multiple times and guess what they were trying to say. It looks like it got a quick one-pass proofread before going to the press.The hallmark of the Unleashed series is that they work with beta versions of the software and try to give a real-world, experienced account of using the software in a production environment. Since this book is so poorly written, I don't have a lot of confidence in the accuracy of its contents.
I have previously relied on the Mark Minasi "Mastering" series of books for general reference volumes. I picked up the Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed volume, and found it excellent, as good as the Mastering series, even with more than twice as many authors. Unfortunately, the 2012 Unleashed volume feels as if it was rushed to press, as other reviewers have indicated. There are cases of typos, double words, and what are I assume are punctuation mistakes. I hope they clean this up if they do future revisions.The Active Directory coverage is good throughout the book, from basic design principals to Group Policies, to security considerations to day-to-day administration. Network services, from the basics like DNS/DNSSEC, DHCP, and WINS to IPv6 usage to more advanced features such as IP Address Management, NAP and RRAS are all covered. There is a good mix of material for both small and large, distributed site structures. The book also provides extensive PowerShell coverage, both in its own chapter, and mixed throughout the rest of the material where appropriate.The chapter on IIS 8 (the new version included in Server 2012) is disappointingly short, no longer than it was in the 2008 R2 Unleashed book. I would have liked to see this section expanded, especially the use of application pools, which is becoming more and more common in my experience. The chapter on Hyper-V is longer and more comprehensive than in the previous volume (and there is some coverage of the new and upgraded features for Hyper-V).I still think the "Best Practices" section at end of each chapter is very valuable, and going through each of these would give you a good overview of everything Windows Server 2012 offers.
Windows Server 2012 Unleashed is a comprehensive reference book, introducing Microsoft's latest server operating system. Similar to other books in the Unleashed series, this is a fantastic 1600+ page resource for Windows Server 2012 and includes a significant amount of information covering all the topics one would expect: planning, installation, active directory, group policy, DNS, IPv6, IIS 8, security, administration, remote access, disaster recovery, troubleshooting, and a lot more.I found the writing style to be clear and concise. The writers utilized a casual style, offering advice and best practices throughout the book. As a result I didn't find myself getting mentally bored or distracted like when reading a dry technical book. The writers also assume a certain technical level among their audience which made for quicker reading. Additionally I found the images (screenshots) to be very useful.This book is hardly a certification training guide, should you be looking for one. It is rather a massive one-stop resource for the IT professional seeking information on Windows Server 2012. If you are a current IT professional and are looking to understand new features and how to plan your migration to 2012, among other topics, you will find this book an excellent resource.The particular book I reviewed is a first printing. Often first printings come with some grammatical errors, as the other reviewers pointed out. I have noticed some of these errors already being addressed on the publisher's errata page. More serious, I did find a few technical errors. I wouldn't slam the entire book for it, but sadly the errors do hold it back from receiving a 5 star rating.
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