Microsoft® Systems Management Server 2003 Administrator's Companion

By Steven D. Kaczmarek

Streamline--and centralize--the management of your Microsoft Windows-based desktops with the essential guide to planning, deploying, and supporting Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. This in-depth... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735618887
• ISBN13: 9780735618886
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Microsoft Press
• Length: 864 Pages
• Weight: 2.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.5" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Great book as a reference

If you are new to SMS and you want to start working with this technology then this is not the right book. NOT because it is to complicated - more because it is way to detailed. But the book is great as a reference. I think it is even a must for a SMS admin. The topics are explained very clear and so far I found all the information I was looking for. If you are new to SMS and you want to start working with it I recommend use the SMS 2003 CBT Nugget and work additional with this book to get deeper into specific topics. But again - as a reference for you daily work this book is great.

Excellent book for SMS Admins

I am new to SMS and I must say that I now love it because of its power. This book made it easier for me to understand the ins and outs of the product. It will help you out a lot to know your windows environment well enough as well as your AD, after a couple of service packs SMS gets into deep waters. I would like to see the future editions of the book include chapters regarding free add ons such as the OSD Pack and ITMU, it would make it even better at least for admins looking for implementing it into a windows shop.

Well Worth the Buy

This book goes into excellent detail about nearly every aspect of SMS 2003 and also tries to show the reader many of the pitfalls in deploying this huge program. The author is very thorough in explaining almost every aspect of deployment and management - there are lots of screen shots and excellent detail about the options. This book fails in only two areas: 1). it is frequently aimed at deployment rather than administration (it is, after all, an ADMINISTRATOR'S Companion), and 2). it is too short. Regardless of those two factors, it is an excellent companion once your deployment is complete. If you are just starting - or evaluating - SMS 2003 for your environment, read the whole book before you start. The author wrote with a well-organized structure, but (like many computer books) he focused on the "meat and potatoes" in chunks. This book is what I call 'thick reading' and can only be read in short and focused time chunks. Regardless of that, no software program tome can be all-inclusive, but if you are looking for a fairly comprehensive SMS 2003 guide, money spent here is well worth it!

Must have addition for administrators

There is no question that if you need to implement or administer SMS, this is a must own. The book covers everything needed to plan and configure your back-end environment, as well as to setup a good administrative model for IT support, application management and end-users control and deployment. This title will also serve as an excellent day to day resource long after you have implemented SMS. Although I completely recommend this title, I found that this book isn't enough completely on it's own to truly cover all the ins and outs of SMS 2003. Microsoft provides two free downloads which I recommend you read and use in conjunction with this title; "Concepts, Planning, and Deployment Guide" and "Operations Guide" (The SMS 2003 Microsoft website also has many other resources for administration).

The Manual for SMS 2003

The SMS 2003 Admin Companion is the best guide to SMS 2003 available. The author doesn't miss a thing and lays out the management applicaton in a logical manner. SMS 2003 is a huge application with a huge learning curve, and this book helps get you up-to-speed in as little time as possible.