Good recent book on Windows Server

Cromulent · 13 Nov 2018 at 12:05

I'm looking for a decent book on Windows Server so I can see if it fits in with my requirements.

Does anyone know a decent book that covers Windows Server for someone who has never used it before? I guess I'm going to need to learn Powershell as well so if there is a good Powershell book I'd be interested in that too.

El Pew · 14 Nov 2018 at 09:06

Cromulent said:
I'm looking for a decent book on Windows Server so I can see if it fits in with my requirements.

That depends very much on what your 'requirements' actually are. Windows Server is functionally not that much different from the desktop version, what really makes it special are the roles you can build on top of it - AD, IIS, DNS/DHCP, ADFS, Certificate Services, RDS. Each of those is pretty much a specialist topic by itself.

Throrik · 14 Nov 2018 at 10:52

I would just look at any of the well reviewed Windows Server 2012 R2 / 2016 MCSA books - they will cover the exam blueprint for Windows Server and that will take you through the entire Microsoft architecture. HV, Powershell, AD, DNS, CA etc.

Kidge · 15 Nov 2018 at 20:50

When I done my Server 2012 R2 MCSA I picked up "Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2" a Sybex published book by Mark Minasi and others and also each of the Exam Ref books ie 70-410, 411 and 412 and found these all really helpful.

Also would recommend using the week free of CBTnuggets (if still available) and go through their videos as they're really good too. Then go to Microsoft, download an evaluation of your chosen server version, stick in a VM (HyperV if you have Win10 Pro or VMware Player) and then just play about with it.

Throrik · 16 Nov 2018 at 07:55

If the week of CBT isn't available - sign up for a new MS Dev Essentials account and get 3x months free of Pluralsight, LinkedInPremium (Lynda.com) and CloudAcademy.

Hellsmk2 · 22 Nov 2018 at 11:15

Have to be honest, I don't find any of the books useful in the slightest. They're too OTT to be useful in the real world, with so much information you will never ever use.

Your best bet is hands on experience, either through your workplace, or through setting up a home server and running through the basics (AD, GP, few cli tools, etc). There's a wealth of blogs for everything you could ever want to set up/ troubleshoot that do a far better job than an old school doorstop. Even exam prep is better via tailored blogs.