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Windows Vista Resource Kit - Second Edition

By Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, and Jerry Honeycutt, with The Windows Vista Team at Microsoft

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Windows Vista Resource Kit - Second Edition book cover

Book cover reproduced with kind permission of Microsoft Press

Recently updated to include Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the Windows Vista Resource Kit - Second Edition is a vast tome containing a host of in-depth technical information enabling system administrators to deploy, maintain and troubleshoot the Windows Vista operating system.

The target audience for this reference work is the experienced IT professional running Windows Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate; however, sections of the book are also relevant to users running Windows Vista Premium. Of particular interest to Vista Premium users are the chapters referencing Windows Defender, Configuring the Windows Firewall, Service Pack 1, and Backup and Restore.

Split into six parts Windows Vista Resource Kit - Second Edition covers the following topics:

Overview

The overview section does exactly what its name implies; giving a general view of what is new in Windows Vista, along with all the latest improvements implemented with the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. The overview covers the various editions of Windows Vista and finishes off with a look at the Windows Vista Security system

Deployment

Prior to deploying it is essential that a system administrator is aware of any possible incompatibilities between the software currently running on their network and Windows Vista. The deployment section, therefore, guides the user through the process of testing application compatibility prior to implementing and deploying Windows Vista. It also explains the pitfalls of applications failure, preparing Windows PE and how to use the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

Desktop Management

The vast majority of desktop management is implemented through the Windows Vista Group Policy Console and this section starts by giving the user a breakdown of the new group policy features implemented in Service Pack 1. The section also includes valuable information on managing users and user data, managing disks and file systems, Bitlocker drive encryption, ReadyBoost and Windows Meeting Space.

Desktop Maintenance

The reliability and performance tools in Windows Vista enable users to visually monitor and, if necessary, isolate performance problems rather than simply viewing a list of performance data. By using the resource overview an instant summary of the performance metrics for CPU, Disk, Network and Memory can be seen. Details in the event viewer also enable the administrator to gather information on hardware, software, the system in general and, of course, security events. This section also covers Remote Assistance, managing and deploying updates, client protection and using Windows Defender.

Networking

The networking section of the book covers all aspects of configuring a Windows Network, including configuring Wireless settings TCP/IP and connecting to an Active Directory. Further parts of the networking section introduce the user to the Windows Firewall and offers advice on managing the firewall through Group Policy, netsh and scripts.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting can be the bane of every administrator’s life and can result in considerable down time. The troubleshooting section starts by discussing Start Up configurations and troubleshooting start up issues; it also includes details of the Windows Vista System recovery Tools and Windows Boot performance diagnostics. It advises on troubleshooting hardware, drives and disk issues and network. The section also contains a valuable list of the most common Windows Vista Stop Messages.

Verdict

Windows Vista Resource Kit – Second Edition is the de-facto reference guide to the Windows Vista operating system and, in itself, is a magnificent work that no administrator should be without. Its content and terminology may be slightly above the non-professional user, but it still has some useful and essential information for user’s who simply wish to get to know the inside workings of Windows Vista. The book also contains a companion CD which not only includes a fully searchable e-book of the entire resource kit but also numerous timesaving scripts.

While many books covering the Windows Vista operating system are currently available, it is fair to say that none can match the diversity, expertise and sheer knowledge that you will find in this one volume.

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