Rating: 
Summary: Very nice--this is what computer books should be like
Review: I'm not a NetWare/Novell person at all, but this is the second book about NetWare 6 that's blown me away (Gaskin's latest is the other--also a very nice book).So many computer book publishers push ... books out the door as fast as they can, but this one is different: - high-quality but very thin paper
- very high quality grayscale screenshots
- all the figures are professionally done
- the screenshots actually illustrate things, and since they're on the small side, they don't overpower the page
- great layout design means you're not assaulted by huge headings, hideous graphical elements (NOTE! WARNING! TIP!), and weird fonts Add in the free 5-user NW 6 license (I haven't opened it, but it seems to *not* be crippleware--apparently there is no expiration date on on it, and it isn't limited in any other way, though I have no way to tell yet). Oh yeah, they seem to cover all the bases, content-wise. And in a nice, professional, no-nonsense style.
Rating:
Summary: Hughes & Thomas do it again!!!!
Review: I've been working with NetWare for 8 years now and have become proficient in large part due to Novell books such as this one. If you are new to NetWare or are the most proficient, I highly recommend taking a look at this book. It is required reading for my entire tech team. We all use it as reference to help us better understand NetWare and how to make the most out of our NDS design. I have also found another useful resource from directorydesign.com that is specific to NetWare Troubleshooting. Another good read to take a look at. As many times as the features and beta changed for NetWare 6, I think that the book does a solid job of laying out the primary topics needed to understand NetWare 6 inclusions. Technology changes daily. If you can't appreciate that, then don't buy the book. If you want a fantastic reference that will benefit your NetWare knowledge base, then this is your must have.
Rating:
Summary: Hughes & Thomas do it again!!!!
Review: I've been working with NetWare for 8 years now and have become proficient in large part due to Novell books such as this one. If you are new to NetWare or are the most proficient, I highly recommend taking a look at this book. It is required reading for my entire tech team. We all use it as reference to help us better understand NetWare and how to make the most out of our NDS design. I have also found another useful resource from directorydesign.com that is specific to NetWare Troubleshooting. Another good read to take a look at. As many times as the features and beta changed for NetWare 6, I think that the book does a solid job of laying out the primary topics needed to understand NetWare 6 inclusions. Technology changes daily. If you can't appreciate that, then don't buy the book. If you want a fantastic reference that will benefit your NetWare knowledge base, then this is your must have.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive, one-stop source for NW 6 information
Review: This is the one-stop reference for mastering NetWare 6. Covers all new features such as iFolder, iPrint, integration with the updated Storage(NSS) and clustering, really helps with implementation od the new security features (PKIS, SAS, NICI). Authors seem to really have the hands-on, know-how to give real-world solutions. The eDirectory section is quite thorough and helps with any configuration. The book patiently goes step-by-step through all the new utilities, installations, system requirements, configurations, tools, integrations with other products like ZENworks and NW 6 changes, providing steps, screen shots, tips and all the information needed to upgrade, manage and keep NW 6 running. The online docs simply are not enough, the book fills the void for the specific steps and easily understood information.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive, one-stop source for NW 6 information
Review: This is the one-stop reference for mastering NetWare 6. Covers all new features such as iFolder, iPrint, integration with the updated Storage(NSS) and clustering, really helps with implementation od the new security features (PKIS, SAS, NICI). Authors seem to really have the hands-on, know-how to give real-world solutions. The eDirectory section is quite thorough and helps with any configuration. The book patiently goes step-by-step through all the new utilities, installations, system requirements, configurations, tools, integrations with other products like ZENworks and NW 6 changes, providing steps, screen shots, tips and all the information needed to upgrade, manage and keep NW 6 running. The online docs simply are not enough, the book fills the void for the specific steps and easily understood information.
Rating:
Summary: If you need to deliver, this is the book you need!
Review: We are embarking on a complete redo of the NOS infrastructure at a medium size tier one automotive supplier. We have many high performance machines in the lab at the moment to provide a mock environment. Netware is the only well supported NOS that can scale practically to larger environments, and Netware 6 has compelling features over previous versions. Since we are building a mission critical 24/7 system to upgrade the existing one, we get 1 shot at getting a design right that they will have to live with for the next 7 to 10 years. Over the past 6 weeks we've read thousands of pages of Netware 6 documentation, and discussed, and designed. At the beginning of the project, a guy who works with me purchased this book without looking at any reviews. I had purchased Mastering Netware 6 by Gaskin based on the reviews here. I mentioned some of the comments made in the reviews of this book, and at length he felt a little foolish. However today, the book with the sticky note tabs and yellow highlights, is this book. It's the one reference that goes into enough detail to make intelligent decisions for design and implementation. I confess what got me to look at the book was a thirst for sadistic glee to verify the comments made about its inaccuracies. Sure enough I found one. On page 541 of the Gaskin book it says that iManage is the only option for managing DNS/DHCP in Netware 6. Page 1328 of this book mentions the DNS/DHCP management console, obviously a cut and paste from 5.1. But just to prove it, I got out the CD. Well OK, so this book was right. It was there. This book shows setting up using it, instead of the newer iManage. I thought it odd since even the Netware docs use iManage. Initially I attributed this to this book being behind the times. Later, I was having quite a time with DNS/DHCP and values changing automatically. I installed the DNS/DHCP management console, and learned the hard way that iManage is buggy, and retrieves information from other DNS servers into the one you are currently working on. We easily solved the problem using the tool recommended by this book. SLP is another area where this book takes a road less traveled. This is but a couple of instances of many we encountered while prototyping the network.
In the end, my co-worker and I switched books. He likes the style and humor of the Gaskin book. I like full context discussions of how things work under the hood, the planning considerations, and the right implementation information to get up and running as designed. It also covers all of the new internet utilities as well as a 75 page chapter on integrating ZENWorks with Netware 6. You can go as deep as you want to with this book. It will even tell you how NDS works inside. Once you understand how it works internally, which is key to knowing whether or not you have an efficient tree design, you'll immediately recognize that a lot of advice out there comes from people "blowing smoke". Everything becomes crystal clear when you use this book. That knowlege will translate into confidence that your design and implementaion will match the needs of the organization, and that you have leveraged all of the applicable strengths of Netware 6 in the process. With the other books, there was never quite enough or the right information. If I could pick only one book to go along with the Netware docs, this would be the book, hands down. (Actually this is the only one I reach for now.) I normally wouldn't spend my precious time writing a review like this, but this book is incredible. This book wasn't written for the reader, it was written for the doer. You will not recognize the strength of this book until you have to deliver. With the Netware docs, and this book, you can deliver! BTW, I'm not a book reviewer. I'm a guy with grease under his finger nails.
Rating:
Summary: If you need to deliver, this is the book you need!
Review: We are embarking on a complete redo of the NOS infrastructure at a medium size tier one automotive supplier. We have many high performance machines in the lab at the moment to provide a mock environment. Netware is the only well supported NOS that can scale practically to larger environments, and Netware 6 has compelling features over previous versions. Since we are building a mission critical 24/7 system to upgrade the existing one, we get 1 shot at getting a design right that they will have to live with for the next 7 to 10 years. Over the past 6 weeks we've read thousands of pages of Netware 6 documentation, and discussed, and designed. At the beginning of the project, a guy who works with me purchased this book without looking at any reviews. I had purchased Mastering Netware 6 by Gaskin based on the reviews here. I mentioned some of the comments made in the reviews of this book, and at length he felt a little foolish. However today, the book with the sticky note tabs and yellow highlights, is this book. It's the one reference that goes into enough detail to make intelligent decisions for design and implementation. I confess what got me to look at the book was a thirst for sadistic glee to verify the comments made about its inaccuracies. Sure enough I found one. On page 541 of the Gaskin book it says that iManage is the only option for managing DNS/DHCP in Netware 6. Page 1328 of this book mentions the DNS/DHCP management console, obviously a cut and paste from 5.1. But just to prove it, I got out the CD. Well OK, so this book was right. It was there. This book shows setting up using it, instead of the newer iManage. I thought it odd since even the Netware docs use iManage. Initially I attributed this to this book being behind the times. Later, I was having quite a time with DNS/DHCP and values changing automatically. I installed the DNS/DHCP management console, and learned the hard way that iManage is buggy, and retrieves information from other DNS servers into the one you are currently working on. We easily solved the problem using the tool recommended by this book. SLP is another area where this book takes a road less traveled. This is but a couple of instances of many we encountered while prototyping the network.
In the end, my co-worker and I switched books. He likes the style and humor of the Gaskin book. I like full context discussions of how things work under the hood, the planning considerations, and the right implementation information to get up and running as designed. It also covers all of the new internet utilities as well as a 75 page chapter on integrating ZENWorks with Netware 6. You can go as deep as you want to with this book. It will even tell you how NDS works inside. Once you understand how it works internally, which is key to knowing whether or not you have an efficient tree design, you'll immediately recognize that a lot of advice out there comes from people "blowing smoke". Everything becomes crystal clear when you use this book. That knowlege will translate into confidence that your design and implementaion will match the needs of the organization, and that you have leveraged all of the applicable strengths of Netware 6 in the process. With the other books, there was never quite enough or the right information. If I could pick only one book to go along with the Netware docs, this would be the book, hands down. (Actually this is the only one I reach for now.) I normally wouldn't spend my precious time writing a review like this, but this book is incredible. This book wasn't written for the reader, it was written for the doer. You will not recognize the strength of this book until you have to deliver. With the Netware docs, and this book, you can deliver! BTW, I'm not a book reviewer. I'm a guy with grease under his finger nails.
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