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Rating: 
Summary: Best book on AD I have read so far
Review: I am only part way through this book and loving it. I can't seem to put it down. The author explains in clear detail important topics that you need to know to manage AD. Instead of boring you with highly detailed internals which you would never use anyway, you get simplistic view and explanation of all the things you need to know to be an AD admin. I find myself looking ahead because I can't wait to see whats covered next. As I said, I am only part way through the book but after 200+ pages, I don't think my opinion is going to change.
Rating:
Summary: It's all in here...
Review: I have an extensive library already on Active Directory. When I first got my hands on this book I wanted to test it out, see if it was worth adding to my collection. So I played a little game, I thought of things that should be in here, then looked in the book to see if they were there. This treasure hunt went on for a while consistently finding that the topics that should be in here are in here... So I switched tack, I started to read the index and see what I wouldn't expect to be in, if it was I'd be impressed... I was and am very impresses. Very soon I was hooked, this book really does explain the answers to many questions that commonly come up. There's a lot of books out there that explain Active Directory, but few that answer those nitty-gritty questions. This is one that does! Even if you've got a bookshelf full of AD books, check this out, it's a must... Well done Sakari and Mita..
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Summary: Active Directory all the way
Review: I salute Sakari and Mika on the best written Active Directory book ever. I found it most valuable, understanding AD in an precise knowledgeable way, they know what they are writing about. It was an 5 star complement to Minasi and his Mastering Windows 2000 Server. Great!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the Best Single Book on AD
Review: Quite simply it is the best guide to Active Directory in a single book. The quality of writing is superb, it has the benefit of appearing a couple of years after the release of W2K and you can tell that the authors know their subject. I found information in this book that I have never seen anywhere else (like what AdminSDHolder does)! A direct competitor to this book would be Alistair G. Lowe-Norris "Windows 2000 Active Directory" but IMHO that book does not have the benefit of 2 years experience in the real-world.Highlights are the chapters on AD security, replication, schema management and group policy. There are also two superb chapters on ADSI scripting. However, there are some things it doesn't cover (wisely in my opinion as it would become too large). Specifically it does not cover migration or deployment planning. It also does not cover DNS planning in depth. These topics are large enough to require books on their own. All in all if you want serious in-depth technical detail on managing AD, explained clearly and precisely (rare qualities in technical books) then this is the book to go for.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the beginner or the sleepy.
Review: Read the Microsoft documents, white papers and manuals on the Microsoft web site instead. This book offers no easier approach to understanding than the techno-drill available from Microsoft.
Who writes these reviews anyway? I can't believe anybody really liked this book.
Rating: 
Summary: design a p2p network with these ideas?
Review: So this is what became of X.500? Well, ok, not literally. But some of you may remember in the early 90s when X.500 came out and was heralded as the definitive way to implement a distributed directory service. But, for various reasons, it proved impractical and very few places actually implemented it.
What this book shows is how Microsoft took the best ideas of X.500 and redone, along with other ideas, into Active Directory. Impressive capabilities, as thoroughly discussed by the authors. And also seemingly very practical, unlike the unlamented X.500.
For those of you from a unix background, you might be familiar with NFS and the setup of a master server and slave servers. This maps into the idea of domain controllers for AD domains. But you can easily see here that AD far extends the scope.
Perusing the book also led me to this off the wall observation. In AD, you hold data that is essentially static. That is, it should change only on a time scale longer than the propagation time for changes to reach all the domains. And the data should be small. (A few kilobytes at most.) For a set of many domains, AD uses a global catalog to restrict the scope of searches, instead of those going out to all domains. The point is, this is a critical problem in many p2p networks. So if you are thinking of building a novel p2p network, you might want to study how AD tackles the issue. Though this book nowhere makes this comparison to p2p, as far as I can tell.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource for Administrators and Developers
Review: There really is something to be said about second editions. The kinks have been worked out and the authors have just that much more experience to enrich the new text with. Refreshingly this title also doesn't assume that you have forgotten the existence of operating systems less than 2003 or that your experience is only within the Windows World; throughout the text are clue-ins for Windows NT administrators as well as those with a Novell background (both types displayed as bonus text and if you have experience in neither, you don't miss a thing). Without a doubt, if you are in charge of any aspect of the Active Directory (AD) - this is a must have.
It is amazing in what is included in this book. For administrators there is the most comprehensive overview of the AD you could want, covering everything from domain planning to single AD object creation. Included with general text are graphics and summary tables, so you're never having to dig for that needed quip of information you're just sure you read 50 pages back. Like to see the tie-in between the interface and where the data is stored in the registry, file system, or schema? It's in there. A bonus for administrators are chapters dedicated to topics such as LDAP/LDAP Searches, new Microsoft RSK utilities relating to AD and Group Policies, and even an administrative scripting overview with samples (not a scripting tutorial, and not all-inclusive of ADSI, but an excellent introduction and possibility revealer). For developers (and admins alike), everything you would want to know about the schema, from explanation of the schema and classes to extending the schema, is very well documented and demonstrated.
Unlike some titles where the information is a rehash of Microsoft White Papers, on-line help, or the authors own initial discoveries while learning the previously unknown system, it is crystal clear that the authors know the AD inside and out and have refined the presented experience in a very concise and easy to read manner. Anyone who must administer the AD should read this book - regardless of experience. Long after you've discovered new aspects you didn't know existed, this title will server as an excellent reference.
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Summary: The must-have Active Directory book!
Review: This is a must-have Active Directory book. As the title states, it takes you inside Active Directory. Good writing style doesn't bore. Good coverage of scripting. Excellent references. This makes a great AD reference, in addition to 'Mission Critical Active Directory', and Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit - I regularly quote material from this book in class and highly recommend it to everyone interested in getting under the hood of AD. Bharat Suneja
MCT
Rating:
Summary: Amazing piece of work
Review: Weighing in at over 1100 pages I couldn't imagine a more comprehensive book on Active Directory. And this is not a doorstop. It's very well researched, written and illustrated. It guides you through installation and use all the way to advanced topics. The chapter on replication is superb. As are the chapters on the schema and how the schema can be extended.
Sometimes you get a book and marvel at just how much work went into it. This is one of those books. An absolute must for anyone who is actively using, or planning to use, Active Directory.
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Summary: Very detailed technical guide
Review: While the authors note in the preface that this book is suitable for the complete novice, I would disagree. It is a much better match for someone with some knowledge of Active Directory who wants to take their knowledge to the next level and become a true Active Directory wizard. For those with some knowledge who wants to really get down to the inner workings of Active Directory in a depth of detail and breadth of coverage unmatched by any other book this is the place to turn.
Kouti and Seitsonen provide excellent coverage of topics a lot of people have difficulty understanding and setting up properly. This book supplies you with sound background theory so you can understand these concepts and at the same time gives just the right amount of detail to actually accomplish what you are trying to do.
Inside Active Directory, Second Edition is highly recommended to everyone already possessing a basic understanding of Active Directory and who wants to have the best single reference available at hand.
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