Book excerpt: This practical guide has exactly what you need to work with Windows Server 2008. Inside, you'll find step-by-step procedures for using all of the major components, along with discussions on complex concepts such as Active Directory replication, DFS namespaces and replication, network access protection, the Server Core edition, Windows PowerShell, server clustering, and more. All of this with a more compact presentation and a tighter focus on tasks than you'll find in bulkier references. Windows Server 2008: The Definitive Guide takes a refreshing approach. You won't find the history of Windows NT, or discussions on the way things used to work. Instead, you get only the information you need to use this server. If you're a beginning or intermediate system administrator, you learn how the system works, and how to administer machines running it. The expert administrators among you discover new concepts and components outside of your realm of expertise. Simply put, this is the most thorough reference available for Windows Server 2008, with complete guides to: Installing the server in a variety of different environments File services and the Windows permission structure How the domain name system (DNS) works Active Directory, including its logical and physical structure, hierarchical components, scalability, and replication Group Policy's structure and operation Managing security policy with predefined templates and customized policy plans Architectural improvements, new features, and daily administration of IIS 7 Terminal Services from both the administrator's user's point of view Networking architecture including DNS, DHCP, VPN, RADIUS server, IAS, and IPSec Windows clustering services --- applications, grouping machines, capacity and network planning, user account management Windows PowerShell scripting and command-line technology With Windows Server 2008: The Definitive Guide, you to come away with a firm understanding of what's happening under the hood, but without the sense that you're taking a graduate course in OS theory. If you intend to work with this server, this is the only book you need.