Windows Server 2008 R2 Secrets

Introduction

The aim of this book is to teach you some things about Windows Server 2008 R2 that you don’t already know. It isn’t that this functionality is a hidden secret. It is just that there are a lot of things about Windows Server 2008 R2 that you won’t know unless you obsess over TechNet documentation or product group blog posts. In my time presenting at conferences such as Microsoft Management Summit and TechED, I’ve often had people come up to me after sessions expressing surprise that a product they regularly use is capable of doing astonishing things they didn’t know about. Even after writing several books on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, I’m still discovering cool things that the operating system can do.

This book isn’t just about obscure or poorly documented features of Windows Server 2008 R2. Obscure features are usually obscure because no one needs to use them! My aim in writing this book is to cover the important roles and functionality of the operating system without spending time on foundational topics that someone who has worked as a system administrator would already know. I also discuss neat features and tricks that might surprise you. In writing this book, I’ve tried to explain what each important Windows Server 2008 R2 role does and how you can leverage it, assuming you are someone who has hung around server rooms for a couple of years, rather than someone who is new to the game and doesn’t know the difference between DNS and DHCP.

Even as an experienced systems administrator, I believe you’ll find the book useful, because Windows Server 2008 R2 is such a vast operating system that there are bound to be things that you don’t know it can do. The product does so much that

Keeping abreast of it all is almost impossible. This book doesn’t cover everything, but

I’ve tried to include links at the end of the chapter to web pages where you can start drilling down deeper to learn more.