Mac OS X Server 10.3 Panther: Visual QuickPro Guide by Schoun Regan

Product Description

As the first server platform to let Mac, Unix, and Linux users share files and printers out of the box, Mac OS X Server promises to revolutionize the world of network administration (or at least make it a whole lot easier). Here to make sure you don't get left behind is Mac OS X Server: Visual QuickPro Guide. In this task-based guide, veteran Mac expert Schoun Regan shows you how to manage local networks, navigate the Unix file system permission architecture, and administer Internet and Web services. You'll also explore the ins and outs of IP-based file sharing and printing services and learn about all that's new in the latest of Apple's big cats, Panther Server: improved setup, management, and monitoring capabilities; enhanced Windows integration; new workgroup and desktop management tools; and more. Clear, concise language, step-by-step instructions, and loads of visual aids mean that even beginners can get up to speed on Mac OS X Server--quickly and efficiently--with this guide.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #248244 in Books
Published on: 2004-12-31
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
472 pages
Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Schoun Regan is CEO of ITInstruction.com and leads its group of roving IT specialists, The Mac Trainers. Schoun routinely travels North America training users on Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, Windows integration, and image management and deployment. He organizes and speaks at the Mac OS X Pro conference sessions at Macworld Expo and various other conventions, educational institutions, and businesses. Previously, Schoun was a Macintosh Network Support Administrator for a Fortune 100 company, and he has written for Tech Republic, Emazing, and other print and online magazines. He enjoys micro-brewed beer and still believes in mapping his own personal genome code and turning it into a board game.Kevin White honed his skills as a technology coordinator for the University of Kentucky, where he achieved Ultimate Guru status. Using these powers for good, he roams the countryside sharing his knowledge of the "Apple way." Since 2002, he has inspired throngs of Macintosh devotees at every stateside Macworld Expo to rise up against the Redmond hegemony. As Mac mercenary for hire, he answers to no one-except for his employers at ITInstruction and MacTown. Kevin lives on the road, but many suspect he has a secret lair somewhere in Louisville, KY.
Customer Reviews

Nice addition to my OSX UNIX library
OS X UNIX is amazingly friendly and accessible. Some people who had never used it before type commands and work with the operating system directly as a "cool guys" in movies! This book is very helpful and well written and it is serves as a very nice reference on OS X server. I paired this book with that "UNIX Essentials" DVD I found here on Amazon and it is complete UNIX course recorded and this book and a video they contribute one another greatly. You improve the reading and by reading you improve what you have seen. OS X server is most advanced and easy to manage UNIX server ever. It is a culmination of all efforts for all UNIX system managing software I ever encountered.
The book is very particular about the subjects that related to OS X and because there are some differences between OS X and other UNIXes it is nice to have a book that deals with it.

Panther Server Skillset
The manual has covered the basic setup of the entire suite of services, plus a slew of other utilities that help manage server settings. The author has done good work in organizing the book for services. I use it as reference for many server jobs. I am thankful for the concise written reference.

A welcome addition to an OS X Server library
I've been waiting for a solid introduction to OS X Server book for some time and have long thought that the lack of such a book was a significant gap in many publishers' stables. Happily, this book filled that gap for me.

As is the style of the other Visual QuickPro Guides, the book is filled with very clear, step-by-step instructions. These lead you through the configuration of each service and are accompanied by a huge number of screen shots so that you can see where you are and easily match up what's happening on your screen. It could be argued, however, that this approach is too repetitive at times, with all the detailed steps and screenshots of getting to a certain point before moving into the meat of how to do a new topic. I suppose this is valuable if you use Server infrequently and pick up the book as a reference text the odd time that you need to make a change, but if you read multiple sections as an intro to what's possible then you'll probably want to skip the first few steps of each new section you get to.

As far as content goes, the book covers essentially every topic you can think of, and also provides many useful tips sprinkled throughout to help you configure and manage your server. The downside of this breadth of coverage is that many topics seem to provide just enough information to be dangerous, but not enough to really "teach" you about what everything means. I was hoping that the book would provide more explanation as to what each of the different options means and does, and provide more recommendations as to why I might choose one option over another. In the DNS chapter, for example, it mentions "A records" and "PTR records," but doesn't explain what these are or how to choose which records you need (yes, there is a valid counterpoint to this, see the next paragraph). Another example is the choice of logging options - it would be helpful to more clearly indicate this process and why I might want to choose one level of logging versus another. A brief primer on how to read the logs would also be valuable.

In the book's defense on the breadth issue, the title is "QuickPro Guide," suggesting that it'll be enough to get you going, while spending relatively little time on detailed explanation. The book does fulfill this objective, but I just think that additional explanation would make the book even more valuable and reduce the need to reference other networking and server books to get a basic background. In those cases where there is a call for more detail than "should" be provided in this particular book, quite possibly such as my DNS example above, the book should provide a weblink or two or recommended reading suggestions for more information. Perhaps it's a matter of focus and the book should choose to either be oriented to beginners and provide them with enough information to enlighten them or else tell them where to find foundation references first, a set of prerequisites say, and then concentrate on a more experienced audience.

A couple of final thoughts includes a caveat that the structure seems a bit disorganized, with some key topics being put off. For example, security is pushed to the end of the book, as many other books do as well, although at least parts of the chapter would be useful closer to the front, such as the creation of private keys, which is relevant to securing Web services, sending and receiving email, etc. Another suggestion for a future edition would be the inclusion of a flowchart of the key tasks that you need to do when setting up a new server from scratch. The book gives good advice in this regard, but it's all text-based. A graphic to lead off the Intro or first chapter as a jumping off point would be great.

Overall, I did find the book very helpful, but more as a reference tool than a learning guide. If that's what you're after then look no further, but otherwise be prepared to do some additional reading - of course, it's unrealistic to expect one book to do it all anyway. I am looking forward to O'Reilly's soon-to-be-released Essential Mac OS X Server Administration book.

NB. I accessed the book via safari.oreilly.com - an excellent service I might add (if you're not the type of person who needs to feel the paper).