Acknowledgments

Writing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator's Pocket Consultant was a lot of fun ”and a lot of work. As you'll see, Windows Server 2003 is very different from its predecessors and that meant a lot of research to ensure the book was as accurate as it could be. When all was said and done, I ended up with a book that was nearly 800 pages in length and that just isn't what a pocket consultant is meant to be. Pocket consultants are meant to be portable and readable ”the kind of book you use to solve problems and get the job done wherever you might be; a book which zeros in on the important tasks . With that in mind, I had to go back in and carefully review the text, making sure I focused on the core of Windows Server 2003 administration. The result is the book you hold in your hand, which I hope you'll agree is one of the best practical, portable guides to Windows Server 2003.

It is gratifying to see techniques I've used time and again to solve problems put into a printed book so that others may benefit from them. But no man is an island and this book couldn't have been written without help from some very special people. As I've stated in Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrator's Pocket Consultant and in Microsoft Windows 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant, Second Edition, the team at Microsoft Press is top-notch. Throughout the writing process, Julie Miller was instrumental in helping me stay on track and getting the tools I needed to write this book. Julie did a top- notch job managing the editorial process from the Microsoft Press side. Erin Connaughton headed up the editorial process for nSight, Inc. Their professionalism , thoroughness, and attention to every detail are much appreciated!

Unfortunately for the writer (but fortunately for readers), writing is only one part of the publishing process. Next came editing and author review. I must say, Microsoft Press has the most thorough editorial and technical review process I've seen anywhere ”and I've written a lot of books for many different publishers. Special thanks to both Julie and Erin for helping me to meet review deadlines. Toby Andrews was the technical editor for the book. It was a great pleasure working with Toby. I'd also like to thank Joseph Gustaitis for his careful copyediting of this book. I believe Joe has been the copy editor for every Pocket Consultant that I've written. His work is always top-notch!

When we got into the final stages of the text a lot of people pitched in to help out. I owe many thank yous to Michael Bolinger, Jeff Koch, and Juliana Aldous Atkinson. Their focus, dedication, and problem resolution skills are much appreciated. At crunch time, Jim Kramer was a terrific help in layout, and Gillian Anderson helped review pages. Both of their efforts helped to keep the book on track for publication.

Hopefully, I haven't forgotten anyone but if I have, it was an oversight. Honest.;-)