4.2 Concepts, Tools, Tasks, and Notes

4.2 Concepts, Tools, Tasks , and Notes

Each topic generally begins with a Concepts section that provides you with the necessary background information for administering the aspect of WS2003 being discussed. Comprehensiveness of coverage varies with the subject matter; for example, the DNS topic includes a fair amount of basic material on DNS terminology. Readers who are coming from a Unix BIND background may want to skim through this material to see how Microsoft's take on DNS may differ from their own, while those familiar with Windows NT or Windows 2000 Server platforms can either skip all or portions of this material or use it as a refresher, depending on their level of expertise in the subject.

After Concepts may come a Tools section, if it's helpful to summarize the consoles, snap-ins, or other tools used to administer the topic under consideration. Usually there is a presentation of the basic features of each tool along with some tips on how to get the most out of using it. If a tool is covered elsewhere in the chapter, there may simply be a cross-reference instead to indicate this.

The Tasks section comes next . This section outlines, in condensed form, various administrative tasks related to the topic (unless the topic is informational only). In the DNS topic, for example, you can find out how to perform various tasks such as installing a DNS server, viewing or flushing the resolver cache, configuring a forwarder, and so on. The tasks presented are usually a selection of the most important or most common administrative tasks relating to the topic. Minor and infrequent tasks are generally omitted since wise readers can usually figure them out on their own.

After Tasks frequently comes Notes to detail some fine points and provide tips, gotchas, things that may not be obvious, and strategies for troubleshooting and administration. I recommend that you always read the Notes section even if you just look up a procedure for a simple task.

Finally, at the end of most topics is See Also , a brief list of cross-references to other sections to which the reader can turn for additional or related information. Note that cross-references that are capitalized and italicized, like Active Directory , DNS , or Event Logs , point to topics in this chapter, while those in lowercase and constant width font, like adprep , dfscmd , or tasklist , refer to commands described in Chapter 5.