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A Linux Admin's Guide to Windows?
Rexburg asks: "I recently took a job managing an all Windows network. While my knowledge of the OS is enough to perform the functions of my job, I want to have my bases covered. Naturally, I began the hunt for documentation, but all I can find are books to help Windows users/admins understand and use Linux. I need the opposite. Can the Slashdot crowd point a fellow OSS-head in the right direction?"
What, you have to have something marketed directly at you?
I don't think I've seen any of them titled "Windows HowTo: Don't read me if you know anything about Linux"
Face it, if you're going from Linux to Windows, you're in a pretty small minority.
"I recently took a job managing an all Windows network...."
Run...... run fast!!!
No.... seriously good luck. I went from a pure HP-UX enviroment to a Windows one... It's really fun to try and script mass file renames among other things
BE PATIENT AND YOU'LL LIVE!
"...if you are a unix/linux admin, then Windows to you should be very clear and straight forward."
That is total bollocks and you know it. I'd like to see someone who knows Exim and Postfix walk into an clustered Exchange 2000 site and hit the ground running. Yet more FUD from the "I know *NIX so therefore I know everything" crowd.
Not true. I've read plenty of stories and reports that *nix admins typically have a far better foundation in the fundamentals. My experience has been similar. *nix gurus tend to know what happens under the surface and can often do a much faster/better job of debugging and engineering. I'll wager that if you were to compare *nix admins with Windoze admins, you would find a far higher percentage of *nix admins understand http/smtp/pop well enough to use telnet to access and debug a web/mail/pop server.
Also, as a couple of articles have pointed out, almost all *nix admins have at least some experience with Windows while Windows admins with *nix skills are less common.
If I were the employer, however, I'd be concerned about interest level. If you are dying to learn Windows and increase your overall skill level then go for it. For others, being forced to deal with Windows would be like sitting listening to blackboards being scratched all day. Still, you gotta eat.
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"You are not remembered for doing what is expected of you." - Atul Chitnis
All it took was one look at the headline and I could imagine all of the jokes . However, let's look at reality. If you're a real bonafide sysadmin, you're probably going to have to deal with Windows.
I remember at one point I was having to write some VB code. It was during the dot com boom. There where certainly jobs for C++/Java people. However, there was a real demand for VB COM programmers. So I figured, I should at least take a look and try to figure out how the dark side works. Of course my first idea was to go around the office and ask if anyone had ever heard of a VB book for C++/Java programmers. (Actually I did run across a VB for COBOL programmers.) The immediate response was chuckles and outright laughter. Of course, my smart ass smirk probably didn't help. Anyway, there was a book that dove that deeply into VB. It was "Hardcore Visual Basic". There where a couple of good O'Reilly books as well. (As an ironic side note, the author stopped updating the book because he got so sick of microsoft abusing a perfectly good RAD tool).
Yes, programming a glorified GUI sucks. Yes, you're ultimately going to cut and paste and cleverly misuse the IDE when you write code. Yes, VB is a painful. It like trying to ride a tricycle when you've got a Harley in the garage. However, most of the world runs Microsoft products and from time to time I have to work with Windows. So I getting sick of the snide comments. The submitter is definitely NOT A TROLL! I don't claim to be a hacker or an ubergeek but I'm kind of sick of the unprofessional nature of the Slashdot crowd.
So, my best advice is that you take a look at some of the O'Reilly books and stroll through some of the reviews at Amazon. Let their data miners do the work for you.
What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean....
So I suppose that seeing as the site you were at had no requirement for groupware then no-one else does either?
Let's face reality, there are a lot of very complex Windows networks out there. You may deride them, but they do exist and they need competant admins. You can try to run them with a bunch of monkeys, but that's why issues like code red and SQLslammer are such a pain, bad software + incompetant admins = disaster.
No matter how good your UNIX skills are you still won't have a thorough understanding of the details of things like Active Directory. You may understand the concepts and you may be able to nut it out but it's different to what you are used to and you would be irrisponsible if you didn't try to find good documentation to help you.
I find the most useful resources are MCSE manuals because they are usually well indexed and they deal with the specifics of differnet parts of the system.
I want to use these Mod points but I can't find anything Interesting, Informative or Insightful on Slashdot.
Not true. I've read plenty of stories and reports that *nix admins typically have a far better foundation in the fundamentals. My experience has been similar. *nix gurus tend to know what happens under the surface and can often do a much faster/better job of debugging and engineering
Yes and no. Yes, *nix people do tend to know a lot more about computers. On the other hand, they expect things to make sense and to behave deterministically, and on Windows, sometimes they don't.
I develop for and occasionally admin both 'Doze and Linux boxes. I find that maybe 80% of the time, the knowledge I've gained from *nix and *nix-friendly tools (most of which are available via Cygwin, thank God!) is a lifesaver. On the other hand, maybe 20% of the time, it screws me up. I don't want to just "Reboot, Reinstall, Reformat" because then next time I won't know what caused the problem, how I fixed it, or how to fix it again. But sometimes on Windows that is exactly what is necessary. It is sometimes the fastest way to solve a problem. It is sometimes the only way.
Nonaggression works!