How to Cheat Series

Over 95% of computers around the world are running at least one Microsoft product. Microsoft Windows Software Update Service is designed to provide patches and updates to every one of these computers. The book will begin by describing the feature set of WSUS, and the benefits it provides to system administrators. Next, the reader will learn the steps that must be taken to configure their servers and workstations to make the compatible with WSUS. A special section then follows to help readers migrate from Microsoft’s earlier update service, Software Update Service (SUS) to WSUS. The next chapters will then address the particular needs and complexities of managing WSUS on an enterprise network. Although WSUS is designed to streamline the update process, this service can still be a challenge for administrators to use effectively. To address these issues, the next chapters deal specifically with common problems that occur and the reader is provides with invaluable troubleshooting information. One of the other primary objectives of WSUS is to improve the overall security of Windows networks by ensuring that all systems have the most recent security updates and patches. To help achieve this goal, the next sections cover securing WSUS itself, so that critical security patches are always applied and cannot be compromised by malicious hackers. * Only book available on Microsoft's brand new, Windows Server Update Services * Employs Syngress' proven "How to Cheat" methodology providing readers with everything they need and nothing they don't * WSUS works with every Microsoft product, meaning any system administrator running a Windows-based network is a potential customer for this book

Most Systems Administrators are not security specialists. Keeping the network secure is one of many responsibilities, and it is usually not a priority until disaster strikes. How to Cheat at Securing Your Network is the perfect book for this audience. The book takes the huge amount of information available on network security and distils it into concise recommendations and instructions, using real world, step-by-step instruction. The latest addition to the best selling "How to Cheat..." series of IT handbooks, this book clearly identifies the primary vulnerabilities of most computer networks, including user access, remote access, messaging, wireless hacking, media, email threats, storage devices, and web applications. Solutions are provided for each type of threat, with emphasis on intrusion detection, prevention, and disaster recovery. * A concise information source - perfect for busy System Administrators with little spare time * Details what to do when disaster strikes your network * Covers the most likely threats to small to medium sized networks

This book is written with the IT professional in mind. It provides a clear, concise system for managing IT projects, regardless of the size or complexity of the project. It avoids the jargon and complexity of traditional project management (PM) books. Instead, it provides a unique approach to IT project management, combining strategic business concepts (project ROI, strategic alignment, etc.) with the very practical, step-by-step instructions for developing and managing a successful IT project. It’s short enough to be easily read and used but long enough to be comprehensive in the right places. * Essential information on how to provide a clear, concise system for managing IT projects, regardless of the size or complexity of the project * As IT jobs are outsourced, there is a growing demand for project managers to manage outsourced IT projects * Companion Web site for the book provides dozens of working templates to help readers manage their own IT projects

Windows 2003 Server is unquestionably the dominant enterprise level operating system in the industry, with 95% of all companies running it. And for the last tow years, over 50% of all product upgrades have been security related. Securing Windows Server, according to bill gates, is the company's #1 priority. While considering the security needs of your organiztion, you need to balance the human and the technical in order to create the best security design for your organization. Securing a Windows Server 2003 enterprise network is hardly a small undertaking, but it becomes quite manageable if you approach it in an organized and systematic way. This includes configuring software, services, and protocols to meet an organization’s security needs. * The Perfect Guide if "System Administrator is NOT your primary job function * Avoid "time drains" configuring the many different security standards built into Windows 2003 * Secure VPN and Extranet Communications

The Perfect Reference for the Multitasked SysAdmin The Microsoft Windows Vista operating system offers several changes and improvements over its predecessors. It not only brings a new and redesigned interface, but also improves on many administrative utilities and management consoles. It also enhances the system’s reliability, performance, and problem-solving tools. As administrators, Vista will sometimes look like its predecessor, Windows XP, and at other times, look like an all-new operating system. How to Cheat will help you get Vista up and running as quickly and safely as possible and provide you with a solid idea of all the important changes and improvements the new Microsoft Vista OS has to offer. In the book you will: * Automate Windows Vista Installation See how Windows installations can be automated for large-scale deployments using the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). * Install and Maintain Devices Windows Vista contains device drivers for hundreds of PnP devices, and the Device Manager snap-in is the main utility on a local computer for managing them. * Customize Appearances, Taskbars, and Toolbars See how to use a personalization page, use the taskbar, and customize desktop themes. * Manage File System Formats, Partitions, and Volumes Learn how Windows Vista supports basic and dynamic volumes and two partition styles: MBR and GPT. * Increase File System Performance Learn how using tools such as disk defragging, cluster size adjustment, removing short filename support, and compression can help with performance. * Administer via Remote Remote Desktop and Windows Firewall can help administrators perform administrative tasks on remote computers. * Managing Services The Services utility allows you to view the status of services, as well as to disable nonessential services. * Configure TCP/IP in Vista See how to configure TCP/IP (both IPv4 and IPv6) via the user interface or via the netsh command. * See What’s New with Wireless in Vista Understand wireless security and learn how to install a wireless network. * Optimize Windows Startup, the Hard Disk, and More Optimize memory, applications, and the network connection, and see how to monitor performance. Contents Include Introducing and Installing Microsoft Vista Installing and Maintaining Hardware Devices and Drivers Customizing Desktop Properties Managing File Systems and Disks General Administration Tasks Managing Local Networking Essentials Managing the Wireless World and Its Security Managing Security Essentials Securing User Access Tuning for Better Performance Troubleshooting Provides the multi-tasked SysAdmin with the essential information needed to perform the daily tasks Covers the major new release of Windows, which will create significant challenges for IT managers Emphasizes best-practice security measures

Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 is Microsoft’s latest version of Live Communications Server 2005. The product provides management for all synchronous communications that takes place in real time. This includes instant messaging (IM), Voice over IP (VoIP), and audio conferencing and videoconferencing. It will work with your company’s existing telecommunications systems without major hardware upgrades. This means your business can deploy advanced VoIP and conferencing without tearing out its preexisting legacy telephone network. How to Cheat at Administering Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 provides the busy system administrator with any easy-to-access reference that provides step-by-step instructions on how to install, configure, manage and troubleshoot Communicator across the network. It is the perfect tool for those who simply need to complete a task without reading through lots of theory and principles. Get Inside Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Learn what’s new in OCS 2007, compare the previous editions, understand OCS 2007 server roles, plan an OCS 2007 installation Install the First OCS 2007 Front-End Server Address the prerequisites, prepare active directory, install and configure OCS 2007 Enterprise Edition, and verify the installation summary Configure the Edge Server Install the Edge Server, work with certificates, deal with security issues, and test the Edge Server Configure the Mediation Server Install the Configuration Server, configure dialing rules, configure users for voice functionality, and test voice functionality Configure Archiving Address compliance requirements, understand archiving topology, and install the Archiving Server Configure Conference Servers Understand on-premises conferencing, use on-premises conferencing, understand Microsoft RoundTable, and install conferencing Integrate OCS with PBX and IP-PBX Systems Use a gateway, configure Cisco CallManager as a Gateway, and understand CSTA/SIP gateways Integrate OCS with Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging Master Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging and architecture, Configure Exchange 2007 UM, and Combine OCS with Exchange 2007 UM Upgrade to Office Communications Server 2007 Plan your migration from LCS 2005 to OCS 2007, upgrade perimeter servers, upgrade director servers, upgrade front-end servers, perform user migration, and remove LCS 2005 from the network environment

Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) is a network monitoring tool that provides enterprise-class event and performance management for Windows Server System technologies. MOM's event and performance management tools discover problems before system administrators would ever find them, thereby enabling administrators to lower their costs of operations and simplify management of their Windows Server System infrastructure. MOM can notify system administrators of overloaded processors, depleted memory, or failed network connections affecting their Windows servers long before these problems bother users. Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 delivers open and scalable enterprise-class operational management by providing comprehensive event management, proactive monitoring and alerting, reporting and trend analysis, and system and application specific knowledge and tasks to improve the manageability of Windows Server System environments, including Windows, Exchange, SQL, IIS, Active Directory etc. * A users guide to Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) enabling a cost reduction and simplification in managing your Windows Server System Infrastructure * Companion Web site for book offers dozens of customized scripts and tools for automating MOM 2005 and many other Windows Server products * There is no other compact resource like this for this core, Microsoft Server product

How to Cheat at Managing Windows Small Business Server 2003 deals only with the vital, and will be a huge relief to the hundreds of thousands of managers who probably never imagined they would be managing the operating system equivalent of the Space Shuttle. The "80/20" Rule applied to managing a Windows Small Business Server 2003 network. Concise coverage, with ready-to-use solutions, of the most commonly encountered W2K3 Server tasks and problems. Written for the non-MCSE, with little technical training, who is responsible for running a small to medium sized network. Microsoft has announced it will no longer support Windows NT 4 products, effective Dec. 31, 2004. Millions of small businesses that did not upgrade to Windows Server 2000 will choose to upgrade directly to Windows Server 2003, and this will be a timely book.

A virtual evolution in IT shops large and small has begun. VMware’s ESX Server is the enterprise tool to free your infrastructure from its physical limitations providing the great transformation into a virtual environment--this book shows you how. Use Syngress’ proven “How to Cheat methodology to configure and build VMware’s ESX Server version 3. This clear, concise guide provides all the information you need to become a virtual whiz! This book will detail the default and custom installation of VMware’s ESX server as well as basic and advanced virtual machine configurations. It will then walk the reader through post installation configurations including installation and configuration of VirtualCenter. From here, readers will learn to efficiently create and deploy virtual machine templates. Best practices for securing and backing up your virtual environment are also provided. The book concludes with a series of handy, time-saving command and configuration for: bash shell keystrokes, Linux commands, configuration files, common/proc files, VMware ESX commands, and troubleshooting. • Reap the Benefits of Server Virtualization Realize improved ROI, ensure efficient mergers and acquisitions, and reduce compliance risk exposure through server virtualization and consolidation. • Build a Virtual Machine Create a Gold Master and use your VMlibrary to leverage the power and flexibility of VMware. • Manage Your Virtual Infrastructure Use VMware tools to partition physical servers and manage virtual machines. • Set Up Scripted Installation See how a scripted installation method can be a fast and efficient way to provision ESX hosts. • Master ESX Native Tools Use tools like Esxtop to diagnose performance issues and vmkfstools to import and export • Install and Use VMware Scripting APIs Develop programs to help automate and ease administration—even with a limited background in scripting or programming. • Learn the Fundamentals of a VM Backup VMware ESX ships with three scripts that work together to create a backup and restore system: vmsnap.pl, vmsnap_all.pl, and vmres.pl. • Extend a Cloned Windows VM’s Root Partition Use Microsoft’s Sysprep utility to extend a newly deployed virtual machine’s root partition from the original clone size to a larger size.