Customer comments on this selection.
 Excellent Administrators Reference
Everything is easy to find and well laid out.
A must have for trouble free deployment of configuration manager 2007.
 Concise
Gives the info I need in a format that is easy to use as a reference document. While I would still recommend training for those who are going to SC:CM from nothing at all, this book is great for Administrators of existing SMS infrastructures. Gives a good look at the new capabilities.
If you are new to SMS and looking for a comprehensive guide to everything you need to know, you may want to look elsewhere.
 Good for a someone new to Config Manager / SMS
Just like the SMS 2003 Administrators Companion, this book is really for someone who has little to no knowledge of the product. It is not really intended to help a seasoned admin or someone who needs to architect a large environment. As a book for someone new to Configuration Manager and having no experience with SMS, I would recommend it.
Use Technet instead
I've been planning a SCCM 07 install for a while and was using the technet site and webinars to learn the product. I was eagerly waiting for a book laid out in plain english to help me in the process. I am somewhat disappointed.
The author says in the intro that the book is not intended to cover every nuance of the product and then praises the Technet writing team for already having done that. He says "In fact you'll find many references throughout the book that point you to the core documentation for more detailed information."
In many cases when I look up a topic in the book I need clarification on, I find a short paragraph that ends with a URL of a technet article.
The book has helped me organize a better outline in which steps to take to install and configure the product. But it seems the purpose it really serves is to help in finding appropriate articles in the massive technet library easier. But is that worth $59.99?
Its basic, but comprehensive and helpful
Like the last guy said, this book is fairly basic. I haven't read the Beta docs, so I can't say if this is just a rehash of the initial white papers. But really...I can't remember a single MS book that's ever been 50-layers below the surface like many experienced Admins want. There's no way you could cover **everything** about SMS/SCCM in one volume.
Provided he/she has a good working knowledge of (a) AD (b) PKI and (c) SMS2003, I'd bet a mid-level Admin could deploy SCCM based on what he/she gets from this book.
Right now, we are in the middle of migrating a (very large) SMS infrastructure over to SCCM. I've found this book to be an invaluable resource. But lets face it - a good SMS/SCCM admin knows where to go if he/she is facing a weighty problem. The depth and breadth of SMS is just that....deep and broad. I honestly can't think of another MS application aside from AD that can do more.
Want to know MS best-practice for designing your upcoming SCCM-infrastructure, plan an SMS-SCCM migration, how to leverage DCM or Software Metering, etc...? Well, here's your book.
Want to figure out how to troubleshoot SMS/SCCM-related WMI issues, troubleshoot your Management Point, trick out your MOF to start collecting DIMM bank info, figure out why you are getting all those SQL errors after making said MOF change? Well, that's where the internet comes in. MYITforum or the Blogcast Repository in particular. Like I said, SMS/SCCM is a very deep and broad application. No one book is going to tell you how to do **everything**.
Steve and team did a good job here painting the 30,000FT view and giving perspective on all the new features. Like I said, its been an invaluable resource.
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