Distributed

First things first: you'll need a fair amount of hardware information at your fingertips even to understand this book, which is not for beginners. Bigelow, a respected hardware author, gives brief explanations of the basics, but the fact is that if you don't understand the difference between IDE and SCSI technology, or are still trying to figure out the differences between various Ethernet cablings, you may be lost early on. Bigelow starts out slow, but slides rapidly into a barrage of technospeak that is lucid and understandable, but may require repeated readings from those not up to speed.

If you are up to speed, though, you'll find that Bigelow does a very serviceable job explaining the internal components of the PC, and utilizes a wealth of detail in order to explain exactly how each component works. Bigelow explains each part in isolation, meaning that if you understand how every port, board, and cable of a PC hangs together, you'll be able to keep the full picture in mind while he explains exactly what this cable does. If you can do that, then this reference is invaluable, since he goes into great detail which you will be able to fit into a wider perspective, coming away with a comprehensive knowledge of server hardware issues from the motherboard up. Unfortunately, if you're still a little sketchy on some of the finer operations of the complete PC, you may get so caught up in learning the number and function of pins on the cable he's discussing that you may forget its overall importance to a healthy server in the first place.

Which is a continual problem with the book; it doesn't focus on the exam. Bigelow provides such a wealth of information that you won't know what's important to remember and what's not; when it comes to test time, you may find yourself flailing about to remember facts that nobody told you CompTIA considered critical. Although the wide scale of the book has to be commended in an age when many books provide just enough knowledge to pass the test and give you no real-world information, the irony is present and weighty: reading this fine book from cover to cover may actually be enough to get you a job, but not the Server+ certificate.

In addition, the book doesn't fully map to the exam goals. Although the book doesn't necessarily slack in providing details on things like cabling, baselines, and network operating systems, it's obvious that Bigelow's heart is still firmly in hardware issues. You'll get lots of information about hard drives and CMOS setup, but comparatively little on creating baseline server readings and troubleshooting software problems. Another minor issue is the scarcity of pictures; they are always helpful when discussing internal PC parts.

In short, this book is woefully mismarketed: it's a fine hardware book and is a valid addition to almost any MIS technician's hardware library. Furthermore, if you get the information in this book down, you will understand the hardware aspects of a server with enough not only to pass, but probably to stand head and shoulders above many working technicians today. But unfortunately, that means that it isn't a true all-in-one certification book--just an adjunct for a larger course of study. --William Steinmetz