Introduction

Welcome to Mastering Windows Server 2008 R2! I've got to tell you, I haven't been this excited about a new version of Server since Windows 2000, almost 10 years ago. Why? I guess because it feels...fun. Yeah, that's the word—fun. Here's what I mean.

R2's 10-year-old older brother, Windows Server 2000, was neat because it was such a game-changer, an OS lushly festooned with completely new concepts and tools to get to know. Now, I've seen big operating system upgrades before, like DOS 2.0 in 1982, OS 2.0 in 1992, or Windows 3.0 in 1990, and in every case things seemed to work out the same way: first we get the holy-moley-there's-so-much-new-stuff thrill of discovery and newness, then we sit down and start using the thing, and then we ...

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