Upgrading to Lotus Notes and Domino 7 - PACKT Publishing - Sample Chapter and Upcoming Book Review

01/18/2006 11:18 PM by Chris Toohey

I've been using the Lotus Notes 7 client release since early BETA, and was a very early adopter of the Domino 7 server release, having upgraded several Domino servers of my own as well as acting as the admin for several at work. But despite the various references out there, I find myself sometimes confused by the given instructions.... see, I'm a visual person - I need to see it, as well as just reading directions. So luck would have it that I had the opportunity to review PACKT Publishing's upcoming Upgrading to Lotus Notes and Domino 7 , as well as provide a sample chapter from the book to the readers of this site! From this sample chapter (the book is currently en route to my home office), I can tell that this is a book that I'll like. It's extremely visual - and helps me get a better (pardon the pun) picture of what I'm trying to accomplish while detailing exactly what it is that I need to do.

Written in what I'd call a Tutorial-like style (again, from what I can tell of the sample chapter), it walks the fine line of getting you more details than a Cookbook-like approach (Add this, and this, and this, and voila! - very superficial with no details about what each task you're performing actually does) but doesn't give you Encyclopedic-like knowledge of a given settings field either. It's a great Admin in-the-trenches book from what I'm seeing, and something that I will more than likely have at the front of my book rotation for some time to come.

Here's a quick excerpt from the sample chapter, which details Domino Domain Monitoring (or DDM). Click here to download the Sample Chapter or on the Bookcover below:

"In this chapter, we have taken a detailed look at Domino Domain Monitoring (DDM), one of the major new administration features introduced in Domino 7. We reviewed the set of pre-configured probes that gather status and process information (applications, databases, directories, messaging, the operating system, and so on) about the servers being monitored. We discussed the Event Resolution Center (ERC), where processed events are placed. We also talked about event monitoring, Domino 7's ability to monitor and execute specific actions based on a large variety of events. These events can be the results of normal processing activities and/or error-type events. The next chapter discusses the Administration process."

I'm honestly looking forward to getting my hands on this book, and giving you guys an honest review. If it's anything like the sample chapter however, the review is likely to make you want to run for your dentists!