Friday, October 21, 2016

Administrator's Reference + IT Pro Library Better Together. 2 Great Resources.

 Recently, a reader asked a good question: How do Windows Server 2016: The Administrator's Reference and Windows Server 2016: IT Pro Library differ? 

The short answer is that they are completely different texts, written separately from start to finish, while both covering Windows Server 2016. An IT Pro could own both sets, or the individual books in each set, to round out and complete their library.

More specifically, Windows Server 2016: The Administrator’s Reference provides over 250,000 words covering Microsoft's latest server operating system and includes the two IT Pro Solutions books I've written for Windows Server 2016:

1. Windows Server 2016: Essentials for Administration
2. Windows Server 2016: Server Infrastructure

The IT Pro Solutions books are practical and precise hands-on guides with ready answers for IT professionals. You get fast answers and quick instruction.

Windows Server 2016: IT Pro Library provides over 500,000 words covering Microsoft’s latest server operating system and includes the four Tech Artisans books I've written for Windows Server 2016:

1. Windows Server 2016: Installing & Configuring
2. Windows Server 2016: Storage Solutions
3. Windows Server 2016: Essential Services
4. Windows Server 2016: Domain Infrastructure

The Tech Artisans books are in-depth, authoritative references that are meant to be comprehensive. You get expert-level guidance, deep technical advice, timely solutions, and insightful workarounds.

As when I wrote both Pocket Consultants and Inside Outs on topics for Microsoft, the materials in the Administrator's Reference and the IT Pro Library are completely separate from each other. Although coverage of topics do overlap, the materials in each resource is meant to be unique and stand on its own. Frequently, the materials are written to complement each other. A good example of this? Compare the coverage of accounts in the Administrator’s Reference with the coverage of accounts in the IT Pro Library.

In Windows Server 2016: Essentials for Administration, which is part of the Administrator’s Reference, you’ll find

Chapter 7. Accounts: The Essentials
Chapter 8. Managing Account Policies
Chapter 9. Creating Accounts
Chapter 10. Working with Managed Accounts
Chapter 11. Managing Computers, Users and Groups

In Book 4 of the IT Pro Library, you’ll find

Chapter 1. Working with Domain User Accounts
Chapter 2. Managing User and Service Accounts
Chapter 3. Managing Groups and Computers

Both resources provide about 100 pages on accounts. However, the focus and coverage is completely different. Although you could read either set of chapters on its own and gain a wealth of knowledge on the subject, reading both sets of chapters provides a broader, more detailed picture of account management. This is because the two sets of chapters were written to complement, inform and enrich each other while also allowing for the sets to stand on their own.

Throughout the books, you’ll find many more topics that are written in this way. Many more areas where the two sets of books complement, inform and enrich each other. This is as designed.

Thanks for reading. You'll find my books at all major retailers and online, including:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Google

I'm on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/WilliamStanek and facebook at http://www.facebook.com/William.Stanek.Author. Sometimes instagram too at https://www.instagram.com/williamstanek/.

Sincerely,

William R. Stanek

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

2016. The Year the Music Almost Stopped.

2016 was the year the music almost stopped. Quite literally. The accompanying image reflects some of the books I’ve released this year. These books need your support. Hope you’ll spread the good word about them and share because without your support the music really will stop.

The publishing industry continues to change, requiring authors to continually adapt and retune or succumb and perish. The entire industry continues to be dominated by Amazon, where staves prevail and good authors all too easily get lost amongst the bramble. In tech, the changes over the past few years have been apocalyptic. Fewer and fewer readers get their information from printed books, requiring publishers to rethink their entire business and authors to sing for their supper. Those few who do succeed in the widening sea of change and detritus do so by staying ahead of trends or making their own trends entirely.

In the early 2000’s when I started publishing electronically and using print on demand, many of those I worked with in the industry thought I was fucking nuts. When I released a serialized ebook in 2001, I was pioneering a way of doing business that others couldn’t even fathom. Ditto when I took the entire operations digital, establishing one of the first entirely digital publishers.

We did things different. Our processes were entirely digitalized. It was a new way of doing business and publishing. Like any new enterprise or methodology that challenges the establishment, it too was challenged by those who didn’t want change.

Fast forward 15 years and you’ll be hard pressed to find a publisher that isn’t publishing electronically. You’ll also find most of those who were decrying the change now make their living from it. Either that or they’ve been forced to move on from publishing. Change happens. Whether we want it to or not.

By and large, publishers are going out of business on a scale never seen before. Those that haven’t are retooling to focus on different aspects of their business. In technical publishing, those few who survive have done so by focusing on education, training and certification or such rather than traditional publishing. Others are simply zombies waiting for the end. They’ll be gone when the money runs out or they'll wake up to the inevitable change (but likely too late).

Out of this sea of change comes Stanek & Associates and Smart Brain Training. My latest publishing endeavors. I’ve been releasing technical titles since 2014 under these monikers. The earliest of these were in The Personal Trainer and Fast Start series, which were followed by my Tech Artisans and IT Pro Solutions series. Although The Personal Trainer and Fast Start books were meant to test the marketplace, the Tech Artisans and IT Pro Solutions books represent a full-scale embrace of the digital revolution.

For the Tech Artisans and IT Pro Solutions books, I hired cover designers, editorial developers and technical reviewers and also brought in a full-time contributor, my son Will. Will has been my apprentice of sorts since his freshman year of high school. He worked summers, holidays and spare time to set up my development environments and perform procedure review and final reads of every technical book I produced. No small feat of magic, as I release 6 to 10 titles a year on average and write books about every major Microsoft operating system and technology from Windows to Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server and Windows Powershell.

After eight years of support and contribution to my work, I’ve finally been able to give Will the cover credit he deserves, in books that I feel are worthy of the high esteem I hold for the work he’s done for me. And you’ll find these cover credits on current Tech Artisans and IT Pro Solutions books.

Our first true father and son effort is for an upcoming series of SQL Server books, which I hope will be ready in 2017 in time to commemorate our tenth year of working together. Will remains torn between his law studies and his passion for IT engineering and database management. I don’t know which will win out but I know Will is ready for any challenge, especially as he’s been able to work with me for nearly ten years already in one of the most demanding work environments on planet Earth.

Thanks for reading,



William Robert Stanek

Thursday, June 2, 2016

27 Years Ago I Met the Most Beautiful Girl in the World

27 years ago I met a woman in a bar. No, not my wife. Her sister. She was tending bar in Tacoma when I stopped in for some beers. It was my first day back to the states after being overseas in Japan for a few years.  I was taking a few days R&R on my way to Survival Training and then Air Combat School. Since it was a slow night, the bartender and I talked on and off for hours. As I was getting ready to leave, she said, You leaving already, thought you’d be here for a while longer, you should stay. At my hesitation, she popped open a beer, put it on the bar and said, This one’s on me.


It’d been a long flight, a long day, but I sat back down. I knew she wasn’t interested in me. She was a newlywed with a baby at home. As I started drinking the beer, she said, You see, I called my sister over an hour ago and told her she had to come here to meet you, then I called her a few minutes ago and told her if she wasn’t here soon, I wasn’t going to speak to her for a week. That answered my immediate question but only created more. I was about to ask why she wanted her sister and I to meet, but the answer was obvious. Some sort of blind date or something. I hated blind dates/fix ups.




The bartender saw my hesitation, said, Trust me, you want to stay, you two were meant for each other. Things got a little awkward between us after that because I was thinking how could she possibly know that or anything else about me. She’d only known me for a few hours, and I wasn’t that interesting. But the question answered itself almost immediately when the most naturally beautiful woman I’d ever seen entered. She lit up the room, turned every head, in nothing more than faded blue jeans and an old t-shirt.



From the first glance between us, there was a connection. I felt it and I was sure she did as well. It was electric. Within ten minutes, I knew she would either irreparably break my heart or be the love of my life. She was smart, funny, sexy, and refined. Sitting beside her at the bar, I couldn’t look away from her gaze. There was something in her eyes that I saw in my own eyes every time I looked in the mirror. It was perhaps a longing, perhaps something else.

She wasn’t just a beautiful woman or one of the most beautiful women. Truly, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life. It was a natural beauty. One that radiated from within on a face painted with nothing but red lipstick.



We talked until closing. At the end of the night, we exchanged numbers. This was before cell phones, so this was the number to her sister’s place and my room at billeting. I asked her if she wanted to go to Seattle with me the next day as I was going to do some sightseeing before I went on to training. She said she couldn’t go, would call me, that we should try to meet the next evening before I left for Spokane.


I didn’t expect to see her the next evening, or possibly ever again, so I was crestfallen when we parted ways. The next day was agony. By luck or chance, I had just returned to my billet when a call came in. It was her. She asked what plans I had for the evening. I didn’t have any and we decided to meet.



I took her to dinner and dancing. Her sister and friends chaperoned later when we went for drinks afterward. We parted ways with nothing more than a kiss, but it was like a lightning strike. I knew I was falling in love with her, and she with me.



When I went to Survival Training in Spokane, she visited a few times and I drove to visit her in Tacoma a few times. At the end of those few short weeks, I asked her to come with me to Air Combat School in Arizona and be my wife. For her it meant leaving everything and everyone behind. It also meant having to move with me to Germany a few months later. She said yes without hesitation. She’s been my wife and best friend ever since.



The chemistry and electricity between us have never faded. She’s the one person I can’t wait to see when I open my eyes in the morning; the last person I want to see when I close my eyes in the evening. She’s the one person I talk to for hours every day about everything and nothing at all. She’s my heart, my compass, my North. The person whose hand I can’t wait to feel in mine.



My only regret in 27 years of marriage is that I haven’t asked her to marry me again. This is something I plan to do.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Lifetime Achievement Award – 30+ Years of Books


Huge THANK YOU to readers and others who submitted me for an award for distinguished contributions in writing & American Letters. As a past recipient of awards for excellence in writing, merit and distinguished accomplishments, I'm honored to be nominated. I’ve written nearly 200 full-length works since I completed my first novel in 1986, but it wasn’t until 1995 that I had a breakout hit that established me as a bestselling author.

I wrote those early books for Macmillan and have since had books published and/or distributed by Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Microsoft, O’Reilly, McGraw Hill, Pearson and others. My books have sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages, with well over $150 million in sales.





That type of success is the stuff of Willy Wonka’s wildest dreams. Still, as I wrote about in “How I Made This Crazy Thing Called Writinga Career”, wild success doesn’t always mean riches for the writer. Although bookstores, publishers, agents, Uncle Sam and others got the Lion’s share of the wealth, I remain tremendously grateful to my publishers and everyone else in the business who made the dream possible.

In my career one of the things I’m most proud of is my work to give back and to support my fellow writers. Giving back to communities across America and the world is something I’ve written about in “It’s GivingTuesday!”. It took 20 years but my goal to give away $1 million in books to libraries and schools was finally achieved in 2015.

In the early days, I gave back to writers through Writer’s Gallery and other outlets I maintained online, including Internet Daily News (one of the earliest online dailies). In 2007, I launched Go Indie to support independents (writers and bookstores). Other resources include #AmBlogging #FreeToday and the Read Indies blog.


As I look back at my career, I’m also very glad that from the beginning I did something for myself by starting a publishing company. That company began operations in 1995 and I used it to learn about the publishing side of the industry, which is very different from the writing side. By 2004, I knew enough about the industry and was ready to spread my wings and go into self-publishing. I hired a great team and put them to work running my business.
In the beginning, we had quite a large team, that team has whittled down to a few core members, but remains in the business of bringing my works, and the works of a select group of other writers, to the world. They've helped get dozens of translations for my fiction works, which are now available in nearly 100 countries around the globe.
I couldn’t even begin to tell you how much my traditional publishers and those I worked with in the industry hated (loathed, really) my self-publishing efforts. But my efforts were wildly successful from the start with Keeper Martin's Tale quickly becoming a bestseller at Amazon.com (2002) and The Kingdoms & the Elves of the Reaches rocketing to #1 in Fiction at Audible.com (2005) where it remained a Top 10 Kids & YA bestseller for over 180 weeks (2005 - 2008). 
Today, the industry has changed so much that without self-publishing I don’t know where I’d be. Strange how things can turn around so dramatically. What was once forbidden fruit has now become one of the best ways for writers to earn a living.
Thanks for reading,
Robert Stanek



Thursday, January 14, 2016

Office 365, Exchange Server 2016 & Exchange Online: Solutions for IT Pros!

 Well, I didn't win PowerBall, so I better keep writing. :-) Two BRAND NEW releases to share for my IT Pro Solutions series.


I really like the covers on the IT Pro Solutions books. Beautiful, IMHO (and I hope you agree). It's the first time I've had full creative control. The interiors are just as gorgeous too. Your support needed to spread the good word so please let others know and share if you can.

You'll note something new on the cover too: Recognition of my son's contributions. Will has been my go to technician and check reader for years, setting up my development environments with each and every product build and performing preliminary technical review. He's the guy triple-checking every reference, step-by-step and procedure from GUI to shell, after my own double-check. As I stated in my Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 book published by Microsoft, he's instrumental to my writing process and now he has an expanded role in the full process from start to finish.
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http://www.amazon.com/Office-365-Exchange-Online-Administration/dp/1523315369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452446740&sr=8-1&keywords=office+365+william+stanek

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http://www.amazon.com/Exchange-Server-2016-Online-Administration/dp/152328448X/ref=la_B00PXLMYO6_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452447608&sr=1-1&refinements=p_82%3AB00PXLMYO6

First up is Office 365 & Exchange Online: Essentials for Administration (IT Pro Solutions). This book is for all those who've moved to the cloud. The book puts expert advice for Office 365 and Exchange Online right at your fingertips. Chock full of PowerShell too and weighing in at 56,000 words and 308 pages, the book is organized into 10 chapters:

Chapter 1. Working with Office 365 & Exchange Online    1
Getting Started with Office 365 & Exchange Online    1
Navigating Office 365    2
Getting Started with Exchange Admin Center    4
Understanding Office 365 Licensing    8
Using Windows PowerShell with Office 365 & Exchange Online    10
Getting Started with Windows PowerShell    10
Understanding the Default Working Environment    12
Learning About Cmdlets and Functions    14
Connecting to Exchange Online Using PowerShell    15
Exploring How the Shell Uses Remote Sessions    16
Establishing Remote Sessions    17
Using an Interactive Remote Session    18
Creating and Importing a Remote Session    20
Connecting to Windows Azure and the Office 365 Service    22
Cmdlets for Windows Azure Active Directory    23
Working with Exchange Online Cmdlets    26
Cmdlets Specific to Exchange Online    26
Using the Exchange Online Cmdlets    29
Chapter 2. Getting Started with Users and Contacts    33
Working with Users and Contacts    33
How Email Routing Works: The Essentials    35
Managing Recipients: The Fundamentals    35
Finding Existing Mailboxes, Contacts, And Groups    39
Finding Unlicensed, Inactive and Blocked Users    43
Chapter 3. Managing Users    44
Creating Mailbox-Enabled and Mail-Enabled User Accounts    44
Working with Logon Names and Passwords    44
Mail-Enabling New User Accounts    45
Removing Mail-Enabled User Accounts    50
Creating Office 365 User Accounts with Mailboxes    51
Setting or Changing Contact Information for User Accounts    53
Changing Logon ID or Logon Domain for Online Users    55
Changing a User’s Exchange Alias and Display Name    56
Adding, Changing, and Removing Email and Other Addresses    58
Setting a Default Reply Address for a User Account    59
Changing A User’s Web, Wireless Service, And Protocol Options    60
Requiring Users to Change Passwords    62
Deleting Mailboxes from User Accounts    64
Deleting User Accounts and Their Mailboxes    65
Chapter 4. Managing Contacts    68
Creating Mail-Enabled Contacts    68
Setting or Changing a Contact’s Name and Alias    71
Setting Additional Directory Information for Contacts    72
Changing Email Addresses Associated with Contacts    74
Deleting Contacts    77
Chapter 5. Adding Special-Purpose Mailboxes    79
Using Room and Equipment Mailboxes    79
Adding Room Mailboxes    85
Adding Equipment Mailboxes    88
Adding Forwarding Mailboxes    90
Working with Archive Mailboxes    93
Adding Archive Mailboxes    93
Managing Archive Settings    97
Adding Arbitration Mailboxes    102
Adding Discovery Mailboxes    103
Adding Shared Mailboxes    104
Adding Public Folder Mailboxes    107
Chapter 6. Managing Mailboxes    112
Managing Mailboxes: The Essentials    112
Viewing Current Mailbox Size, Message Count, and Last Logon    113
Configuring Apps for Mailboxes    113
Hiding Mailboxes from Address Lists    116
Defining Custom Mailbox Attributes for Address Lists    117
Restoring Online Users and Mailboxes    118
Repairing Mailboxes    121
Managing Delivery Restrictions, Permissions, and Storage Limits    122
Setting Message Size Restrictions for Contacts    122
Setting Message Size Restrictions on Delivery
to and from Individual Mailboxes    122
Setting Send and Receive Restrictions for Contacts    123
Setting Message Send and Receive Restrictions on Individual Mailboxes    123
Permitting Others to Access a Mailbox    125
Forwarding Email to a New Address    130
Understanding Storage Restrictions on Mailbox and Archives    131
Understanding Deleted Item Retention    132
Chapter 7. Configuring Groups for Exchange Online    134
Using Exchange Groups    134
Group Types, Scope, And Identifiers    134
When to Use Dynamic Distribution Groups    137
Working with Exchange Groups    138
Group Naming Policy    138
Understanding Group Naming Policy    139
Defining Group Naming Policy for Your Organization    140
Defining Blocked Words in Group Naming Policy    142
Creating Security and Standard Distribution Groups    143
Creating a New Group    144
Mail-Enabling Universal Security Groups    148
Assigning and Removing Membership for Individual Users,
Groups, and Contacts    149
Adding and Removing Managers    151
Configuring Member Restrictions and Moderation    153
Working with Dynamic Distribution Groups    156
Creating Dynamic Distribution Groups    157
Changing Query Filters and Filter Conditions    161
Modifying Dynamic Distribution Groups Using Cmdlets    163
Previewing Dynamic Distribution Group Membership    165
Other Essential Tasks for Managing Groups    166
Changing a Group’s Name Information    166
Changing, Adding, or Deleting a Group’s Email Addresses    167
Hiding Groups from Exchange Address Lists    169
Setting Usage Restrictions on Groups    170
Creating Moderated Groups    173
Deleting Exchange Groups    175
Chapter 8. Configuring Groups for Office 365    177
Getting Started with Groups in Office 365    177
Creating Security Groups in Office 365    179
Working with Security Groups in Office 365    181
Managing Security Group Membership in Office 365    182
Creating Distribution Lists in Office 365    183
Managing Distribution List Membership in Office 365    185
Adding and Removing Distribution List Owners    187
Creating Office 365 Groups    188
Managing the Properties of Office 365 Groups    190
Modifying the Membership and Ownership of Office 365 Groups    192
Changing the Naming Information for Groups and Lists    193
Controlling Group Creation    193
Deleting Groups in Office 365 Admin Center    196
Chapter 9. Working with Exchange Clients    197
Mastering Outlook Web App essentials    198
Getting started with Outlook Web App    198
Accessing Mailboxes and Public Folders    200
Working with Outlook Web App    202
Enabling and Disabling Web Access for Users    206
Configuring Mail Support for Outlook    208
Understanding Address Lists, Offline Address Books, and Autodiscover    209
Configuring Outlook for the First Time    209
First-Time Configuration: Connecting to Exchange Online    211
First-Time Configuration: Connecting to Internet Email Servers    213
Configuring Outlook for Exchange    216
Adding Internet Mail Accounts to Outlook    217
Repairing and Changing Outlook Mail Accounts    217
Leaving Mail on the Server with POP3    221
Checking Private and Public Folders with IMAP4 and UNIX Mail Servers    223
Managing the Exchange Configuration in Outlook    224
Managing Delivery and Processing Email Messages    225
Using Server Mailboxes    225
Using Personal Folders    225
Repairing .pst data files    230
Repairing .ost data files    232
Accessing Multiple Exchange Mailboxes    233
Logging on to Exchange as the Mailbox Owner    234
Delegating Mailbox Access    235
Opening Additional Exchange Mailboxes    237
Granting Permission to Access Folders Without Delegating Access    239
Using Mail Profiles to Customize the Mail Environment    242
Creating, Copying, and Removing Mail Profiles    242
Selecting a Specific Profile to use on Startup    244
Chapter 10. Customizing & Configuring Exchange Security    247
Configuring Standard Exchange Permissions    247
Assigning Permissions    247
Understanding Exchange Management Groups    248
Assigning Management Permissions    252
Configuring Role-Based Permissions for Exchange    256
Understanding Role-Based Permissions    256
Working with Role Groups    262
Managing Role Group Members    267
Assigning Roles Directly or Via Policy    269
Configuring Account Management Permissions    276
Index    279
About the Author    287

Next up, is Exchange Server 2016 & Exchange Online: Essentials for Administration (IT Pro Solutions). This book is for all those working with Exchange Server & Exchange Online whether you are using on-premises only, online only or a hybrid implementation of the two. Throughout the book you'll find examples using both the GUI and Windows Powershell. Weighing in at 95,000 words and 454 pages, the book is organized into 12 chapters:

Chapter 1. Welcome to Exchange 2016    1
Getting Started with Exchange Admin Center    2
Navigating Exchange Admin Center Options    2
Accessing Exchange Admin Center    5
Authenticating and Proxying Connections    8
Getting Started with Exchange Management Shell    9
Running and Using Cmdlets    9
Running and Using Other Commands and Utilities    10
Using Cmdlet Parameters and Errors    11
Using Cmdlet Aliases    12
Working with Exchange Management Shell    12
Starting Exchange Management Shell    13
Using Exchange Cmdlets    14
Working with Object Sets and Redirecting Output    15
Chapter 2. Working with Exchange Online    17
Getting Started with Exchange Online    18
Navigating Exchange Online Services    18
Understanding Office 365 Licensing    22
Using Windows PowerShell with Exchange Online    23
Getting Started with Windows PowerShell    24
Understanding the Default Working Environment    26
Learning About Cmdlets and Functions    28
Connecting to Exchange Online Using PowerShell    29
Exploring How the Shell Uses Remote Sessions    29
Establishing Remote Sessions    31
Using an Interactive Remote Session    31
Creating and Importing a Remote Session    33
Connecting to Windows Azure    35
Cmdlets for Windows Azure Active Directory    37
Working with Exchange Online Cmdlets    39
Cmdlets Specific to Exchange Online    39
Working with Exchange Online Cmdlets    43
Chapter 3. Getting Started with Users and Contacts    46
Working with Users and Contacts    46
How Email Routing Works: The Essentials    48
Managing Recipients: The Fundamentals    49
Finding Existing Mailboxes, Contacts, And Groups    56
Finding Synced, Unlicensed, Inactive, and Blocked Users    60
Chapter 4. Managing Users    62
Creating Mailbox-Enabled and Mail-Enabled User Accounts    62
Working with Logon Names and Passwords    62
Mail-Enabling New User Accounts    63
Mail-Enabling Existing User Accounts    69
Managing Mail-Enabled User Accounts    71
Creating Domain User Accounts with Mailboxes    72
Creating Online User Accounts with Mailboxes    80
Adding Mailboxes to Existing Domain User Accounts    82
Setting or Changing the Common Name and Logon
Name for Domain User Accounts    87
Setting or Changing Contact Information for User Accounts    88
Changing Logon ID or Logon Domain for Online Users    90
Changing a User’s Exchange Server Alias and Display Name    91
Adding, Changing, and Removing Email and Other Addresses    93
Setting a Default Reply Address for a User Account    95
Changing A User’s Web, Wireless Service, And Protocol Options    95
Requiring Domain User Accounts to Change Passwords    97
Deleting Mailboxes from User Accounts    98
Deleting User Accounts and Their Mailboxes    100
Chapter 5. Managing Contacts    104
Creating Mail-Enabled Contacts    104
Setting or Changing a Contact’s Name and Alias    107
Setting Additional Directory Information for Contacts    109
Changing Email Addresses Associated with Contacts    110
Disabling Contacts and Removing Exchange Attributes    113
Deleting Contacts    115
Chapter 6. Adding Special-Purpose Mailboxes    116
Using Room and Equipment Mailboxes    116
Adding Room Mailboxes    122
Adding Equipment Mailboxes    125
Adding Linked Mailboxes    128
Adding Forwarding Mailboxes    131
Working with Archive Mailboxes    134
Adding In-Place Archives    134
Adding Online Archives    138
Managing Archive Settings    139
Adding Arbitration Mailboxes    145
Adding Discovery Mailboxes    146
Adding Shared Mailboxes    147
Adding Public Folder Mailboxes    151
Chapter 7. Managing Mailboxes    156
Managing Mailboxes: The Essentials    156
Viewing Current Mailbox Size, Message Count, and Last Logon    157
Configuring Apps for Mailboxes    160
Hiding Mailboxes from Address Lists    163
Defining Custom Mailbox Attributes for Address Lists    164
Restoring On-Premises Users and Mailboxes    165
Restoring Online Users and Mailboxes    169
Repairing Mailboxes    172
Moving Mailboxes    173
Importing and Exporting Mail Data    173
Performing On-Premises Mailboxes Moves and Migrations    176
Performing On-Premises Mailbox Moves    180
Moving Mailboxes Within a Single Forest    182
Moving Mailboxes Between Forests    187
Managing Delivery Restrictions, Permissions, and Storage Limits    192
Setting Message Size Restrictions for Contacts    193
Setting Message Size Restrictions on Delivery to
and from Individual Mailboxes    193
Setting Send and Receive Restrictions for Contacts    196
Setting Message Send and Receive Restrictions on Individual Mailboxes    196
Permitting Others to Access a Mailbox    198
Forwarding Email to a New Address    203
Setting Storage Restrictions on Mailbox and Archives    204
Setting Deleted Item Retention Time on Individual Mailboxes    207
Chapter 8. Managing Groups    210
Using Security and Distribution Groups    210
Group Types, Scope, And Identifiers    210
When to Use Security and Standard Distribution Groups    212
When to Use Dynamic Distribution Groups    213
Working with Security and Standard Distribution Groups    214
Group Naming Policy    215
Understanding Group Naming Policy    215
Defining Group Naming Policy for Your Organization    217
Defining Blocked Words in Group Naming Policy    218
Creating Security and Standard Distribution Groups    219
Creating a New Group    220
Mail-Enabling Universal Security Groups    225
Assigning and Removing Membership for Individual
Users, Groups, and Contacts    226
Adding and Removing Managers    228
Configuring Member Restrictions and Moderation    230
Working with Dynamic Distribution Groups    233
Creating Dynamic Distribution Groups    234
Changing Query Filters and Filter Conditions    239
Designating an Expansion Server    240
Modifying Dynamic Distribution Groups Using Cmdlets    242
Previewing Dynamic Distribution Group Membership    244
Other Essential Tasks for Managing Groups    245
Changing a Group’s Name Information    245
Changing, Adding, or Deleting a Group’s Email Addresses    246
Hiding Groups from Exchange Address Lists    248
Setting Usage Restrictions on Groups    249
Creating Moderated Groups    251
Deleting Groups    253
Chapter 9. Managing Addresses Online and Offline    255
Managing Online Address Lists    255
Using Default Address Lists    255
Using Address Book Policies    256
Creating and Applying New Address Lists    259
Updating Address List Configuration and Membership
Throughout the Domain    264
Previewing and Editing Address Lists    265
Configuring Clients to Use Address Lists    267
Renaming and Deleting Address Lists    268
Managing Offline Address Books    269
Creating Offline Address Books    269
Configuring Clients to Use an Offline Address Book    271
Setting the Default Offline Address Book    272
Changing Offline Address Book Properties    272
Designating OAB Generation Servers and Schedules    274
Rebuilding the OAB    277
Deleting Offline Address Books    277
Chapter 10. Configuring Exchange Clients    279
Mastering Outlook Web App essentials    280
Getting started with Outlook Web App    280
Connecting to Mailboxes and Public Folder Data Over the Web    282
Working with Outlook Web App    285
Enabling and Disabling Web Access for Users    290
Configuring Mail Support for Outlook    292
Understanding Address Lists, Offline Address Books, and Autodiscover    293
Configuring Outlook for the First Time    296
First-Time Configuration: Connecting to Exchange Server    298
First-Time Configuration: Connecting to Internet Email Servers    301
Configuring Outlook for Exchange    303
Adding Internet Mail Accounts to Outlook    305
Repairing and Changing Outlook Mail Accounts    305
Leaving Mail on the Server with POP3    309
Checking Private and Public Folders with IMAP4 and UNIX Mail Servers    311
Managing the Exchange Configuration in Outlook    312
Managing Delivery and Processing Email Messages    313
Using Server Mailboxes    313
Using Personal Folders    313
Repairing .pst data files    318
Repairing .ost data files    320
Accessing Multiple Exchange Mailboxes    321
Logging on to Exchange as the Mailbox Owner    322
Delegating Mailbox Access    323
Opening Additional Exchange Mailboxes    325
Granting Permission to Access Folders Without Delegating Access    327
Using Mail Profiles to Customize the Mail Environment    330
Creating, Copying, and Removing Mail Profiles    330
Selecting a Specific Profile to use on Startup    332
Chapter 11. Customizing & Troubleshooting the Exchange Shell    335
Running and using the Exchange Management Shell    335
Managing the PowerShell Application    345
Customizing Exchange Management Shell    347
Performing One-to-Many Remote Management    350
Using a Manual Remote Shell to Work with Exchange    352
Preparing to Use the Remote Shell    352
Connecting Manually to Exchange 2016 Servers    355
Connecting Manually to Exchange Online    357
Managing Remote Sessions    358
Troubleshooting Exchange Management Shell    359
Chapter 12. Customizing & Configuring Exchange Security    362
Configuring Standard Exchange Permissions    362
Assigning Permissions: Exchange Server and Online    362
Understanding Exchange Management Groups    364
Assigning Management Permissions    370
Understanding Advanced Exchange Server Permissions    375
Assigning Advanced Exchange Server Permissions    378
Configuring Role-Based Permissions for Exchange    380
Understanding Role-Based Permissions    380
Working with Role Groups    388
Managing Role Group Members    395
Assigning Roles Directly or Via Policy    397
Configuring Account Management Permissions    404
Managing Advanced Permissions    407
Adding Custom Roles    407
Adding Custom Role Scopes    410
Adding Custom Role Entries    413
Working with Shared and Split Permissions    418
Using Shared Permissions    418
Using Split Permissions    419
Index    425
About the Author    435

Thanks for reading,

William Stanek

Monday, January 11, 2016

Ruin Mist Turning 15 Soon: 15th Anniversary Ahead.

The 15th anniversary of Ruin Mist is fast approaching. It was on August 7, 2001, that the first installment of Keeper Martin’s Tale as a serialized novel was released in e-book format through Ingram Digital, with the full-length novel arriving in print on January 9, 2002. For 26 consecutive weeks after release, Keeper Martin’s Tale was a Top 50 SciFi & Fantasy at Amazon. Keeper Martin’s Tale was followed by Elf Queen’s Quest, Kingdom Alliance, Fields of Honor, and Mark of the Dragon.



In February 2002, illustrated children’s editions of the books were released as The Kingdoms  & the Elves of the Reaches. With The Kingdoms  & the Elves of the Reaches #1, #2, #3 and #4 quickly becoming children’s / YA top sellers. When The Kingdoms  & the Elves of the Reaches books were released on Audible.com in 2005, the first book became  a #1 Fiction bestseller. After 14 weeks a top the fiction list, it became one of Audible’s all-time top grossing audiobooks to that date with The Kingdoms & the Elves of the Reaches #2, #3 and #4 also becoming bestsellers in Fiction and Kids & YA. 180 weeks later The Kingdoms  & the Elves of the Reaches books were still topping Audible’s Kids & YA Top 10.

To date, the Ruin Mist books have sold well over 1 million copies and select books have been translated into multiple languages. The Ruin Mist universe encompasses 22 core books and a number of companion works, including a graphic novel, several full-color books celebrating the extensive artwork featured in the books and more.

Ruin Mist Chronicles Books for Adults
Prequel  - Dragons of the Hundred Worlds
Keeper Martin’s Tale
Kingdom Alliance
Fields of Honor
Mark of the Dragon
Guardians of the Dragon Realms
Dark Path - Elf Queen’s Quest

Kingdoms & Dragons Books for Children’s / Teens
Breath of Fire, Living Fire (Prequels)
The Kingdoms & the Elves of the Reaches #1 - #4
In the Service of Dragons #1 - #4
The Dragon, the Wizard & the Great Door
A Legacy of Dragons
Memories of Fire

Battle for Ruin Mist Comics & Graphic Novel
Betrayal
Deliverance
Rebirth
Discord
A Daughter of Kings

Ruin Mist Companion Books
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ruin Mist
Ruin Mist Heroes, Legends & Beyond
The Art of Ruin Mist: Heroes & Villains
Teacher’s Classroom Guide to Ruin Mist
Student’s Classroom Guide to Ruin Mist
Magic of Ruin Mist
Ruin Mist Journal: The Kingdoms
Ruin Mist Journal: The Alliance
Battle for Ruin Mist: RPG
Keeper Martin’s Guide to the Fantastical Beasts and Faerie Peoples of Ruin Mist

Ruin Mist: Magic Lands
Journey Beyond the Beyond
Into the Stone Land

Ruin Mist: Magic Lands Companion Books
Teacher’s Classroom Guide to Magic Lands
Student’s Classroom Guide to Magic Lands

Collections
The Kingdoms & the Elves of the Reaches Omnibus
In the Service of Dragons Omnibus
Magic Lands Omnibus
Guardians & Dragons: Breath of Fire, Living Fire, The Dragon, the Wizard & the Great Door, A Legacy of Dragons, Memories of Fire
Complete Ruin Mist Chronicles:  Keeper Martin’s Tale, Kingdom Alliance, Fields of Honor, Mark of the Dragon, Elf Queen’s Quest
6-Book Boxed Set Ruin Mist Chronicles: Guardians of the Dragon Realms, Keeper Martin’s Tale, Kingdom Alliance, Fields of Honor, Mark of the Dragon, Elf Queen’s Quest
7- Book Boxed Set Ruin Mist Chronicles: Guardians of the Dragon Realms, Keeper Martin’s Tale, Kingdom Alliance, Fields of Honor, Mark of the Dragon, Guardians of the Dragon Realms, Elf Queen’s Quest

Learn more about Ruin Mist at http://www.ruinmist.comhttp://www.ruinmistworld.com, and http://www.imaginedlands.com. Learn more about the author, Robert Stanek, at http://www.robert-stanek.com. Look for more 15th anniversary news and fun ahead.


Thank you readers!