The 'Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 Handbook'

I was given the chance to read through the "Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 Handbook" only when it was fresh out of the press.

And after many years of doing ILM/FIM projects, I must say that this book is a great reference for system administrators seeking a deep and highly technical knowledge of Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 and all its many facets.

Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 (or FIM) is a very big product. Too truly master it, you have to have a solid amount of experience with infrastructure (not only Microsoft) and also understand processes around the life cycle of users, groups and other objects in complex infrastructures and organizations.

When doing FIM implementations is nice to "have something to hold on too" - a reference and maybe starting point. And this book is just that. The title of the book 'Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager R2 Handbook" is spot on. Kent has written a book that you truly can use for the many different aspects of a FIM implementation - ranging from the installation process itself all the way to administering and maintaining the system in production. And its a book that you can come back to for thoughts on "how to".

Reading through the book, you really get the feeling that it is thought through and it is based on many years of real life experience and the troubleshooting section of the book proves just that. The book is comprehensive and covers all the features of the product, including Certificate Management, which you don't see covered in writing very often. This book does a really good job of showing good, practical examples on how to actually  configure FIM with different systems, i.e.Exchange and Lync and gives you an idea on how to crunch "strange" input data, a thing, that you are very likely to run into in real FIM deployments.

All this is done in a way that you potentially (with a few modification, of course) could apply in a production environment.

The book feels well-structured and has a good flow. But you can also use it as a "goto"-guide for the different aspects of FIM. It is a must-have for those wanting to engage with FIM.

Don't get it only for the technical stuff but also for the vast real life knowledge that Kent has surely put into it.

This book can really support those that wants "to get FIM".

Enjoy it!

FYI: You can get the book here.