See how the core components of the Windows operating system work behind the scenes--guided by a team of internationally renowned internals experts. Fully updated for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, this classic guide delivers key architectural insights on system design, debugging, performance, and support--along with hands-on experiments to experience Windows internal behavior firsthand.

Delve inside Windows architecture and internals: Understand how the core system and management mechanisms work--from the object manager to services to the registry Explore internal system data structures using tools like the kernel debugger Grasp the scheduler's priority and CPU placement algorithms Go inside the Windows security model to see how it authorizes access to data Understand how Windows manages physical and virtual memory Tour the Windows networking stack from top to bottom--including APIs, protocol drivers, and network adapter drivers Troubleshoot file-system access problems and system boot problems Learn how to analyze crashes

Readers will get a behind-the-scenes view of the core components of the Windows operating system in this guide for advanced developers and system administrators who want to understand the rationale for design choices when building applications specific to the Windows platform. The first two chapters define terms and concepts related to tools and architecture, and the next two chapters describe key underlying mechanisms in the system. The rest of the book explains core components such as processes, threads, security, storage and memory management, and networking. The final chapters cover startup and shutdown processes and crash dump analysis. Hands-on experiments draw on tools from a web site maintained by two consultancies. This edition is updated for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. Russinovich is a technical fellow in the Microsoft Windows Core Operating System Division. Solomon teaches classes on Windows internals to corporations worldwide. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)