Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Windows Server Cookbook is a Chacma baboon (Papio ursinus). The Chacma is commonly referred to as the Savannah Baboon, or even dog-faced monkey due to its close-set eyes, heavy brow, dog-like muzzle, and sharp upper canine teeth. Its two-inch-long canines are larger than those of both lions and leopards, and at a sprint this large baboon can reach speeds of 35-40 miles per hour. The Chacma is also easily distinguishable by its fur, which ranges in color from yellowish-gray to almost black. This species can be found everywhere in Southern Africa except in the dry areas of Namibia, while its close relative the yellow baboon occupies much of the North.

Chacma baboons feed on just about every part of a tree and have a rich diet that includes grasses, seeds, rhizomes, berries, mushrooms, fruit, eggs, small insects, earthworms, birds, lizards, and occasionally scrub hares and baby impalas. Sometimes male Chacmas even kill and eat infants of their own species that are unrelated to them. Baboons are diurnal and are always on the move so they don't strip an environment of its vegetation. When they travel, they move in a specific formation, with the dominant male in the lead, the dominant female behind him, and the rest of the males encircling the females and babies. Baboons are unique in that all the members of a troop are related in one way or another. Most baboon troops are comprised of 30 to 40 members, but troops can range in size from 10 to 200.

Baboons have a complex social system based on dominance. The troop leaders' dominance is drilled into the rest of the troop from an early age, and if they become disobedient, they are likely to receive violent discipline. Older males can become quite bad-tempered, and when two males get into a fight, the male who chooses to end the fight will grab an infant from a mother to prevent his rival from attacking. But baboons are also capable of forming strong friendships. Some male and female baboons bond very closely, spending a lot of time together feeding, grooming, resting, and copulating. Matt Hutchinson was the production editor for Windows Server Cookbook. Octal Publishing, Inc. provided production services. Darren Kelly, Mary Anne Mayo, and Colleen Gorman provided quality control.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19-century engraving from The Royal Natural History. Karen Montgomery produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Andrew Savakis to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano, Jessamyn Read, and Lesley Borash using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Lydia Onofrei.