This is a great book, and the author has kept it current. (It includes references to SMS SP2). Probably not for SMS beginners trying to learn the software, but it's loaded with great information. I keep it with me at work as a quick reference. Definitely worth buying!

Although there have been several SMS 2003 related books released lately (and long overdue in my opinion), each one has something additional to offer to the SMS Admin. SMS 2003 is a complex thing to understand and administrate, and I found "Pro SMS 2003" to be another useful addition to the books available. The emphasis placed in the first few chapters on understanding your network topology *before* starting to deploy important. Hopefully if a company is considering SMS they take to heart the planning stages as the critical step they are for a successful SMS deployment. The book also takes one through step-by-step setting up the agents, inventorying options, and some of the addons (like patch management and Feature Packs). To quote Rod himself "This is the book I wish someone had written for me when I first started working with the product."