Network Introduction for the Whole Family
596336
In addition to my regular network engineering job, I am also a networking instructor at a local university branch campus.  As such, I am always on the lookout for good analogies I can use in the networking courses I teach.  When you explain networking to beginners, you really have to step back to the first principles ever so often, in order to make sure you have the basic in your head, as well as the complex.  For this reason, I decided to check out Computer Networking First-Step (ISBN 1-58720-101-1) from Cisco Press.  The first thing I noticed when I picked up the book was the author.  I first discovered Wendell Odom a few years ago when I was recertifying my CCNA certification.  I like how he uses examples and humor to explain concepts and has an easy, conversational style to his writing which makes it easy to read.  With a lot of technical authors, reading their books can seem like a job, but not with Odom.  I recommend everything he's written.

The book itself is substantial, at over 400 pages, and is priced quite reasonably, at just $24.95.  It's broken down into 18 chapters which can each be read in a short sitting.  Since each chapter encapsulates a single topic, you reach a feeling of accomplishment and completion at the end of each one.  This is good for people new to computer networking.  If you make the chapters too long, they can easily feel overwhelmed.  These chapters are just right.  In the intro, the book says that it is divided up into bite sized pieces for easy digestion.  I thoroughly agree with that assessment.

The chapters are grouped together into sections covering networking basics, LANs, protocols, routing, WANs, and security.  As you can see, the book covers a lot of ground.  The thing that impressed me most was that at no point does it get overly technical.  Odom picks an analogy (networks = roads) and sticks with it throughout the entire book.  In the early chapters, it works perfectly.  In some of the later chapters, it's a stretch, but he makes it work.  I will be using the analogies from this book in teaching my beginning networking courses and would recommend it as a textbook, or at least as suggested reading for a freshman level networking course.  I am also recommending this book to spouses of computer geeks (my wife, in particular).  She's never really tried to understand what I do, saying that it's far too technical.  I think the easy-to-read style and the bite-sized information may make this the book that gets my wife into networking.  My son, who's an exceptional 2nd grader, has begun picking up this book during his reading time at night (the scary part is that he understands the material).  While I don't recommend this book to the average 2nd grader, I do think that it could be used to help teach networking to middle and high school students.  The review questions at the end of each chapter provide a good way for students to check their learning and the answers at the back of the book provide good explanations.

On my 5 ping rating scale, I give this book a rating of 5 pings.

!!!!!
1773683
Are you a networking professional? If you are, then this book is for you. Authors Lucien Avramov and Maurizio Portolani, have written an outstanding book that explains the architecture design principles, concepts and methodology to build new data center fabrics.

The authors begin by describing the network requirements of different server environments and how to meet them in terms of network design. Then, they illustrate the design and technology requirements of building a cloud. Next, the authors elucidate the Cisco ACI approach to modeling business applications. In addition, they then cover the key technologies and tools that new administrators and operators must be familiar with, and it explain how they are used in an ACI-based data center. The authors then describe the networking requirements and design considerations when using hypervisors in the data center. They continue by explaining in detail OpenStack and its relation to Cisco ACI. The authors then describe the topology of an ACI fabric and how to configure it both as an infrastructure administrator and as a tenant administrator. Next, they describe the service graph concept and how to design for service insertion with the service graph.
Then, the authors explain centralized troubleshooting techniques that ACI offers for isolating problems. Finally, they provide a clear explanation of the data center switching architecture.

This excellent book also covers the topics of segmentation, multi-tenancy, connectivity to physical and virtual servers, and external connectivity as part of the tenant configuration. Also, this great book explains what OpenStack is and present the details of the Cisco ACI APIC OpenStack driver architecture.
1460326
I like the accessibility of the information and helpful set of tools each page offers. As you read the ideas are reinforced. The content is something the entire family, all ages can use. How often are you grumpy because you need a snack? The idea of letting the child choice the tool to help themselves is very powerful. A great message!
1113944
I was always enthusiatic to read a good book on solid network programming which is also easy to understand. 'C# network programming' is a wonderful resource to understand many topics in socket programming. The C#.Net implementations are simple to understand. The book is well organized. Worth reading.
4732077
The Internet and Web have so much to offer for both adults and children.  I use it everyday and my children are also online daily.  I check the news, email, and do research.  I even met my spouse online.  Also, my kids play games, chat with friends and explore.  It's a great learning tool and allows them some freedoms to explore their interests.  However, as the Web and Internet continue to impact our lives, there are very real dangers that I want to know about so that I can be sure my kids are safe when they are online.

What Greg Smith has been able to provide in his book are the specifics of how you can take the necessary steps to make sure that the Internet and Web is a safe place for your kids.  Many books and guides speak in terms of general rules and ideas, but what Mr. Smith provides is real details and tools that you can put into action.  He identifies the risks and issues being exploited and provides the leading tools, his experiences, and recommendations to protect you and your children.  Even experienced technology professionals will find the comprehensive list of tools and technologies in his book a huge help.  I have been using the Internet and Web for a long time and there are several things in his book that I did not know about, and that I want to keep my kids from knowing about.

Excellent book.
161695
Wireless Internet overviews the various technologies and architectures of what is becoming a necessity for corporate technical staffs. It tells how to devise and implement wireless Internet applications and reveals the latest wireless hardware and software trends. It describes business products, standards, and applications, and explains issues involved in integrating wireless capabilities. It covers phone-based systems, PDAs, the wireless office and evaluates the current state of wireless communications.

To a layperson, this book serves as a good guide to learn the language of the wireless Internet and offers an initiation of the amazing applications that are enabled when wireless telecommunications and the Internet work together.

To an experienced engineer, this book gives an overview of the technology enablers and new standards such as WAP, BLUETOOTH and the road map for Global wireless data.

To an industry person, this book acts as a resource center for existing applications on the Wireless Internet. It provides an exhaustive list of existing applications created on the Wireless Internet.

Overall a very well researched book, it covers a lot of ground. Clearly written by an expert, I strongly recommend this book as a developer's guide and reference.
470059
I was a little wry about so called simple out of the box peer-to-peer USB wireless network sticks as I hadn't worked with them, let alone any wireless networks. It really couldn't have been more simple. The software guides the installation process with both a beginner and advance setup, both allowing to perform peer-to-peer or access point connections. State whether the computer of interest is the internet host or sharing from another and it takes care of the rest. There is 64 & 128 bit security setup with Alphanumeric and passphrase verification. CON: Some reason, I can't achieve a rate above 2MBits at a distance of 15 feet. Will have to consult the manufacturer as the help section does not address this concern.
15151
The new edition of this network bible updates and improves on the best source for network understanding.  A must read.
2089737
This is a great device that has the capability to track the users on your in home (or work) network which can really help PARENTS find out what sites (ie: Internet Content) their CHILDREN are viewing.
Considering that ISPs are about to start charging (Some already are) for more PCs connected to their network from your home, it would be in your best interest to purchase a router - you won't even need to discuss that you have multiple computers attached in your home.  Not only will this help you save money in the long run, it will help keep your computer safe from the criminally minded types.
The BEFSR41 Etherfast 4-Port Cable/DSL Router was easily configurable - there is a 'quick-sheet' of instructions for those of us who refuse to use those pesky informative manuals.
Although the description mentions a firewall, I haven't seen any documentation about setting it up in my BEFSR41.  But, I've already got a firewall installed on my system, apparently giving me 'dual-wall' protection, that tracks which programs are connecting to the internet - I caught 3 spyware products my ISP is using and disabled them (Of course, they didn't tell me they were there, listening...).
IMHO, Linksys makes quality components.
1901909
I love this book. Everything about 802.11 has been explained in such an awesome way that even a kid without any prior knowledge of this field can understand it.
1250527
Very good book for home users to learn about and secure their network. It was easy to understand and put to use.
1272553
Nice to see folks get together to write a technology focused book for IOS XR and also provide examples to compare and contrast with other Cisco platforms in one book!  One of the few books I have seen with focus on core basics and troubleshooting together. with coverage of routing technologies used day to day in the real life production network in large enterprise and service providers. I personally book  was a much needed resource for the CCIE SP lab exam and also an excellent reference book for CCIE RnS candidates. Great job!
1719786
When I realized I needed to understand how Internet peering worked, it was timely that Bill Norton shared his book with me at NANOG 61.  I read it on my six hour flight home and finished it the next night. Not only is it an easy read for a non-engineer in the telecom space, it is clear and concise on how peering actually works. The book starts off with the ABCs on how the peering ecosystem works, who peers privately and who peers publicly and why. The recent hoopla over Comcast, Netflix and Level 3 with their public vs. paid peering is detailed and simply delivers the facts and none of the emotion iterated on some of the players blog sites.
The book then reaches well beyond the basics of peering to include examples of tricks of the trade. This is where samples are graphically laid out, and so well explained it makes for a great read.  The topical issue today is that some ISPs are using their access network as a monopoly, and want to charge content providers for the traffic that runs on their network.  Tricks of the trade start with simple bundling options that hide additional traffic, but quickly can end up Playing Chicken.  Playing chicken is where the network traffic becomes significantly asymmetric, usually resulting in one end dumping traffic on another peers network.  The network infrastructure is usually also asymmetric.  This results in a request to re-negotiate from what was a free peering situation to a pay-to-play requirement.  Both sides believe the other side needs them more. Thus playing chicken is initiated.
Sometimes a new peering negotiation is made, sometimes not.  If not, it can result in de-peering and possibly a severe traffic disruption.  As Norton says it really tests the assertion that both sides are receiving equal value from the relationship.  In most cases, this results in deploying additional connectivity and traffic is spread across more sites to even the load.
In order to peer, traffic volumes must meet a minimum to be worth the allocation of ports. Yet bluffing or claiming the traffic load is adequate when its not is one way to get a peering transaction initiated.  Another way is to claim performance issues that can be easily solved by simply peering when no peering had been in place previously. Since coordinators rarely have time for in-depth traffic analysis, this becomes another trick of the trade to gain free peering, at least short term.
Be open, be loud, be a friend, and be sweet are all positive routes for proper peering techniques. Negative approaches like MILD (Make It Long and Difficult) are used, where discussions are prolonged and appear open but nothing really happens. Norton even brings up peering tactics that don't work, such as trying to dominate in a single foreign market, public badgering (I assume at NANOG events), holding content hostage, sending blind requests or simply lacking knowledge in the peering backbone space is enough to be shunted in this tight community.
A recent report from M-Lab (Using Measurement Lab) shows sustained performance degradation for access customers when traversing interconnections and displayed proof in numbers that peering degradation occurs.  They explain very clearly that the cause of traffic degradation is due to the business relationships of the interconnections, and is not at all the fault of technical issues (http://www.measurementlab.net/static/observatory/M-Lab_Interconnection_Study_US.pdf).
What the Internet peering community does not want, is for the FCC to come in and try to regulate this market. However, the FCC is beginning to take steps to criticize ISPs for throttling traffic.  As our world revolves around increasing access to bandwidth, not everyone needs to understand the importance of Internet peering, but it sure is interesting!
3634686
How did we get here? This book is an attempt to bring you up to speed on what's happening in the interconnected world. For the "newbie" it is an excellent resource for educating one about the internet, how it works, how it is shaping our lives, and the dangers we face because we are interconnected more than we've ever been.

The author is a former employee of Juniper Networks, a major producer of the routers and switches that make up the "guts" of the internet. As an "insider" she has many helpful discussions about the many factors that shape the internet we use, its strengths and adaptiveness, its ability to survive major attacks, and its weaknesses that may place the data we transmit over it at risk. The book serves best as an omnibus of content for most any question you ever had about networks in general and THE network in particular.

The subtitle is "The Accidental Answer for a Troubled Planet." The implication I read is that through the networks we've created we'll be able to save our planet. That is a moot point. While the Internet is rapidly becoming the medium of choice for information sharing, it doesn't come without a price. As she states, the servers, routers, and switches that send information on its way require a steady stream of electrons for their operation, and at current rates of expansion, it is not clear that we'll be able to afford the electrical power plants that will continue to allow that expansion. This is one of the few books I've read that has addressed this particular energy problem in some depth.

A sampling of chapters that address current issues include:

What's So Smart About an Energy Grid?
Is Broadband Really That Important?
Net Neutrality
Political Sustainability
Rocking the Vote
Antisocial Network Engineering
Government's Role in Protecting the Network's Integrity
21st-Century Warfare: Cyberattacks
The Health Net
Not by Accident: Social Networking

As a prototypical nerd, I hope that she's correct in suggesting the Internet may be a major means of "saving" the planet, i.e. The Sustainable Network may become a model for the "Sustainable World." My nightmare is that human nature will remain rigidly rooted in its prehistoric "small group" past, and we'll continue to make decisions for the benefit of our small group, but decisions that lead to the degradation of the planet.
1259816
This book is a fantastic voyage through the world of networking.  For newbies, it presents complex ideas in an easy-to-understand and entertaining way, keeping you away from an alphabet soup of acronyms.  But, it also appeals to experts as well, with its insider's view of the design of various network protocols.  Even with many years of networking under my belt, I found myself reading this book constantly saying, "So, that's why they did it that way!"  The wealth of information in this book should not be overlooked.  The writing style is also crisp, clear, and highly engaging.
3125805
I developed a need to actually observe the network data flow in our modest home network, and this inexpensive model came to the fore. It does a great job. The easy-to-use configuration software is basic but provides sufficient information and control over the data paths for a small network such as ours. Just do not expect advanced configurability because this is not the right device for that. It does the job well in its intended role, which is to offer a modicum of manageability to a basic network.
4848911
I bought this book as a network architect. I always take extra care when creating the Layer 1 design of a network - everybody has stories of project delays and huge penalties because of a forgotten network cable or an incompatible power receptacle. This book gives a great overview of the physical environment, helping to tackle these issues.

The book is very well written, easy to understand; with the extra stories it's almost like a novel. I guess it's a good introduction for DCI experts too, but I'm sure it's definitely worth to read for networking, server, and storage people.

I'm only missing some words about how UCS changed the cabling recommendations (i.e. numbers of copper/fiber cables).