TCP/IP Guide

For an average user, providing an in-depth reference to the underlying protocols that allow communication on the Internet is like giving them a detailed reference to how concrete roads are built. They just want to use the road and they don't care how it got there. But, for those who make a living as network administrators, Web administrators or application developers, this reference provides the information you need to understand how and why the TCP/IP protocols do what they do.

The word "comprehensive" certainly describes this book well. At over 1500 hardbound pages, TCP/IP Guide provides more detail and broader coverage of the TCP and IP protocols than any one person will probably ever need to know.

The book is divided into the following sections:

• Networking Fundamentals
• The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model
• TCP/IP Protocol Suite and Architecture
• TCP/IP Network Interface Layer Protocols
• TCP/IP Network Interface / Internet Layer Connection Protocols
• Internet Protocol Version 4 (IP / IPv4)
• Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)
• IP-Related Feature Protocols
• IP Support Protocols
• TCP/IP Routing Protocols (Gateway Protocols)
• TCP/IP Transport Layer Protocols
• Name Systems and TCP/IP Name Registration and Name Resolution
• Network File and Resources Sharing Protocols
• Host Configuration and TCP/IP Host Condiguration Protocols
• TCP/IP Network Management Framework and Protocols
• TCP/IP Applicaton Layer Addressing and Application Categories
• TCP/IP General File Transport Protocols
• TCP/IP Electronic Mail System: Concepts and Protocols
• TCP/IP World Wide Web and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
• Other File and Message Transfer Applications
• Interactive and Administrative Utilities and Protocols

When the Index alone takes up 45 pages, there must be a lot of information in the book. The TCP/IP Guide subtitle is not kidding when it says "A Comprehensive, Illustrated Internet Protocols Reference". Kozierok covers a great breadth and depth of information in this 1500-plus page book.

Admittedly, I did not read all 1500 pages. I am not sure how many readers could or would do that. Kozierok does manage to take a more or less dry and boring subject and put it into language that is simple enough for TCP/IP novices to follow and that won't put you to sleep.

The TCP/IP Guide is organized fairly well, divided into sections that can be read and applied by themselves, but also in an order that builds on itself to provide an increasing level of knowledge.

From a security perspective, the information is all valid in a relative sense. If you know how the TCP and IP protocols are designed to manage and transport data, it can help you to provide the proper security mechanisms to protect the data and to verify the integrity of the data. Kozierok did miss some opportunities to address security more, such as the absence of detailed IPSEC discussion, but the book doesn't claim to be about security.

All in all, an excellent reference.