This complete guide to setting up and running a TCP/IP network is essential for network administrators, and invaluable for users of home systems that access the Internet. The book starts with the fundamentals -- what protocols do and how they work, how addresses and routing are used to move data through the network, how to set up your network connection -- and then covers, in detail, everything you need to know to exchange information via the Internet. Included are discussions on advanced routing protocols (RIPv2, OSPF, and BGP) and the gated software package that implements them, a tutorial on configuring important network services -- including DNS, Apache, sendmail, Samba, PPP, and DHCP -- as well as expanded chapters on troubleshooting and security. TCP/IP Network Administration is also a command and syntax reference for important packages such as gated, pppd, named, dhcpd, and sendmail. With coverage that includes Linux, Solaris, BSD, and System V TCP/IP implementations, the third edition contains:

• Overview of TCP/IP

• Delivering the data

• Network services

• Getting startedM

• Basic configuration

• Configuring the interface

• Configuring routing

• Configuring DNS

• Configuring network servers

• Configuring sendmail

• Configuring Apache

• Network security

• Troubleshooting

• Appendices include dip, ppd, and chat reference, a gated reference, a dhcpd reference, and a sendmail reference

This new edition includes ways of configuring Samba to provide file and print sharing on networks that integrate Unix and Windows, and a new chapter is dedicated to the important task of configuring the Apache web server. Coverage of network security now includes details on OpenSSH, stunnel, gpg, iptables, and the access control mechanism in xinetd. Plus, the book offers updated information about DNS, including details on BIND 8 and BIND 9, the role of classless IP addressing and network prefixes, and the changing role of registrars. Without a doubt, TCP/IP Network Administration, 3rd Edition is a must-have for all network administrators and anyone who deals with a network that transmits data over the Internet.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 31 Ratings

Cannot Live Without - 2004-11-19
Reviewer Rating:
Though this book is oriented to UNIX, I find it tremendously useful as a Windows administrator. Core concepts gleamed from this book has catapulted me greatly into my career, and allowed me to solve complex networking problems and avert major disasters.

I was introduced to this book for a UNIX Network Administration course, and from this I was able to really flesh out core TCP/IP concepts as well as play with services like DHCP and DNS, which are essential pieces for a Windows Active Directory environment. Using this book I was able to dabble with other services like NFS and SAMBA from a variety of systems ranging from Mac OS X to Solaris x86 to Linux to Windows XP...

I don't have any complaints, but rather some requests for future editions. I wish there was some coverage of IPSec and Kerberos in Chapter 12 "Network Security". I think Chapter 9 "Local Netowrk Services" could be expanded, as some topics are sparsely covered and there is no mention of printing technologies like IPP or CUPS. I do wish there was more coverage of the raw SMTP protocol and related technologies of POP, IMAP, and LDAP and maybe even mail servers like Exim and Postfix. However, don't touch that sendmail chapter (Chapter 10), as this coverage is so very excellent; other books go off on the deep end are far way too complex to get started.

Administer for performance, not convenience - 2007-02-04
Reviewer Rating:
Anyone who has been concerned or is currently concerned with the performance of networks, no matter how large, has had to deal with the TCP/IP protocol. It has its origins in the late 1960's, being invented essentially by government researchers and finally finding its first specification in 1979. This book is written for Unix systems administrators who must deal with the intricacies of TCP/IP but unfortunately does not suggest to them methods for improving TCP/IP performance. It is one thing to administer for convenience and ease in troubleshooting. It is quite another thing to administer for performance. For this reason, this reviewer only read the last chapter in the book, which deals with the troubleshooting of the TCP/IP implementation. A future edition would be greatly improved by detailed discussion of performance issues and how to administer for optimum performance.

The author does however give a fairly detailed discussion of troubleshooting in TCP/IP and give a few hints to assist the beginning sys/ad person. Many of these are readily apparent to those who are acquainted with the dynamics of TCP/IP, while others are based more on a commonsense understanding of how networks are configured. For example, the author advises checking to see if the trouble is unique to only one application or if it only occurs on one remote host versus all remote hosts. Problems that are application specific are to be distinguished from those that may require investigation into the actual network, the latter occurring when hosts are experiencing problems on only certain subnets.

It is interesting that the troubleshooting techniques and tools that are described in this chapter still require a great deal of human intervention, and therefore are dependent on the time restrictions of the network engineer or administrator. These tools include "built-in" investigative ones like `ipconfig', `ping', `traceroute', and `snoop'. Some of these tools unfortunately can also be used to disrupt a network, such as for example when `ping attacks' are used to flood a host with a barrage of ping packets. In addition, many of them can be used to hack into a particular host, or gain information for a successful intrusion into that host's networked computers. Many of them also can be used to gain information on the layers that are below the TCP layer, such as the `arp' command that allows one to analyze problems with translation between IP and Ethernet addresses.

It is not surprising to find discussions on network design in this chapter, and in these discussions one must go deeper into the lower OSI levels. And in these discussions, particularly in the one on how to subdivide an Ethernet in order to manage the network traffic on a particular segment, the author does indirectly discuss performance issues, although they are strictly speaking outside of the TCP/IP protocol, and its sometimes striking and unpredictable behavior on real networks. This complicated behavior of TCP/IP, and the severe financial impact that its maladies can cause for business and industry dictate that a much more sophisticated approach to troubleshooting TCP/IP be used. This approach would deploy a system that responds immediately to TCP problems, analyzes them, and takes correction (on its own if the risks are understood). In addition it would learn from experience, or "keep a historical record' in the words of the author, so as to be able to confront similar problems in the future more efficiently. Having such an autonomous real-time TCP/IP troubleshooter that is not bound by the long time scales characteristic of human intervention would be complex but definitely useful and a huge return on investment.

TCP/IP Fundamentals - 2005-06-29
Reviewer Rating:
This book covers the in's and out's of TCP/IP with a Unix focus. Non-Unix users will find this book equally useful as the Unix user, in that it presents the information in a format that is easy to follow as well as comprehensive.

This book doesn't cater to the casual reader, instead it gives the facts required for administration of a TCP/IP based network. If you want to understand this topic, this is the book to use.

Good content for users of all levels - 2009-11-19
Reviewer Rating:
Each topic covered is is concise and effective. Useful for users of all levels - beginners, intermediate and advanced.

good - 2009-06-10
Reviewer Rating:
Only made it through the first three chapters or so, but was pretty clear and easy to understand. Never understood why this publisher puts the stupidest pictures on the covers on these text books??

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