The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Networking Major Keary |
Linux Networking
Linux is especially suited to Networking, but Networks are not nearly so simple to implement as some
would have us believe. Small businesses, workgroups within an enterprise, and home users are usually
not in a position to employ expensive technicians - to help them master Linux Networking Morgan
Kaufmann has published
Linux Networking Clearly Explained. The author, Professor Bryan Pfaffenberger, has written
many books on computing and is a long-time UNIX user. In this title he makes no assumptions about the
reader's level of knowledge, beginning with an explanation of creating a dial-up Internet connection
under Linux and the use of Internet applications.
The back cover says:
"Topics include: Essential Networking concepts and hardware Configuration and use of NFS and Samba;
Compatibility with Macintosh and Windows systems; How to establish high-speed Internet connections to
your Network; Creating Web servers and intranets with an introduction to Apache Maintaining and
troubleshooting Linux Networks; Firewalls and security."
Back cover claims can be misleading, but this is an honest description of the content. The book is in
parts: Connection to the Internet; Building Your LAN; Connecting your LAN to the Internet; Creating an
Intranet; and Managing Your Network.
In Part II of Linux Networking the essential concepts of Networking are clearly explained and the reader
is taken through selecting and installing hardware, the intricacies of TCP/IP, configuring and using
Network file systems, using Samba (which provides a link with Windows files and resources), and using
AppleTalk (which is Apple's LAN implementation).
Part III explains how to connect a LAN to the Internet so that users can share a single connection and
the benefit of high-speed links. There are options beyond a dial-up modem connection, but they can be
expensive. In this part of the book the author provides a clear explanation of what he is offering and
the factors that users should consider. Readers do not need a technical background; indeed, this is a
particularly good account of the technology for lay users.
Part IV covers the setting up and running of an Intranet; once again, the discussion is at a level
suitable for lay readers, but with all the technical detail they need to implement an Intranet and
create an Intranet FTP server.
Part V is about Network management, troubleshooting, and ensuring security. As with the rest of the
book, the language is clear and technical matters are dealt with at a level suited to lay readers. At
the same time the author avoids compromising the technical integrity of this clearly explained account
of Linux Networking.
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Bryan Pfaffenberger: Linux Networking Clearly Explained ISBN 0-12-533171-1 Published by Morgan Kaufmann, 390 pp., RRP $105.05 incl. GST |
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Troubleshooting Tools
This is a TCP/IP-specific text that deals with a selection of freely available tools for debugging and
troubleshooting TCP/IP Networks. The back cover says, ". thousands of tools have been developed .
[ranging] from [the] very specialised . to generalised suites that do everything except replace bad
Ethernet cables. . There's only one problem: who has time to track them all down, sort through them
to find the best ones for a particular purpose, or figure out how to use them?". Network Troubleshooting
Tools is not a catalogue of tools, or an introduction to Network troubleshooting. It is, in the words
of the author, "about one aspect of troubleshooting - information collection".
An essential step in troubleshooting is to identify the problem, and to do that one needs information.
The author of this excellent book focuses on the need - and appropriate methods -for collecting
information as a
prerequisite to choosing the right tools. The book is aimed at first-time system administrators who
know TCP/IP, but need a reference to help them in the task of keeping a Network running; it is also
"useful to those . who have inherited responsibility for systems and Networks set up by others".
Prevention, of course, is better than cure; good management practices will reduce the need for
troubleshooting tools. The author advises that many of the tools described should be used before
problems manifest themselves. He also observes that without an understanding of how a particular
Network works it is difficult
to diagnose problems. His two page discussion on `general approaches to troubleshooting' is the best
digest I have seen and deserves to be read by every computer user, regardless of level of
experience, whether they operate a Network or just a stand-alone system.
The tutorial style works very well, with detailed discussions of how things work, problems associated
with particular tools and methodologies, and alternatives. Code examples are used to illustrate the text,
which is also supported by useful diagrams and screen shots. Most of the tools are for UNIX and
UNIX-like systems (which makes the text relevant for Mac OS X users), but a number - included in the
text, have been ported to Microsoft Windows. The information is well organised, easy to find, and
well presented; over and above that, the book is a good read. Anyone interested in getting an insight
into how TCP/IP Networks tick should read it - one doesn't need a technical background. Network
Troubleshooting Tools should be on every Network administrator's bookshelf.
| Joseph Sloan: Network
Troubleshooting Tools ISBN 0-596-00186-X Published by O'Reilly, 346 pp., RRP $115.00 incl. GST |
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How Networks Work
If you want a visual introduction to Networking, QUE's How Networks Work is an extraordinarily wide
ranging explanation of the technologies from the telegraph through modems, ethernet, LANs, and ATM.
The TCP/IP family of protocols is explained along with remote access and how modern enterprise Networks
operate.
The concepts are presented in the form of excellent graphics, which are accompanied by very well
written text.
If you know nothing - or next to nothing - about Networking and all the newfangled technologies, this
is the place to start. If you run classes on Networking, this is a
marvellous resource for ideas about how to illustrate and explain concepts. The historical anecdotes
are also useful for trainers.
| Derfler and Freed: How Networks
Work Millennium Edition ISBN 0-7897-2445-6 Published by QUE, 232 pp., RRP $63.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the November 2002 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
