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Book Review: The TCP/IP Guide
Like most Wire readers, I've read plenty of technical books in order to understand network administration. So let's be honest: too many technical authors write in ponderous, dry, academic sentences, stuffed with self-importance. Worse, they give you the airy-fairy theory of how things are supposed to work, not the practical version everyone actually lives by. So when No Starch Press claimed that their 1600-page encyclopedic reference, The TCP/IP Guide, would be "comprehensive" yet "personal" and "user-friendly," I felt both interested and skeptical.
Now that I have spent two weeks perusing this massive doorstop, I'm here to tell you: this book is the Real Deal. It surpasses the old standard, TCP/IP Illustrated, to become the new Gold Standard. It is All That and a Bag of Chips. Super-sized. Did I mention, I love this book? Let me count the ways.
The scope of The TCP/IP Guide staggers the imagination, offering full coverage of PPP, ARP, IP, IPv6, IP NAT, IPSec, Mobile IP, ICMP, RIP, BGP, TCP, UDP, DNS, DHCP, SNMP, FTP, SMTP, NNTP, HTTP, Telnet, and much more. Yet somehow author Charles M. Kozierok has carefully organized this mass of material in clear, logical fashion. His methodical narration builds the tower of TCP/IP in your mind brick by brick, without a slip or a stumble, much less even one exasperated "WTF?"
Two stand-out aspects of this guide instantly place it a cut above other TCP/IP books. First, Kozierok really does write in a personable, conversational style that transforms this work from a mere reference book to a fascinating chat with a very informed buddy. I'm flabbergasted to encounter any personality and heart in a reference book about networking protocols, much less Kozierok's appealing just-folks, self-effacing style. Second, besides displaying the solid depth of research you rightfully expect from a reference work, Kozierok consistently goes beyond the RFCs to tell you how people generally use (or abuse) the terminology or concept in real life. This keeps the book grounded and abundantly practical.
Similar to nearly every computer-related book on the market, the Guide claims to be for anyone from beginner to veteran. I don't know if such a book is even possible (you'll either mystify the newbies, or bore the veterans), but this book comes the closest of any I've seen. Not every chapter is for every audience. While Part 1 on Networking Fundamentals is very, very friendly to the uninitiated, I kinda doubt a stark newbie will easily follow the long discussion on IP Subnet Addressing Concepts (but it is an excellent description -- anyone with even a year of IT experience should find the lightbulb snapping on overhead). Overall, Goldilocks would declare Kozierok's depth of coverage Just Right. Wherever the discussion threatens to get too abstract, Kozierok usually follows with a well-chosen, concrete example.
When you read him on a subject you already know, you generally pick up a few new details. Example: Before the IETF declared SNMP a standard, it first had to beat a competing standard, High-level Entity Management Protocol. Honestly, did you know that SNMP is better than HEMP? When you read him on a subject you don't know well, the book really shines. Hundreds of well-conceived, well-executed illustrations and diagrams blend with non-fussy text and the occasional inspired metaphor to teach you new concepts as efficiently as possible. For me, the ratio of "aha!" and "now I get it!" per page was often exhilarating.
No book is perfect, and each reader will find portions they could do without. F'rinstance, Kozierok's explanation of DNS dwells at unnecessary length on the history of name services, spending too many pages explaining systems the Internet no longer uses. But the miracle here is that I can name specific passages like that. With lesser authors, the whole book is like that. Besides, when you hit a passage that's taking more time than you have, handy "Key Concept" sidebars let you skip to the bottom line. Multiple levels of detail, clearly marked, let you skim the surface or dive deep. Nice.
The TCP/IP Guide is a blast to have on your shelf, too. New ISAKMP vulnerability in the news? Fine, I can quickly brush up on the inner workings of IKE and IPSec VPNs. Trying to tell a new staffer what a broadcast packet is? Simple, I'll just steal Kozierok's wonderful party analogy. Someone has a question about IPv6 datagram extension headers? Charles has my back. How did I get along without this book? Oh, now I remember; I bluffed. Woah, actually knowing feels godlike.
Really, the biggest drawback of The TCP/IP Guide is that my attempts to describe it turn me into a slavering fanboy. My cubicle-mates stare wide-eyed at me and say in calming tones, "Scott ... it's just a book." But geez, I literally cannot imagine anyone in IT who would not find this book eminently useful. It's a literary "perfect storm" of great research, great organization, appealing prose, appropriate technical illustration, and clear-mindedness. I mean, what else do ya want?
If you've read as many bad IT books as I have, you will appreciate the mastery of Kozierok's achievement. His warmth and style don't smack you in the face at first (which is part of why it wears well over 1600 pages); but keep reading, and you'll discover an IT brother. You can sample Kozierok's work on line at http://www.TCPIPGuide.com. The content is pretty good on line, but I found I liked it best set in the book's excellent design and typesetting.
TCP/IP Guide will be the standard for years to come. You heard it here first. # -- D. Scott Pinzon, CISSP
Copyright© 2010 WatchGuard® Technologies, Inc. You may copy and distribute this article freely in any medium as long as you copy and distribute the entire article without change and preserve this copyright statement and notice.
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