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  • TCP/IP Essentials: A Lab-Based Approach
  • Rob Harle
TCP/IP Essentials: A Lab-Based Approachby Shivendra S. Panwar, Shiwen Mao, Jeong-dong Ryoo and Yihan Li. University of Cambridge Press, New York, NY, U.S.A., 2004. 284 pp., illus. Paper. ISBN: 052160124X.

Have you ever wondered why, when you send an e-mail or download a web site, it does not result in terminal electronic gridlock? Have you ever wondered what TCP/IP or SMTP means when you are setting up your home computer to connect to the Internet? This book reveals all. It does so in a logical, straightforward, easy-to-read manner.

The book is primarily intended for electrical engineering, computer science and computer engineering students


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and, as such, is specialized and, at times, highly technical. It presumes a background in networking as a prerequisite to undertake the course offered in the book. I really enjoyed reading TCP/IP Essentials: A Lab-Based Approach, mainly because it answered many questions I had been wondering about. Millions of us use the Internet, as well as networked computers, almost every day, and we do not have a clue what happens after we hit the Send button.

The book is not simply a dry textbook but rather, as the title suggests, a lab-based approach to understanding networks, Internet protocols and data transmission. Each section contains specific details so students can set up experiments on relatively inexpensive equipment to test the theories explained. As the authors suggest, "only the most Scrooge-like University administrator would raise an eyebrow over the cost of the lab equipment" (p. xiii).

The book has nine chapters plus various appendices. Chapter 0 is an overview of TCP/IP, which acts as a framework for the rest of the book. Chapters 1 through 9 provide introductory explanatory material, suitable for lecture presentation, followed by details of the associated lab experiments. The experiments are based on courses taught at Polytechnic University over 8 years. While Solaris commands are included in the book, the main operating system discussed and used is Linux. The four authors are all senior research associates at various universities, except for Shivendra Panwar, who is also a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, NY.

As the preface suggests, this book uses a minimalist approach to teaching the essentials of networking and is not intended as a comprehensive reference text on the subject. Appendix A is a fairly comprehensive "Instructor's Guide," which includes information about lab equipment required, software installation and router configuration and set-up. Appendix B covers initial router configuration, and Appendix C provides source code applicable to the experiments. This book is well illustrated with numerous diagrams and flow charts to visually explain the theories and experiments involved.

The book clearly explains that the secret of avoiding electronic gridlock or contaminated data lies in the layered hierarchical arrangement of the various protocols involved. Each layer controls certain aspects of the transmission and then reports back to the layer above, which can then perform its function within the stack. The whole process involves a great deal of forward and reverse checking and sending of data in discrete stages or hops. I remember a few years ago a little program available for home computers that could trace your e-mail message. It was truly astounding to see the message hop from one server to the next, sometimes going around the world to end up in a neighboring state!

As mentioned, the book is intended for serious networking students and qualified engineers seeking networking certification. However, I think it is also suitable for those computer "nerds" among us that just like to know how things work. As a matter of interest, TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol and IP stands for, strangely enough, Internet Protocol. These seemingly simple letters are actually the basis of the whole Internet data flow management and control. This publication is a soundly researched and very well-presented technical manual.

Rob Harle
(Australia).
E-mail: <harle@dodo.com.au>.
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