Data Communications Books

I learned quite a bit from this informative text. I enjoyed the humorous approach

A great book for anyone who has no budget and a willingness to learn

Using examples from his own long career, the author offers hints, tips and tricks on how to make videos on the cheap. Not only does he tell you how he produced videos with few resources, but he gives a wonderful overview of how you can make a living with your video camera.

On the other hand, although it says "digital filmmaking" in the title, there is really very little technical information about digital video here. Nor will you find much technical information on cinematography, directing, production or editing. If you need technical help, look elsewhere. But there is plenty of inspiration here.

If you can get past the endless typos and the author's annoying and unrelenting attempts at humor, you'll be inspired, but not educated.

This is a very cool book for any novice, student or video professional who is faced with producing commercials and videos with very little budget to work with. Clearly the author has been challenged by a variety of clients on an assortment of projects. There is a lot to learn by reading his experiences and solutions to these challenges.

In production, we tend to think our creativity will be exercised primarily in the development of concepts and scripts, but often that creativity must be tapped for technical problem solving. This book inspires one to look at low budgets and logistical nightmares as opportunities to be creative...to "make the shot" in the face of adversity, with limited lighting instruments, small crews and even insufficient available cameras.

I found "No-Budget Digital Filmmaking" to be a wonderful addition to my library of film and video production books. Its a great reference one can turn too should similar challenges present themselves on any production.

Good job Mr. Gloman, and thanks.

This book is full of the author's entertaining video-shooting experiences, told in an entertaining style. It contains almost nothing of what the title and commercial blurbs suggest it contains. If you are (like me) an amateur video maker looking for tips on creating a higher-quality product while living off your day job,look elsewhere. His definition of "no-budget" includes having to rent an old helicopter, rather than a new one, for an aerial shot. The text is full of unexplained technical and slang references to filters, lights, and other equipment but it doesn't matter that you don't understand them because if you're really no-budget you can't afford them anyway.
There are a few real gems, like the opening chapter on the history of various video technologies, but these just emphasize the point -- buy this book if you want to be entertained, not if you want to learn anything practical.

I thought this book was very thourough and is filled with a lot of great information; having read some of the other reviews I will say that I work with the Bay enterprise equipment acquired by Nortel when they bought Bay Networks, and having heard of it through word of mouth I knew exactly what I was getting ahead of time. Make no mistake, this book covers the Bay enterprise line of products only, but it also contains a lot of theory on ATM (LANE, PNNI, MPOA, etc) that I found really useful, as well as Layer 3 routing protocols, source route bridging, and a whole bunch of other stuff. If you don't deal with Nortel's enterprise LOB and don't have a need for the theory chapters I would say stay away from this book, but judging it based on what it is, I think it covers a wide array of material extremely well and is an excellent resource for anyone working with these products.

A few of the recent reviews miss the mark -- this is obviously a book that covers enterprise equipment. And it does it exceptionally well -- explaining the Nortel product but also the technologies and protocols themselves, so you can easily apply the information in this book to other products from other companies. I work for an Enterprise networking company (not Nortel) and I've found this book to be very helpful.

As far as being "only Enterprise related" (an accusation made by previous reviews), that may be true, but it doesn't warrant a one-star review. The title is misleading, but the cover gives a good idea of what to expect.

It clearly states on the back cover "Nortel Networks: The Complete Reference offers detailed information on key networking technologies supported by Nortel products, including frame switching, switched token ring, Layer 3 switching, and ATM... ...a complete overview of all Nortel Enterprise devices; master frame switching, gigabit ethernet, VLANs, and MultiLink Trunking (MLT)..."

I agree with the reader from Richardson. Might even know the reader. I work for Nortel in Raleigh, NC and never work with the enterprise products in this book. Why wasn't it called "Nortel Networks The complete former Bay Networks product reference"?

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, James Knapp's Nortel Networks: The Complete Reference offers users an excellent coverage that runs the gamut from local Ethernet to Layer 3 switching, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and internetworking - making it valuable for network engineers in organizations large and small. Nortel Networks contains real-life situations and the best way to derive maximum performance from real networks. The accompanying CD-ROM includes complete configuration files that can be downloaded directly to Nortel devices. 1184 pages.

I have had this book for about a year and finally got around to reading it.

I too work for Nortel Networks, but not in the Enterprise Networks line of business (LOB). The biggest problem I have with this book is its title; it is exceedingly deceptive.

If you work in any LOB other than Enterprise, don't expect a peep about the Nortel products you are familiar with. No mention whatsoever of Meridian, DMS, Passport, Shasta, Service Builder, OPtera, Preside, etc. Nothing but former Bay Networks products; hardly "complete". The only mention of this fact is in the small print on the back cover that states that it is a complete guide to Nortel's Enterprise products. I wonder why that didn't make it to the front cover?

This is a book obviously written by a former long-time Bay (now Nortel) employee capitalizing on knowledge of thier former boxes and ignoring the rest. If all you are interested in is configuring a Baystack, Accellar, or Centillion router or switch, or getting your NN Certification, you'll love this book. If you are interested in any other Nortel product at all, don't buy it. It simply doesn't apply in any way to the other 75% of what Nortel does, in spite of its title.

Next, I must say that the chapter explaining ATM is horrendous. The only way you will understand what the author says about ATM is if you already understand ATM, in which case you don't need to read it anyway. This should have been greatly expanded or removed altogether.

Also, there is an entire section on ATM on Nortel products. Again, only former Bay products that support ATM are covered- no mention of Nortel's Passport or OPtera products, even though they are key ATM core network nodes.

This is a great book if you want to understand the history and background of email encryption and a good place to get started on PGP & GPG email. A good overview is great if you need to explain the importance to a client.

This is a concise introduction to email encryption for people who don't care about prime numbers. It nicely covers all real-life topics users of PGP and GPG are likely to be interested in. Two problems: First, there is a substantial number of typos, as if the book had never been proofread. There is a significant error in chapter 4 -- if you follow the instructions for generating new keys using the command-line (Unix) version of GPG, you will end up with un-usable keys (without subkeys). Accept all default values and you will have no problems. Second, since the book covers several specific versions of PGP and GPG, the user of any specific version will only use 50% of the book at best (and the book is a slim one to start with). As a result, this book should be considered as a basic introduction only, to be read once and never looked at again.

This book is an excellent reference of cryptography. It combines PGP and GPG, two very interesting software to information security.

Excellent beginning tutorial on PGP and related technologies. Author writes well, clearly, and with just enough humor (not over done). I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in PGP, GnuPGP, or any of the related technologies.

I'm a 10-year crypto hobbyist, and although I didn't learn much new, I wish I had this book when I started out. And it will be the book I recommend to friends and family interested in email and file crypto.

Pretty Good Privacy and Phil Zimmerman are computer counterculture legends. By putting secure communication into the hands of anyone with a computer, Zimmerman both launched a revolution and stirred the ire of the U.S. government. After suffering under -- and prevailing over -- severe FBI harassment and malicious prosecution, Zimmerman and his open PGP encryption tool have demolished government attempts to control cryptography. After sixteen years, PGP still has no equal as an enabler of private communication.

This book focuses on the use of PGP as an email encryption tool, although PGP can be used as a general purpose file encryption utility as well. After summarizing the history of PGP and the Open PGP standard, author Michael Lucas clearly and concisely describes how public key encryption with Open PGP can secure routine email messages. This is a how-to guide that gives you the essential understanding you need to quickly make practical use of PGP and its non-commercial cousin Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG).

Lucas' exposition explains PGP better than any previously published treatment -- either in print or online -- I've read. If you need to encrypt, you need to encrypt with PGP. Which means you need this book.

Perfect for Lab and real example on Bgp and Multicast!

"Routing TCP/IP, Volume II" by Jeff Doyle and Jennifer DeHaven Carroll picks up where "Routing TCP/IP, Volume I" left off. And, like the first volume, this volume is an essential "must read" for any aspiring CCIE-candidate.

The book is divided into two sections, Exterior Gateway Protocols and Advanced IP Routing Issues. The first section provides an historical review of Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP), an introduction for Border Gateway Protocol version 4 (BGP), and finally details on configuring and troubleshooting BGP. As with the first volume, numerous configuration and troubleshooting examples and exercises are included. However, one flaw is that the student will need twelve routers to actually stage the configuration example / lab at the end of this section.

The second part, Advanced IP Routing Issues, covers a variety of topics, although Multicast received the bulk of the attention. The Multicast chapters are concise, well written, and easy to digest and understand. Other topics include Network Address Translation (NAT), IPv6, and Router Management. However, since the initial publication date (2001), Cisco support for IPv6 has matured, making the chapter here a bit outdated. In fact, the Second Edition of Volume I does a much better job of incorporating IPv6 throughout. Also, I felt the chapter on Router Management was a bit light and was left with the impression that is tossed in at the last moment as a sort of "filler".

The reader should definitely make sure that he or she is comfortable with the topics presented in "Routing TCP/IP, Volume I" before delving into this book. Concepts covered in the first volume, such as Interior Gateway Protocols (RIP, OSPF, EIGRP) and the fundamentals of route redistribution, are referenced throughout this volume. If you do not completely understand the topics covered in Volume I, you will likely have a difficult time grasping the topics and concepts covered here in Volume II.

All in all, a very good book for a student working towards a CCIE. You will likely need to augment the BGP coverage with Halabi's "Internet Routing Architecture". When I first bought the book a few years back, I would have given it 5 stars. However, given some of the outdated topics I mentioned earlier, I've knocked it down to 4. A Second Edition refresh, similar to what was done for "Routing TCP/IP, Volume I", would likely bump it back to 5 stars. Good luck!

Mark G. Reyero, CCIE 12932

Routing TCP/IP, Volume II presents a detailed examination of exterior routing protocols (EGP and BGP) and advanced IP routing issues such as multicast routing, quality of service routing, IPv6, and router management. You will learn IP design and management techniques for implementing routing protocols efficiently. Network planning, design, implementation, operation, and optimization are stressed in each chapter. Cisco-specific configurations for each routing protocol are examined in detail. Plentiful review questions and configuration and troubleshooting exercises make this an excellent self-study tool for CCIE exam preparation.

I personally feel this book is even better than Volume I. Several hundred pages are spent on BGP and Multicasting, going through details that aren't necessarily found in the more well-known books on those topics. An excellent companion to Halabi and Williamson.

The book was a major help to me in achieving my CCIE R&S. I just with Jeff would write a Security book!

Chris Bryant
CCIE #12933

CiscoPress's "Routing TCP/IP - Volume II" by Doyle and Carroll is one of the `must-have' books on any CCIE's R&S bookshelf OR any network admin who needs to understand the intricacies of external routing. I have referenced this book many times for my preparations for the R&S lab and real-world implementations.

The book's first 320 pages are dedicated to BGP. I believe this book does the best job at preparing a R&S lab candidate for BGP (better than Halabi's book). For instance, the book does an excellent job at describing the issues and nuances of IBGP and IGP synch starting on page 118. The BGP configs are complete and complex - you will be diving into some of the more arcane commands quickly (for instance - aggregate-address, as-set, backdoor).

The NAT section is probably the weakest of the subjects covered in this book, and can be found in other CiscoPress books. Still, the information presented here will be enough for the R&S lab. The next 3 chapters are devoted to IP multicast. Again, as with the BGP section, I do not believe you will find better material for the R&S lab in any other CiscoPress book (even considering Williamson's multicast book). I am admittedly weak in multicast, and Auto-RP did not `click' for me till I read this book.

If I picked up this book, and dangled it, I would probably have about 20 pages of notes fall out of the book. The book crams in a lot of information (even considering that it fills more than 900+ pages). I consider this book one of the `holy trinity' of R&S books (along with Doyle's Routing TCP/IP - Volume 1 and Clark's LAN Switching book).

I give this book 5 pings out of 5:
!!!!!

As a networking instructor, it would not be exaggeration if I say that I had the "privilege" of studying and teaching this fantastic book. We used it as our main routing reference when we were doing CCNP courses and after several years when I decided to get down to the nitty gritty to take the CCIE written exam, it worked perfectly again and I enjoyed its nice examples and clear writing. Perhaps the most exciting thing about this book is that, there is no hard/easy or rich/poor section, all chapters seem quite solid and contiguous.

I used only this book as a reading material for the exam and I passed on my first try. This book contains a lot of valueble material about routing and it is good as a future reference for routing.
A must for future CCNP's.

I passed my exam using this book, and nothing else beside it.

Having stated that, let me point out a few things:

1- This book covers EVERYTHING you need to know to pass the exam. No question on my exam was not covered somewhere in the book. I find it hard to judge whether the authors took it a little far with the extra material, or not, which brings me to the second point..

2- The book is loooong !! It took me over 3 months to "study" the whole thing ! I know the BSCI exam is one of the hardest exams Cisco offers, but does the book need to be this long ? The Sybex Book wasnt .. and despite that, many of my friends used it, and passed the exam.

3- The language is not very easy, or maybe the writing style wasnt very smooth. This book reminds me of "big" references that we used in college, vice short and to the point text books that sufficed with covering the Syllabus, and only that. This certainly is NOT a text book !!

4- The labs at the end of each chapter ? What labs :-)

5- To do the authors justice, I have to say that this book was worth every penny I spent on it. This may not be the best book to read if your sole concern is to pass the BSCI exam, but it certainly is THE book on routing ! If you're planning on becoming a CCIE one day, this is a must read. You will sweat a little, but it will be worthwhile. I will have to give it 4 stars, not 5, beacuse this is a Certification Self-Study, so it needs to address the length of the book as well as the easiness of the presentation. Otherwise, this is a highly recommended book for all networking professionals.

Evereyone has an opinion on a book, so I thought I would share mine. Yes, this book has a ton of information, maybe too much for the exam.

This edition is a far cry from the first one. The Lab configurations could drive you crazy. It was very hard to follow because 1 pod is 4 routers plus a frame switch and 2 Backbone routers! How many people have 7 routers????

The first edition called for 3 routers in a pod and 1 backbone router. This made preparing for configuration exercises easy.

Comparing the OSPF section from the 1st to the 2nd edition is totally different. All the information is the same but the 2nd edition makes for much harder reading.

I acutally returned the book. I was uncomfortable with the layout and organization of it. I am very disapointed with the way the authors changed it. They should have left it exactly as the 1st edition and updated it with new information. Instead they changed sections and made the Labs difficult.

I guess if you never owned the 1st edition, you would think this book is great.

I am using this Cisco Press Self-Study and Cisco Press Exam Certification Guide for BSCI exam. Generally, I find this book much helpful compared to certification guide. Most concepts are elaborately discussed with good lab examples and I have almost no problem understand all of it at first glance. (I have just begun career in networking while reading this book and I don't have in-depth knowledge of routing protocols). I like the author style of writing and I am looking forward to read another of her certification books.

Note : For those who plan to purchase this book, please read BGP route reflector and probably BGP community, both found in Appendix A before going for the exam.

I completely agree with Lily that this book doesnt help computer security professionals, and I don't think it can help lawyers or management either.

There is absolutely no meat in this tome of 1200+ pages. What baffles me is why 11 reviewers gave it a 5-star rating.

This is a text book, with very helpful information for my Information Assurance Course. I bought it from Amazon for a reasonable price. Received as promised; on time for my first day of school.

I was expected much more of this book. It is very general. It is meant for general public not for computer professionals. There is lots of repeating. 1200 pages of text with just a few pictures. Very boring. It is meant more for lawyers and philosophers than for other population. I don't recommend for system or network administrators.

this is good stuff.

A bit wordy, but good!

This book is a must have for anyone working in the Information Assurance/Computer Security field. "Big Blue" was written by experienced professionals who are considered experts in their field. The book contains sections pertaining to every conceivable aspect of Infomation Assurance. I am currently using this book in my Masters program at Norwich University, and will continue to use it as a reference for many years to come. Mich Kabay and Sy Bosworth are to be commended for consolidating all of this information into one superb book. Great job!!

I found couple good infomation in this book, which is not cover in other books. It is a good book again!

This book explores thoroughly all aspects of Series 60 development. Suitable for both beginners (first chapters, 1-4) and advanced developers alike. The information is presented clearly and expanded along well written examples. A definite reference for professionals working in Symbian or Series 60 development. Easy indexed access to content makes it also an excellent programming guide.

This is a very good guide for S60 devlopement. Some of the
Symbian programming paradigms are quite new for traditional
procedural language (Like C) programmers. This book provides
an excellent insight to the rationale of Symbian style. It
also provides a detail description of most of the important
classes and how they can be used. I'll recommend this book
for anyone trying to get into S60 applications development.

I am new to Symbian C++ programming and find myself referring to this book almost daily. It is useful for learning high level concepts and then for digging into the details. The examples are easy to follow. Everything that I have needed to find out has been covered in the book so far. Congratulations to the authors for being so thorough.

I am begunning writing our first Symbian OS Software and need a reference book. I choice this book because the SDK do not provide systematic instruction for new programmer.
For this book, you can get this.
The first two chapter is fundamentals, it provide detail information for build up and usage of tool for developer.
The chapter 3 say Symbian OS fundamentals, but i thing this so different to understand for first time developer.I suggest rapidly read this chapter, next read chapter 4 and 5,and come back for read more detail.
For this book, we should open the example for fully understand. Because it only said about the main point. This provide the guide for you but if you want more detail should be reference to SDK.
At the end,this is a good book for learning series 60,provide useful information for good programming , but can not replace the SDK document.

This book is amazing. I purchased it to get a firm grasp on subnetting, and it did for me what no other resource was able to do. The informative chapters followed by real world exercises really made me understand the underlying reasons as to why sunbetting was necessary and how it could be applied in real world scenerios. I only gave this book a 4 because at some points the writing does get a bit wordy, reading more like a technical manual. But other than that, this book is a keeper!

This book is what is says Fundamental. IF you work with IP or want to work with IP you should know what is in this book. I found the chapter on subnetting wonderfully enlightening. This book answered many of my questions I had about IP. I highly recommend this book.

This otherwise excellent book is marred and riddled by moderate to serious typos. At times the typos almost makes the text incomprehensible.

If the reader is ready to put in the extra effort and patience to understand these troubled portions of the book, then what he gets is surely worth all the trouble.

The book is one of the best book on IP that I have ever read. It explains in very great details and with amazing simplicity the most cryptic details about CIDR, VLSM and other highly complex topics.

The Chapters are arranged very logically and it almost feels like a continous text. I have decided to give the book 4 stars although it deserves more than 5 stars. I would really advise the publishers to spend some more time on a book to ensure its correctness, before the send the book out to the press.

One last think which I feel is that this book does assumes certain previous knowledge of concepts like ARP and other basic concepts of IP, hence this book should be much more fun and usefull after a reading a primary book on TCP/IP like Douglas Comer or W.R. Stevens.

This book will definately show you everything you need to know about IP. It has been a truly valuable resource. If you are new to IP and Routing, however, you may want to read something a little more basic first. Without a basic understanding of IP concepts, this book may seem a little too complex. Excellent book to keep on the shelf though...you'll go back to it again and again.

I have passed several exam involving IP, Routing and Switching. I though I had a very good understanding of the concepts. After reading this book I found that what I knew only scratched the surface.

From the beginning of the book you get topics like IP and IP routing foundations, addressing, subnetting, VLSM, detailed breakdown of the first three layers of the OSI model, Ethernet technologies, token ring and FDDI, PPP and Frame Relay.

The author breaks down routing with RIP and OSPF very well and makes the concepts comprehensible for even the beginner level technician. Also he handles ICMP, 802.1q & p as well as first-rate coverage of DHCP.

The book seems very complete and the author makes sure to include the RFCs that correspond to the different section for the reference purposes. Overall this is one of the best books for IP subject matter.

This book is not for beginners. it is for students who have a background in real-analysis. It is also not a book to study signal processing, but it is more of a reference guide. I am disappointed with it, because I didn't get what I hoped to from this book.

Recently purchased this book and from reading parts of it the book is a very good source of the mathematics associated with signal processing. However the publisher in the latest printing I just received no longer provides the promised CDROM and the listed website where to obtain the MATLAB material on the CDROM is also no longer supported by the publisher. An e-mail response to my inquiry about the missing MATLAB code source from a representative of the publisher indicates that the book is too old and their is no need to provide the material anymore.

I do not know about the contents of this book yet, but one thing I can tell is that the book is still in the first edition(unlike some review), but it's the second printing.
[...]

this book is really good for a signal processing researcher.
generally it is difficult for a new researcher to connect math to the signal processing methods. conventional signal processing books only give the bit of math as needed in the signal processing books and this makes it difficult for an inexperienced student.
in this book mathematics is explained in more detail and in the introduction of each chapter it is mentioned why and where you would need this math knowledge.
at the end of each chapter application sections are provided
where problems from signal processing are explained for that particular mathematical method.

there are also exercises.

however, this book can be difficult for a new graduate without any establishment of signal processing concepts and problems.

it is an excellent book for a phd student in my view and it can be a classic.

This book is certainly technically sound. That being said, I find the notation confusing and the text relatively inacessible. The book is likely a good selection for someone wanting to study the innermost mathematical details of modern signal processing. Unfortunately, the text spends less time on actual implimentation and usage than would be preferable for audiances focussed on real world applications.

This book is jam packed with good information about online stalking, online shopping, protecting your identity, etc. As technology becomes more advanced, there are more and more ways for people to become victims of Internet crime. Jayne Hitchcock explains the steps to take if this ever happens to you and ways to prevent it so it never does!

An excellent read - AND you don't have to be a computer genius to understand all of her technical information!

One of the hook lines for this book states, "..an insightful book that is a must read for everyone who owns a computer". No it isn't! The number of people who have not heard anything about computer viruses, identity theft, hackers or at least some form of computer attack must surely be a small minority by now. Even the most non-mechanical of drivers know something about oil, where the gas goes, tire pressures, etc. even if they only ever turn the ignition key and point their vehicle in the direction they want to go. Why then, would someone who owns a computer and surfs the internet assume all it involves is turning on their computer, getting an internet connection and pointing and clicking? This book is for those people.

It does a good job at highlighting the pit falls, traps and virtual land mines waiting for the unprotected, ignorant or just plain stupid. The book also gives good advice on what to do if harassment gets out of hand. However, the sub-title of "Outmaneuvering the spammers, swindlers and stalkers" is somewhat misleading. The outmaneuvering techniques described are basically don't go to chat rooms, news groups or message forums where people take a virtual swipe at you. The passages about outmaneuvering the spammers also seems incredibly naive and is centered around displaying the full header of an email so you'll know who sent it. Wrong! Some mention is made of how return email addresses can be faked, but so too can IP addresses. Complaining to an ISP about spam, especially one which knowingly hosts spamming operations, is a waste of time. Even more so if they originate somewhere in Asia like a lot of them do. Then we have the anonymous emailing web sites and of course the spammers favorite, the zombie computer which they use to re-direct their emails without the computer owner's knowledge.

If you're looking for a technical reference which tells you how to protect yourself online, what tools to use, what they do and why you need them, this book isn't for you. However, if you're concerned about internet horror stories, online safely and are not particularly computer or internet savvy, this book will be useful to you and you'll learn much about the dos and don'ts of life online.

Ms. Hitchcock outlines the major threats to Internet privacy and safety we face in a clear, easy-to-read, and very comprehensive manner. Although the book caters more to the novice Web surfer than it does the technologically adept, even hardcore geeks will be impressed at how she takes stories of cyberstalking, spoofing, auction fraud, and flame wars and puts human faces on all of them.

Though message boards and newsgroups have been replaced with blogs and MySpace, the basic principles of being smart and protecting yourself when you go online are even more important, and Hitchcock reminds us that no matter how smart or savvy you think you are, you can end up a victim of "Net Crimes", unless you pay attention.

Definitely recommended.

Net Crimes is an outstanding source of information to learn how to protect yourself while online. It thoroughly covers many topics and addresses several issues that you may not realize put you at risk. After reading it, I am "kicking myself" for things I have inadvertently done online that could have caused some potential problems. I will now be much more cautious about websites I visit and personal information that I provide to them.

I just received the 2nd edition, and Hitchcock has again put the fear of the virtual world in me. Her examples and discussion is certainly eye-opening as to what or who is lurking out there.

Not only is this a good read, but it is also a great reference for high school and undergraduate college. The examples and resources made it a valued purchase for me.