Intranet Books

Network Warrior is another quite useful O'Reilly effort in the Cisco handbook space. It really is potentially handy for many real-time network operators. One thing I wish the author had spent much more time on is Ethernet switching. He does dig into some of the quirks of configuring VLANs in the Cisco environment but to my way of thinking associated subjects (mirroring, span port config, spanning tree troubleshooting) need a lot more exposure. One area that cannot be talked about enough are the twists involved in setting up spanning tree through a complex VLAN network. Another potentially vital topic involves interoperating with other vendors' equipment in a spanning tree network. I bought this book hoping for more exposure than I got in those areas. This is the only reason I didn't give it five.

One of the best networking books I have read, period. Not just how it works, but why it works and should be configured. After you study and obtain your CCNA, this is the next read that will fill in many information holes.

Highly recommended.

In preparation for the CCNA exam, I have gone through several networking books, both Cisco-specific and otherwise. I had thought that the official Cisco Press CCNA set was the best resource... until I took a chance on this tome. While I have found the Wendell Odom CCNA set to be the definitive guide to CCNA/CCENT material, I now must admit that this book is nearly - or even exactly - as essential as a CCNA exam prep guide. While the other guides read like textbooks, giving the reader adequate conceptual and theoretical information, this book felt like a nice long chat with a seasoned "network warrior" about real-world, everyday issues faced by network engineers.

What set this book apart from the thousands of pages (hey, I'm dedicated!) of material I'd already covered?

- CatOS commands; the new Cisco Press books barely mention that CatOS exists!
- anecdotes and real-world examples; even if you know how it *should* work, this book reveals how it *does* work
- objective viewpoint on Cisco technology; no "Cisco's way is the best way" dogma here
- meaningful discussion of high-end, core-strength equipment; everything in the Wendell Odom set focused exclusively on Catalyst 2960 switches and one model of router
- frank, direct, humorous, and engaging style; half the material I've covered previously was dreadfully dull
- illustrations for every concept; this makes my life so much easier when trying to explain things to fellow junior technicians

While the book may seem daunting at nearly 600 pages, I'm flying through it at about 80-100 pages per day. The text is very engaging, and the author's way of phrasing things is informative and structured yet very flowing and casual. I feel that every chapter contains some point, if not several points and concepts, that I wouldn't have known from the other books out there. What is possibly the best feature of this book is the real-world, realistic approach to every concept and issue. The Cisco Press books seem to assume that the reader will be using 2960 access layer switches running IOS 12.2 or better. Network Warrior does not make this assumption. The author makes the realistic assumption that the reader's network could have all kinds of gear networked together, and thus includes information about CatOS as well as a wide variety of Cisco hardware. Also included are some quick and dirty tricks to save time, money, and effort. For example, I didn't know that I could abbreviate almost any command in IOS ("sho" instead of "show", etc.) and still get the same result until I read this book. While I feel that the by-the-book approach of the Cisco Press material is necessary for building a clear foundation, I feel that this book's get-the-job-done take on networking is a necessary follow-up.

The book assumes some working knowledge of networking, but not too much. It doesn't explain the bare basics of networking, nor does it give a history lesson about the histories of each and every cabling standard and networking protocol. It's not a total replacement for a book about networking basics, nor a beginner's guide to the CCNA and/or Cisco equipment. What it does instead is reshape one's conception of what a network is and how to manage it. What it does as well, and does excellently, is fill in the gaps that sorely needed filling in the great mass of other Cisco material out there. If you are preparing for the CCNA, or if you have already passed and think you know all you'll need to know about managing Cisco networks, this book was written for you. I guarantee you will learn something new.

Great book. Highly recommended for anyone who needs intermediate network skills. Go beyond your entry level cert. I got this and the linux network cookbook plus some Red Hat specific material to prepare for the RHCE- should keep me busy for awhile.

This book won't help you become an OSPF expert, but it will help you become a better network engineer. It's one of the only books I've every seen that embraces the fact that our jobs have a gruesome amount of logistics inherent to them, far more than a programmer or DBA, for example. I'v spent the last 2+ years at MySpace, and Donahue's descriptions of the problems faced by explosive growth brought a tear to my jaded, burnt-out eye. Finally someone understands we're not just idiots! (If you disagree, try scaling from 10Gbps in transit to 80 in one year, then shoot me an email :) ) Even better, since his anecdotes and advice on the practicalities of our niche are often only mildly technical, they're easy to read. I was able to blast through 100 pages at a time, often laughing and nodding, while still learning a new spin on simple things like IP address allocation.

On a more technical level, this book fills a ton of gaps that aren't covered anywhere else, or the documentation is difficult to find or understand. The section on storm-control was excellent in this sense. If you do nothing else, go to Borders and read that section. It's useful information in its own right, but demonstrates Donahue's tendency to spin something simple in a way that shows you something new. I picked up a lot of weird details in this book, even if I skimmed half of it.

I also noticed a lot of his sidenotes pointed out some very common pitfalls, such as appending a space to your password in PPP on one side of a link by using the context help, then not doing so on the other end, and wondering why your stupid link won't come up.

So what are the cons? None really, just a few things I would have liked to see in there (none of which detract from the 5-star rating).

- I would have liked to hear how Donahue approaches the issue of spares and money, specifically convincing management to buy spares, or hiding them in budgets
- The NTP section could have used a blurb on anycast, which works beautifully for NTP
- I would have liked to see him mention the troubleshooting assistance that change management provides, since if something breaks and your engineers issued a change request, you pretty much know where to start
- I'm also a huge fan of peer-review for CM, as having a manager rubber-stamp your ACL update is ... of limited technical value

I'd say that, along with about 5-10 other books that go into hardcore depth on various technologies (Doyle's routing books, Halabi's BGP, QOS Voice exam guide, etc.), this book should be on a shelf near you at work. If you're already pretty advanced it's a really quick read that tosses some golden nuggets at you when you least expect it.

One more thing, since one guy punished the book's rating for being Cisco-centric, I'd like to take a moment to point to the Book Description, specifically the part that says, "Network Warrior is a Cisco-centric book". If you're at a book store (do they still exist?) and thus do not have access to this description, please see the first paragraph on the back of the book, specifically the part that says, "...helps you deal with real Cisco networks..."

The writing is superb! And I love the Problem |Solution |Discussion sections of each chapter. It gives great every day problem and solution. I've been working on a large VPN project and this book is EXCELLENT from start to finish. It explains very well in details about VPN - in our case we also had integrated wireless; policy-based routing, BGP, RIP, content security (ICAP; URL filtering), NAT, QoS, VoIP (Avaya & Cisco), firewall and user authentication (802.1x). You can't get any more complicated than our VPN infrastructure - yet the book explains extremely well every aspect of those features in great details. Plus it was a very easy read! I highly recommend this book if you're serious about deploying VPN and firewalls. Great stuff.

This is a must-have book for anyone managing Juniper firewalls. The writing style is very accessible and to the point. The book is organized so you can jump right to the information you are looking for without reading it from cover to cover. Highly recommended.

If you only purchase one security book then this would be it. It is the "How to Manual" for all Juniper ScreenOS firewalls. The concepts and material transcend a small home office to placing large flow based firewalls into the core of a network. Keep this book in your bag !!!

If you are new to ScreenOS then this book is the first and last book to read. If you are a novice then this book will round out your knowledge and skill set.

A must have if you work in Juniper firewalls! very well written, with many practical examples that evidence the expertise and years of practical background of the writers.

This book is great for someone who is getting introduced to ScreenOS, or people that work day-to-day on security. Also this is excellent material that complements the skills needed for those that are attempting certifications such as the Juniper Certified Internetwork Associate (JNCIA FW/VPN), Juniper Certified Internetwork Specialist (JNCIS FW/VPN) or higher level.

Great job dear writers!

--Barny Sanchez

Simply put, anyone who is currently evaluating or managing ScreenOS based Firewalls should own this book and have it close by.

The 1st chapter of the book alone shows the most useful commands that every administrator needs to know. It also details the architecture of ScreenOS which is the key to creating and implementing a relevant security policy in any network.

The book is well written and organized with CLI commands in bold and CLI responses in plain text which make it easy to differentiate what the user should be typing and what they should be seeing. (There are also some GUI screen shots in the book as well.) The book has excellent examples of packet walks, O.S. Architecture, and network diagrams.

A huge benefit of the book is that it doesn't bore the user with the history of the Internet or TCP/IP, etc. It jumps right in to specific examples and configuration guidelines relevant to what the chapter is trying to cover. The book is also very current and covers almost the latest version of ScreenOS. A great example is that there is an excellent chapter on configuring NSRP (HA) with Dynamic Routing Protocols (to sync routes from DRP's) and how that is configured in ScreenOS 6.0 which was the first release to support that feature. ScreenOS 6.0 is a very current release of ScreenOS.

As a user of ScreenOS for 5 years, I can absolutely say this book will be a welcome addition to my library!

Last note: Chapter 21 covers VSYS or Virtual Systems which is a major strength of ScreenOS and not well understood by many users. That chapter alone makes the book worth the cost.

Words cannot express how happy I am to be able to write a review for Jeff Duntemann's new book. I have "known" Jeff since around the early 1980's. Unfortunately, Jeff and I are both old enough to remember when correspondence outside of your office took place via snail mail and the most popular Internet tools of the time were Archie, Veronica and Gopher.

The things that I like the most about Jeff's books (and I have several of them) are twofold. First, when he writes on a topic he covers the given topic in-depth. With him, no stone is left unturned. Second, his writing style is such that he makes you feel as though you are sitting across the coffee table from him having a discussion while enjoying a cup of java or a glass of good (single barrel) Tennessee sour mash whiskey. His latest project does not disappoint!

If you are thinking of getting WLAN access for your home or small office, this book is for you. If you already have WLAN access at your home or small office and are interested in tweaking; tuning or expanding it, this book is for you. If you are mechanically inclined and want some WLAN projects to work on, this book is for you. If you are interested in wardriving, warchalking, setting up a hotspot or creating a captive portal, this book is for you. And (if you are like me) if you work with this technology for a living and want to pick up some pieces of technology that you were not aware of, this book is for you.

It is all there in the book and, once again, Jeff has done a great job of explaining it and making it all crystal clear. As I look around my office I have more than 30 books on wireless/WLAN technology. This book has now moved to the top of my list. Thanks Jeff and keep them coming!

If computer networking or security is NOT your day job, but you are interested in, or have already setup a home/small-business WiFi network, BUY THIS BOOK!

This is the "...for Dummies" for WiFi, except it does not insult the intelligence like other introductory titles. The writing style is approachable, humorous and flows well. It assumes no prior networking knowledge, and takes us through the historic evolution to present-day WiFi.

It is accurate, covers security risks & responses and the captures the overall excitement in the "homebrew" & wardriving communities. (Excellent coverage of custom antenna's, theory & practice)

If you are an MCSE or CNE looking to certify for some sort of WiFi test - this is probably not the book for you.

... but if you are a home-user, small business owner or general "radio-tinkerer" excited by the potential of WiFi - BUY THIS BOOK!

I was given this book as a gift of appreciation for contributing news items to Netstumbler.com. I highly recommend this book for beginners interested in further understanding their home network or extending its range and having fun with Wi-Fi.

The first part of the book is an introduction to Wi-Fi and its applications. The second part of the book shows you how to hook up a network in your home. The third part covers the theoretical and practical details of security. The fourth part deals with extending the range of your laptop and some of the secrets behind wardriving.

I liked the tin can bandwidth extender project section. It's just what you need in order to fire that over-priced cable or DSL connection and get your broadband service from one of the thousands of nearby Starbucks. The wardriving section shows you how to find access points from your car.

This is a great book and it's clear the person writing wrote it because they love Wi-Fi and what it represents. Wi-Fi can be two things, it can be just another networking tech, or it can a lot more. It can be something to tinker with, a technology to burrow into and learn a lot more about, and it creates all sorts of new cool things you can do. Duntemann clearly sees it as the latter, a technology that opens up entire new worlds and geeky fun things to do. This book covers how to wardrive, how to build your own antennas, and more. At the same time he doesn't skimp on the 101 stuff either, taking the time to explain everything to even a n00b like myself.

If you're a net admin trying to learn more get this book.

If you're a power-user who wants to get the most out of Wi-Fi get this book.

If you're into Wi-Fi and know lots of stuff you should still get this book.

What more can I say? This book is for the beginner and for the master.

Also I've looked at the other books out there. A couple of them are pretty good too, but unlike some of them the fact that Duntemann is truly into this tech and not just writing about it shows through more than most of the others.

I just recently came across this book because a friend suggested I get it. I've been using wi-fi for a little over a year now and I bought a number if the books that were published over the past year--big disapointment there. I was super gald to find this book because most of the other books were very academic and didn't really offer much.

What I like about this book is that it is very hands-on. And man this author can really write. This is one of the best technical books I have ever read. If I were a tech writer I'd really want to take lessons from this author.

The best part about the book is the hands-on projects and the chapter on War Driving. The Wi-fi reception in my house (I live in an older house) isn't great so I've been messing around with some of the projects in the book to improve my reception. The discussion of attennas is really first rate. I wish that I had more technical books that were written this well.

-Peter

This book covers all main areas associated with a SharePoint implementation project, focusing on:
- Planning the deployment
- Deploying and integration with other platforms
- Monitoring and performance measurement
It addresses all topics comprehensively and discusses web part development, customisation and extensibility options. I concur with the prevailing sentiment amongst the other reviewers and would add that this is one of the best technical books of any kind that I have seen lying around!

I bought this book and anthoer very npopular sharepint book. I think this book is the best. It covers almost everything you need both in depth and broad level. Great book...highly recommmand it.

SharePoint products have come together to produce a more tightly integrated and richer platform, upon which successful collaboration and information sharing can occur. Authors Kevin Laahs, Emer McKenna and Veli-Matti Vanamo have done an outstanding job in this book of covering almost every single aspect of SharePoint.

Laahs, McKenna and Vanamo begin this book by looking at the architecture of Windows SharePoint Services (WSS). In addition, the authors look at how a WSS site is used for the purpose of supporting multi author document collaboration. They also take a look at the architecture of SharePont Portable Server (SPS) and the key features that it brings to the collaboration landscape. Then, they focus on site personalization, delivered by WSS; profiles, delivered; personal sites, delivered by SPS; audience targeting, delivered by SPS; and, IM integration, delivered by Office 2003 and Messenger. The authors then look at the major components of search and how they can affect the features available to end users. Next, they introduce you to software and hardware architecture concepts that you should familiarize yourself with. Then, they take a brief look at the core server products you may want to integrate with your deployment and then focus on planning the features you can enable for SharePoint Products and Technologies. The authors continue by delving further into capacity and hardware planning for SharePoint Products and Technologies. Next, they cover the major aspects of deploying SharePoint Products and Technologies and walk you through a few example installation scenarios for both products. In addition, they cover some of the typical migration scenarios and tools available for you to perform them. The authors then look briefly at the architectures of both SPS 2001 and STS and how they evolved into the current SharePoint platform. Next, they examine the concept of Web Parts and Web Part Pages and where they fit into the overall SharePoint architecture. They then continue to expand upon the topic of deployment and explain the security framework surrounding Web Parts. In addition, the authors focus on the aspects of FrontPage and SharePoint integration that have the most impact. Finally, they take a look at some of the more advanced methods of customizing and extending your SharePoint implementation.

With the preceding in mind, the authors have done an excellent job of providing you with the basic knowledge and tools to begin applying the common customizations applicable to many organizations. Obviously, your requirements may be more specialized and require additional knowledge beyond what they were able to provide.

I found this book a very helpful reference and companion while implementing Sharepoint technologies
The authors have planned it carefully based on actual experience
Some other titles are just a copy of the help files or they tell you what you can easily find out yourself
Only drawbacks which (i forgive):
1. the index is not comprehensive, so it is sometimes difficult to find certain topics quickly
2. some issues are not addressed, viz. bugs, problems etc
3. a section on tips and tricks would have been very helpful (like adding friendly URLs in announcements)
All in all a great value for money and thumbs up to the authors.

I had to search and collate a lot of information off the MSDN library, couple of other SharePoint books and newsgroups -- which I could have easily obtained from this book at first glance.

The book approaches Microsoft's portal (and underlying) technology from an architecture perspective and dives into the various phases of any real SharePoint engagement; as promised by the book's title. I would recommend it for people new to SharePoint who are going to be involved seriously, and also to "experienced" people as a good source for reference.

If there was an advanced version of this book, I'd buy it!

I know this book was a bit late to get on the scene, June 5th. Let me tell you, this book was well worth the wait! I've had the chance to read other beginning SharePoint books and user guides, specifically SharePoint 2007 User's Guide: Learning Microsoft's Collaboration and Productivity Platform and Microsoft SharePoint 2007 For Dummies, and none of them lay it out for the end users as well as this book does.

The book is filled with easy to follow examples with step-by-step instructions that make it easy to implement your own team solutions.

My favorite chapters are 6, 10, 11, and 12; Content Types, Forms Services, Excel Services, and the BDC, respectively. None of these chapters are longer than 50 pages, but they are filled to the brim with so much useful information that you will read them from beginning to end.

This book is the definitive SharePoint user's guide.

When I started learning SharePoint, one of the biggest fundamental problem I had was to understand the new terms used in SharePoint. Sites, Site Collection, Web Application, Site Column, Content Types are some of those terms. Without understanding these basic terms, its hard to understand power of Sharepoint. Doesn't matter whether you are great SharePoint programmer or administrator, you need to have your fundamentals right. That's where this book comes from.

Learning SharePoint starts with basic terms like - Lists, Document Library, Sites, Site Collection, Workspaces, Site Columns, Content Types, Workflows, Web Part, Security Groups, Forms Services, Excel Services, BDC, WSS Search and Enterprise Search, Portals for internal and intranet and that's what this book provides. It gives a foundation what every new SharePoint power users, administrator, or developer needs.

This books focuses on out-of-box customizations targeting Power Users and Administrators, mainly for former group. It starts with what Lists and Document Library is and then focuses on what kind of customization you can do with them. From then, it moves on important WSS concepts like Web Parts, Workflow, and Content Types. Once you have your WSS concepts covered, it moves on the advanced MOSS subjects. It has many real world Try it out examples. In short, this book is for power users. There is nothing for developers and this book doesn't pretend to be for admins and programmers.

Forget about its title being Wrox Beginning series, If anyone wants to start learning SharePoint, I must suggest to go through this book first and then move on more advanced subjects like Administration and Custom Customization with WSS and MOSS programming model.

Nik

This is the best book on the market for learning how the newest versions of SharePoint can help company's improve business processes and information management.

From getting a solid understanding of content types and site columns (new features within SharePoint) to making use of Forms Services, the reader gains knowledge of how to use these important concepts to create business solutions that are easy to maintain and extend.

Because SharePoint is so open and powerful, easily explaining how to incorporate SharePoint to help a company run its business more efficiently is challenging. To take full advantage of SharePoint, companies will need employees that are not developers (programmers) to embrace the technology. These users will need to know how to utilize SharePoint to meet business objectives, and how to customize the platform (without the need for code). This book is geared for this next generation of SharePoint users (called Designers) - and it delivers a winner.

Great book!

I've read a lot of books about Sharepoint and MOSS and actually I can say that this is my personal "top of the list" for ayone who wants to be introduced into the Sharepoint and MOSS world.
The book is simple to read and rich of guided samples, it covers all the aspects you need in order to start working with Sharepoint and MOSS.
If you're a developer that wants to customize the engine, this is not the right book for you... but if you've the needs to learn Sharepoint and to work immediately with it, this is extremely recommended.
As usual, Wrox is a guarantee...

(by http://www.demiliani.com/blog)

As the title states I find this a great place to start learning or use as a reference. You can never have enough good references!

I found this book to be inline with the other "Beginning" Wrox books. It outlines key concepts within the SharePoint platform and provides examples of how to use those concepts to build team solutions.

From outlining site columns and content types to working with ECS and the BDC this book is sure to provide you with essential SharePoint knowledge to get you going!

I bought this book at full price when I saw it (not through Amazon - though I wished I'd waited) because I needed a book that would explain the ins and outs of wireless data in an enterprise. This is an excellent guide to thinking through the processes needed to establish a new wireless network. Although I would not recommend it as a sole resource, it does provide the person considering wireless a series of case studies, questions, and definitions that are quite useful. I found out about this book in an add in back of my new Newton's Telecomm Dictionary, which is a MUST for all telecomm folks.

Going Wi-Fi: A Practical Guide To Planning And Building An 802.11 Network is a straightforward manual by information technology and Internet/Intranet expert Janice Reynolds for installing a "Wi-Fi" wireless network, whether within an existing corporate network or starting from scratch. An overview of "Wi-Fi" history; an introduction to its technology; and a "walk through" of the individual steps to get started, Going Wi-FI also addresses such critically important concerns as security issues, antenna positioning, troubleshooting, and more. Packed from cover to cover with a richly detailed and "user friendly" text, Going Wi-Fi is an indispensable how-to resource for understanding and implementing Wi-Fi technology at home, in the workplace, or at school.

This large book (with small type) covers everything about WiFi, from the theory behind the underlying technology to the way it can be used in both private wireless networks and public "hot spots." It is probably the widest-ranging book on the subject.

Imagine a world where you can communicate with anyone, anywhere, and at any time without interruption. This is the world of wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) that is coming of age. Author Janice Reynolds has done an outstanding job of presenting this wonderful technology at our doorstep.

Reynolds begins by defining what Wi-Fi really is. She then goes on to explain the benefits of Wi-Fi with regards to its freedom and mobility. According to Reynolds, "Wi-Fi use is experiencing an explosive growth." She maintains that the "successful, long-term development of the Wi-Fi industry is contingent upon the availability of spectrum for its expansion." Next, the author covers signal modulation, whereby data is superimposed on or encoded onto a carrier signal wave by means of a process, which is referred to as modulation. Then, she explains why and how all of this is happening; and, how important it is to understand a bit about Wi-Fi's technology, its standards, history, and even its future. Next, the author explains why wireless LAN's foundation is built upon wired technology. Then, Reynolds examines why WLAN deployments are growing by leaps and bounds. Next, she looks at wirelessly bridging, through the use of Wi-Fi technology to provide a perfect way to connect two buildings. Then, the author gives you a valuable insight and practical knowledge of the different aspects of wireless networking technology, some general issues that each Wi-Fi flavor presents, and awareness of specific problems that may arise during implementation of the various Wi-Fi technologies. Next, Reynolds looks at how the WISP industry encompasses all businesses (for-profit and non-profit) that operate under new, although varied, business models with a common theme: providing publicly available Internet access via Wi-Fi technology. Then, she will help you determine what is best for your wireless networking environment. Next, the author provides a quick tutorial on antennae in a WLAN environment. Finally, Reynolds looks at Wi-Fi's open future.

With the preceding in mind, the author does an excellent job of making Wi-Fi an outstanding candidate for building out mainstream data networks not only in the developed world, but also in emerging markets, such as Africa, India, and China, where cost is a very important factor. Finally, with a Wi-Fi-enabled wireless infrastructure serving as the cornerstone, it is now possible for many areas of the world to leapfrog over more developed nations into a high-speed environment.

I'm a technology consultant for a Wi-Fi company, so I'm interested in books that go beyond how to set up a nice network in your home or connect to the hotspot at your local café.

I've researched quite a few books and while many offer insights into Wi-Fi, this is finally a book that offers the depth and coverage that I need.

The book covers the entire spectrum of information (pardon the pun) from the history of Wi-Fi down to the gritty details of just what a radio signal looks like, how antennae function, the nuts and bolts of the various standards, and what it really takes to roll out a secured hotspot for the home, the local café, or the business enterprise.

I especially enjoyed the insights into the entrepreneurial aspects of Wi-Fi. The book covers various business models, how the market was segmented at the time of writing, and who the players were.

The only drawback is that as a hot technology, the landscape is changing quickly. I did find that the book was dated in several areas just because it is already a few years old, and the market is changing quickly.

I do consider this a must-have on the shelf of anyone who either works with Wi-Fi or is managing projects that involve Wi-Fi, and especially those companies tapping into delivery of Wi-Fi solutions as a business model.

Roderick Smith has put together a heuristic tome that tells you all you need to know to put Linux to work in your office by using its strength as a network OS.

Beginning at the beginning, he starts off with the basics and goes into enough detail to give the reader a good context for his instruction and, at the same time, gives the reader good, useful information about networking in general.

After the basics, its onto the "meat" of networking: IP addresses and their classes, subnetting and other network-related tasks--too many to mention here.

If you are seriously thinking about using Linux in a networked environment at the office or even at home, then buy this book. It's all you'll need to get started and up and running in no time!

This book is targeted at the person who wants to build an intranet for a small to medium sized business using Linux servers.

A well written and well structured book it starts with the basics of configuring Linux (using Red Hat), building a kernel suited for networking, configuring Ethernet and dialling using PPP. After this thorough grounding it goes on to file sharing using NFS, Samba and netatalk and printer sharing. Once you've covered these sections you can connect to your Linux server from other Unix boxes, Windows or a Macintosh, indeed using this book I set up a Linux server to act as a bridge between Macs, Windows 95 and NT servers and two Sun workstations.

It then covers remote login, either using shell protocols telnet or ssh, or X logins using VNC or X Server. Finally it has two chapters on IP masquerading and firewalls.

OK, go over that list again - every aspect of building an intranet is covered.

Having used this book extensively I've found its flaw. When everything works this book is great. Once you run into problems it is less useful. The large amount of ground covered means that Smith has glossed over likely problems and solutions. Troubleshooting is ignored almost entirely.

I would recommend this book as a good beginners guide to building an intranet around Linux to almost everyone with the caveat that you may need more specific information in some areas when you run into serious trouble. If nothing else it is marvellous inspiration.

I am a system administrator and work on UNIX workstations and servers every day. This book is a well of knowledge. It is written so that the beginner will understand how to do what needs to be done, to set up an office network. Very good. I have alot of pages dog eared. I am very glad I bought this book. Good job Roderick W. Smith.

Get this book to start building your intranet. It covers from basic networking and implementing Linux as intranet server. It's a great book !

This book has been nothing but a pleasure to read -- and not because the subject is pleasant, either. The author knows the subject so well, he is able to walk the fine line between too much information and not enough, at just the right time.

Also, the book is very well organized. The author knows which subjects need to be covered before others. You may be urgent to get to a specific subject, but if you patiently read "prerequisite" chapters (i.e. in the order presented), you won't be disappointed with the wait.

He does cover command line options, usually first, but also includes equivalent GUI tutorials (e.g. linuxconf). He also uses RedHat 6.0 throughout as the preferred example distro. However, he doesn't leave the non-RH user out in the cold by any means.

I bought "Linux Network Servers 24 Seven" beforehand and was lost within the first three chapters. Bought this book to help get a lighter start at leaning Linux networking and it's had all the right information at the right time. (Now I can get my money's worth out of that 24 Seven book).

One special word of advice: No "be all" book seems to cover Samba to a sufficient extent (at least to my satisfaction). In other words, be prepared to also buy a book dedicated to the subject of Samba configuration.

What use is a Web site if no one uses it? Too many Web design books and development tools provide cut-and-paste solutions to design problems without providing the developer with an understanding of fundamental principles.

This is where Dr. Badre's book enters the scene - in a big way. "Shaping Web Usability" does just what it promises, providing clear, cogent instruction in designing sites for people in all their needs and diversity. It promotes a robust methodology for Web design that can adapt to user requirements without sacrificing logic or cohesion. Badre's process also helps one communicate methodology and design issues to others. This book gave me the grounding I needed to explain to clients exactly why I had made a particular design decision and how it would benefit the site users.

If you are concerned about your site being used once it is published (and who isn't?), take a look at this book. It can't make your Web site for you, but it can help you identify and satisfy an online audience better than any other book on the shelves.

Dr. Badre has written an interesting work which thoughtfully examines two important concepts: genre and cultural context. In addition to plenty of solid HCI theory and empirical data, Dr. Badre provides clear examples of how close attention to the genre of one's site and the cultural context in which it is most likely to be viewed will provide a more useful and pleasurable experience for the user. With these simple and powerful concepts, Dr. Badre provides some excellent guidance to new and experienced website designers.

This book is unlike many other web usability books. It goes well beyond the cookie-cutter guidelines for fast web usability, and gets the reader thinking deeply about contexts of web usability. It focuses on the real important issues and concepts. However, it is not an abstract or theoretical book. The author illustrates the concepts and explanations with numerous real examples from the web. This book is a must read for web designers, information architects, and web usability engineers.

This is a serious work on Web Usability that attempts to define in detail the user context and to construct a user-centred methodology based on that context.

There are so many books on web usability these days and most of them are about web pages first and people second. Doctor Badre's approach, though, is firmly grounded on the human side of HCI and some of the material in this book is outstanding.

The chapter on "Older Adults" is a great example. Badre is fastidious enough to consider the different cognitive needs of people in this group and to consider the implications of those needs for the designer. Elsewhere he considers personality variations, the role of affect (or emotion), and many other individual differences.

In contrast, however, Badre has a strong leaning toward standards and predictability, which seems to contradict his comments elsewhere. Having identified the myriad reasons the web audience is uniquely diverse he nevertheless finds traditional HCI evaluation techniques attractive, and sometimes fails to bite the bullet.

For example, Badre insists that "Testing conditions ... should approximate the actual situation in which ...visitors are likely to find themselves." Yet he does not display any distrust of laboratory testing, questionnaires and all the artificialities of user testing that would suggest a more ethnographic approach.

The material on the test methodology is therefore somewhat weaker, but does not detract in any way from the main part of the book, where Dr Badre's experience in Human Factors allows him to illustrate with considerable skill the way design features can be adjusted to meet the cognitive abilities of real human users. In this arena, Dr. Badre is a leading authority, and it is for this, the main body of the work, that I would strongly recommend this book to web and usability professionals alike.

Clear and rigorous, Dr. Badre's book is an essential resource for the serious Web practitioner. Going beyond the usual lists of do's and don'ts, he gives the reader a strong grounding in the field of usability and how its principles apply to the Web. Web designers and implementors who read Shaping Web Usability will not only know what to do, but why -- so they can respond successfully to new and complex design challenges.

It goes into the basics of bandwidth calculation, leading up to the technologies used to support the different kind of services.

If one were to look for a good read, this book is a good start for a newbie.

This book could be used as a pre-cursor to an indepth research into new technologies.

ADSL, ATM, ISDN is mentioned in the book.

Lastly, this book is not drab and has some humour in it.

Before I started reading this book I had some idea about ATM. Author explains from scratch giving good background about basic communication systems and then starts with why ATM? ,ATM protocol ,reference model and AALx. Finally covering the current trend in home computing . In generally this book is good start for the people who knows IP and whats to know about ATM and this is a good self study book.

I am an Telco engineer implementing adsl and cable modem networks for broadband access service in China. The book came just in time for me because my company is in the stage of building an ATM network providing service like Internet surfing and experimental vod etc via adsl and cable modem. And this book has given us quite clear an infrastructure for the practice.

I am a teacher and consultant to the telecom industry. I bought the book to sharpen my skill set and increase literacy. I was most impressed with Mr. Kwok's ability to take a highly technical subject and break it down understandably. The end result is that both the "techno-literati" and the "average Joe" are well-served. Mr. Kwok apparently is one of us "techies" who also paid attention in writing class. Kudos for an excellent reference work.

Don Gilbert M.S. DG Consulting

All too often we look at the subject of technology as a complicated topic outside of our normal scope of activity. Sandy Berger shows how technology is meaningful and relavant to our daily lives. Suddenly the term technology has become a user friendly topic. this book has helped me discover ways to make my life more interesting and has made me more comfortable with computers and technology.

This book gave me the courage to finally purchase a digital camera/printer setup. Sandy gives you step-by-step insructions in PLAIN ENGLISH, no computer-ese. And just when you have a question, Sandy answers it -- she speaks our language (the Boomers!).

Berger talks in plain language, to demystify the use of various technical items. She writes for a still large crowd that is new to much of this. Naturally, the bulk of the book explains how to use the Web. She shows some of the myriad resources available, from geneology to sharing photo images.

For searching, she describes the main search engines, Google, Yahoo, MSN etc. For Google, she gives a sidebar on how the word derives from 'googol'. But, like so many other texts, it does not analyse this further. 'Google' is also a pun on 'goggle', where that means to look at something and gape. (Goggles are spectacles, in a related meaning.) Why is it that so many writers can't go beyond Google's official explanation of its name? The name is actually quite ingenious, and more so than just their explanation.

Anyway, on other topics, the book spends time showing how to use music, as in buying it online. Or in subscribing to satellite radio, say. Plus, she brings to your attention various sites that hobbyists might frequent, for such activities as scrapbooking and geocaching.

I just started reading this book and I can't put it down. I thought I knew a thing or two about computers, technology and the Internet already, but there is so much more. And I'm finding a lot of it here in this book. I just don't know how to find the time to play with all the new suggestions and ideas in here for me, and the whole family. I look forward to reading the other books in the series when they are released. Keep them coming.