Systems Books

This book has gems on every page. Lots of practical tips and tools that can be put to immediate use. Plus it's a great, quick read. Light, tight, bright, and useful; full of great examples. Traverso sure knows her stuff.

"Some entrepreneurs view their smallness as such a negative thing that they hardly make an effort to gain lucrative corporate clients. But even if yours is a one-employee home-based business, you can make it appear larger and give big firms confidence in your ability to do the job, according to (the author and this book). It's all a matter of image. . . (the book) is replete with instructions for self-assessment to determine your current business image and how to enlarge that image. . . . . In an easily read style, 'Outsmarting Goliath' is a complete guide to small business image development." --Carol Celeste, The Network Journal

"The author's amazing insight into the needs of independent merchants in this time of accelerating change in the market place is remarkable. Suggestions for achieving performance and a more competitive rivalry with mammoth companies are many and valuable. This is not just a good read, but a handbook for coping." --Harold E. Hicks, The Book Shop, Inc.

This book has many great ideas for the small business person that I wish I had before I started my business. For example, just how to pick a name for the company or how to look like a big company without spending a fortune. The book provides examples from people who have done it and adds credibility to the content. I recommend for all businesses but especially fo the smaller business and one person operations.

Debra Koontz Traverso presents a compilation of tips telling the entrepreneur or owner of a small business how to compete with established companies as well as other start-ups. Traverso includes a few personal examples, although this is mostly a how-to guidebook. Much of the advice may seem familiar to those who have read similar books or attended small business workshops, but Traverso does manage to throw in a few pointers that make you stop and think. For example: Stand up while you talk on the phone - it will increase your energy level. (Try it: It really works!) In addition, the book offers guidance on creating the right image, partnering with outsiders and family members, making the most out of mundane daily activities and marketing on a limited budget. Top executives may want to skim this to learn how start-ups and small businesses are striving to compete with them, but we [...] recommend this book primarily to entrepreneurs and small business owners who don't want to stay small forever.

For any person interested in that elusive element of economic policymaking, the personality of the one at the helm, this book will undoubtedly be worth to read. In his "Changing Fortunes" (co-authored with Toyoo Gyohten), Volcker maintained his private life indeed quite private. This book lifts the veil significantly. Even in personality, notably for an amazing austerity and commitment to public service, Volcker emerges as a central banker to emulate. The details on his family, particularly the sufferings of his wife and son, are indeed touching.

The book is relatively short, something to be grateful about. But succinctness meant clear sacrifices. Any person really interested in Volcker's career would need also to read "Changing Fortunes", particularly to know about the fascinating times that Volcker lived in the Treasury Department, and crucially in the process of the collapse of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates. Even the period of Volcker at the Fed's chief is sparsely covered in some important aspects.

Paul Volcker clearly deserves the many positive things that Treaster says about him. But sometimes one gets the impression that the author became too close to his subject, without even the benefit of getting in return information to clarify some aspects of Volcker's career. Moreover, it is a little tiring to be reminded time and again that Volcker has to be revered because he slay the inflation dragon. Indeed he has to be, but perhaps the author emphasizes the point a little too much.

Even in a text clearly intended for people without any knowledge in economics, some extra details would have added more light to the inflation drama that Treaster tries to build, particularly on why and how it was allowed to increase. The Latin American debt crisis put many big American banks on the verge of an abyss, and Volcker was crucial in the (successful) efforts to avert a disaster, but that international crisis is barely mentioned in one paragraph.

Capitalism is sabotaged by Inflation. High inflation rates threaten real money. When inflation rates exceed interest rates creditors lose money, if they lend money; debtors profit by borrowing money and repaying it with cheap money; and savers are repulsed from the US bonds yielding 5 percent by realizing a negative ½ percent loss in real money. Transmutation of monetary dross took the form of economic growth and production increases then moved back into liquid or money form and again into greater production. This unending circuit is the essence of capitalism.

In the 1980s, Less Developed Countries were in a buying spree betting tangible assets would outstrip the value of money. Speculation increased in the stock market as more capital went to speculation and productivity investment dropped and the real economic growth became anemic. The chronic dilemma of the central bank was no one knew if the motivating demands for money were the result of rising inflation expectations or desires to increase productivity investing. Arthur Burns blamed inflation sources on the Debts incurred from the Vietnam War, lax monetary policy instead of higher taxes and spending cuts which accelerated dollar devaluation. Between 1972-73 world wide economic boom surged and inflation rose from food and oil price spikes, large budget deficits, and Congress insistent that the Fed control inflation painlessly.

In the 1980s, Market and Inflation monetary policy designed by Volcker failed. Inflation hit 17%, Volcker steamed in anger, tight US money did not mean unavailable credit came from the $4 trillion Euromarket fueling the speculative boom and represented a credit leak across borders. As interest rates went up, depositors switched bank funds into higher yield government securities. Loan money dried up, housing and consumer durable sales felloff. The bank prime rates hit 21.5%, the dollar exchange rate soared 34%; a 10% increase in the dollar exchange represented a 1.5% reduction in inflation; the interest rate rise mean zero inflation.

A big abrazo for Joe Treaster for his wonderful biograph of Paul Volker. He very skillfully brought out the real character of a talented and consciencious individual who dedicated his life to serve the public's interest. Treaster carefully describes what it takes to run this country's financial institutions and, in laymen's language, explains how easily it is to slap our leaders on the wrist, if not the behind, when they don't adhere to good fiscal policies. The book is interesting and thought provoking. You become an admirer of Paul Volker.

Joseph Treaster's lucid, entertaining account of the life and legacy of Paul Volcker reminds you that some people still value-and embody-such virtues as integrity, modesty, steadiness, and public service. I lived through much of the economic history covered in this book but never understood why things happened as they did, or realized how much Volcker's actions in the early 1980's set our nation's financial course for the following fifteen years. Treaster brings an oversized, almost Victorian personality vividly to life, and in the process casts a startling light on our government's current fiscal policies.

No need to be a bellowing bond trader nor an obsessive and fetishistic day trader taking your market temperature by the minute to appreciate NY Times journalist Joseph B. Treaster's most readable biography, Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend.

In our age of cooked corporate books and perp-walking CEOs, Treaster shines an admiring and well-deserved light on the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, a man of towering financial and personal integrity. Words like honor, integrity, truth, steadfastness are thrown around like confetti these days in the political and financial world, but as Fed Chairman from 1979 to 1987, Paul Volcker's strong will and good sense were perhaps the major factors in the survival of the nation's economy through the inflationary tsunami of the Carter years and the financial wrecking ball of Reagonomics.

Standing 6'7", physically ungainly and socially reserved and stand-offish, Volcker had a commanding intellect when it came to bigtime economic and financial matters. Born to public service (his father was longtime town manager of Teaneck, NJ), Volcker attended Princeton, Harvard's Littauer School of Public Administration (it eventually became the JFK School of Government) and the London School of Economics. He was a special assistant to David Rockefeller at Chase Bank, served as an undersecretary in Nixon's Treasury Department, ran the New York Bank of the Federal Reserve and became fed chairman in July 1979 while inflation was rocketing and Pres. Carter was bemoaning the national "malaise".

Chairman Volcker was the man with the plan. He turned old economic theory upside down with his idea to drastically cut the money supply as the country's economy sweated and shuddered through the debilitating national fits of inflation and recession. Politicians and businessmen, fearful and shortsighted as usual, whined and squealed that Volcker was Dr Kevorkian or Dr. Demento, putting a noose around the national economic neck. In fact, as history has shown and Treaster explains so even the ordinary Joe can understand, Volcker had applied the ideal tourniquet to stop the bleeding and the poison. The patient lived and by the mid-90s, the country was economically healthy and prospering as never before.

Of course, like the Lone Ranger, Volcker had ridden off into the sunset by that time. Waved good-bye (and good riddance) by Reagan's Treasury Secretary and the GOP's most artful backroom Machievelli, James A. Baker III in 1987, Volcker turned his enormous economic and monetary talents to the private sector. But this principled and unpretentious public servant with his "unshakeable integrity" was not happy in this work.
These days, as the political swamp gases are once again rising and spreading their bad odor, Volcker, even at the age of 76, is being called on once again to perform his public duty.

In recent years, Volcker has admirably and successfully refereed the "battle royal" between the Holocaust survivors and the Swiss banks with their appalling Nazi connections. When Enron, the King Kong of corporate fraud sunk in its own muck, "Mr Incorruptible" Volcker took the job of chairman of an independent oversight board to try to salvage some shred of integrity for the accounting community, which had been badly tainted by Arthur Anderson, the giant accounting firm that was the handmaiden to Enron's tangled scams and schemes. And at this moment, Volcker is heading up the international investigation of the massive corruption between Saddam Hussein, various corporate greedheads and UN officials in the administration of the decade-long Oil For Food program in Iraq.

After reading this worthy biography of Paul Volcker, one can only hope they did not break the mold when they made this honorable man.

If you want to start programming network and distributed systems in Pocket PC platform this is the book for you.

Juan Carlos Olivares Rojas
http://mail.cenidet.edu.mx/~jcolivares04c/

The content is amazing covering a lot of issues on Pocket PC programming. Very detailed and easy to understand. A lot of code samples making life so much easier! A must for every Pocket PC developer.

Any developer can benefit from this useful book. Combining the best aspects of a users' guide and a reference manual, the book has any information a Pocket PC programmer would need, in a format that's easy to use and readable. The index, FAQs and code samples make it easy to find just the information you're looking for, with descriptions providing more context and background. And I particularly enjoyed the funny and appropriate quotes from movies or TV programs at the beginning of each section.

There is somewhat of a dearth of books on Pocket PC development in general, and so that there is a book of this quality devoted to Pcoket PC Networking is pretty amazing. And "Networking" really means more than just what most folks might consider Networking, like Desktop Synchronization, Infared and a chapter on Pocket PC Phone issues.

Before I picked up a copy of Steve's book, I had no idea that there was so much to network programming on the PocketPC. Now, I wouldn't want to do that programming without this book. Thanks, Steve!

Excellent!! A must read for anyone with this diagnosis. Helpful, inspiring and her clinic can help you live your life to it's fullest. She's affilated with Mass. General and Harvard, the best in New England. This book was a life saver for me.

Dr. Julie Silver's book is the best summary I've seen of information on post-polio syndrome. Her explanations are clear, informative, and full of information that is crucial for anyone with a history of polio. I highly recommend it.

This book is a must for anyone who is a polio survivor, just as is TO CATCH THE SNOWFLAKES, the story of a polio winner.

An excellent, informative book! If you're a polio survivor, it is a MUST read!

I HIGHLY recommend this book for polio survivor and especially for every doctor that is treating a post polio person. It is a MUST! It is very easy to read & understand & not a doomsday downer in any way. I am on my second read as I am sure I missed key points and sure enough there are jewels of knowledge & necessary information WE POST POLIO survivors must do for ourselves and make sure our specialists have full grasp of our ever changing condition. PLan to mark up your copy and buy two copies or more at the beginning as you will want to make sure anyone that is trying to help you or cares about you can be fully informed.

I've seen it (and lived it) multiple times. An Exec kicks off a Lean Initiative and the company creates a Lean Enterprise. At first, its all about training, Kaizen Blitz, 5S, prototype cells and Kanbans. The focus is about 95% shop floor processes. But after a while, the program starts to stall. Folks start seeing two sets of rules (traditional MRP and Lean), but none of the traditional goes away. So Lean start sounding and feeling like just a bunch of extra paperwork and steps without any obvious benefit to those who "live it" every day. In the end, the program fails or the Lean Enterprise is reorganized to try again, usually with similar results. This book clearly explains what is happening. It also provides a different perspective to the initial Lean implementation strategies that will help pull the organization through that first big stalling out and propel the initiative into true effectiveness. A "must read" book for anyone that is or is going to be dealing with a fledgling Lean initiative.

Well structured and very clear concepts, It help me to have a deep understanding of how to develop a value stream mapping. I really recommend it.

Best book on how to get your accoutning function to look at, use and make use of lean costing which really makes your lean projects work.

"Who's Counting" and "Practical Lean Accounting" are two great books on lean accounting. I wondered some time ago, which one to read and I am glad that I could not decide, so I bought and read them both. They complement each other extremely well and each one conveys the lessons of lean accounting from a different angle.

"Practical Lean Accounting" is a well structured textbook, approaching lean accounting in a systemized way. Starting from straight-forward shop-floor measurements, like the day-by-the-hour report, it gradually immerses the reader into more demanding topics, like value stream costing or lean performance measurement, culminating in the thorough description of the Sales, Operations and Financial Planning (SOFP) process, which is the way, how an entire lean enterprise is planned, controlled and measured. Lean practitioners looking for specific answers to particular questions will find it easy to navigate through the book. People with the luxury of time for reading it cover to cover will also like it, due to the gradual increase in the complexity of the topics and the many references to other chapters.

"Who's Counting" focuses more on the human side of turning the vision of lean accounting into reality. The novel format is the best way to illustrate, how strong the resistance against change will be and from how many corners of the organization it will attack back. Knowing what to do and knowing why is not enough, the issue is not capturing people's brains. The real challenge is conquering their hearts, while tearing down decades worth of wrong beliefs, bad trade-offs and political game-playing. Mike, the hero of the book teaches us through his own mistakes, that patience, tactfulness and respect for people is more helpful, then acting like a bull in a china shop. The reward is the enthusiastic desire of fellows to go his way and take ownership of the new processes. He even manages to turn Fred, a CFO who has to recognize, that most of what he built during his career was wrong, to use the 3 years until his retirement for becoming the most enthusiastic advocate of change!

Both books provide the reader with insight and incite self-reflection about "the way, we do things". There is hardly any chapter without a sacred cow being slaughtered, however this will strike the reader as plain common sense, due to the thorough description of the reasons. Deeply engrained management practices, such as approval routings, full absorption overhead allocation, standard costing or departmental budgeting will seem ridiculous, once the reader starts to open the eyes to see their fundamentally wrong assumptions.

These books will make You hate many of Your current processes!

"Practical Lean Accounting" is the best management accounting book I've read in 20 years - maybe more. Well written and illustrated with plenty of examples and diagrams, it adds new tools to management accounting and restores the relevance of some older ones. As such I recommend it to all management accountants and students - whether or not you are involved in lean accounting itself.

The aim of the book is to "produce a roadmap for finance managers in companies seeking to transition their organisations into lean enterprises". Lean accounting is a new approach to managing a business and, as management accountants, we have a duty to be there. As the authors say "it's never too early to start dismantling the company's transaction driven control systems. They represent huge amounts of waste and cost to the organisation !".

Specifically, lean management seeks to radically restructure the organisation into Value Streams (rather than functional departments), and this requires new management accounting tools including Value Stream performance measures, Box Scores, new methods of planning and budgeting, target costing and a whole host of other tools. The book explores all these tools in detail. The introduction of "lean" tools also allows significant reduction in transactions in the company's accounting processes, including the elimination of full-absorption costing.

Lean accounting is, therefore, designed to replace "traditional" accounting techniques which encourage inefficient practices such as building inventory, and often lead to poor management decisions (using Standard costs). Traditional measures are also too complicated for operational employees to understand easily and are often too late to be useful in shopfloor decision making. Lean accounting, by contrast, is very much focused on simple visual shopfloor measures for instant decision making, coupled with management accounting tools for longer term planning.

"Practical Lean Accounting" provides a good overview of the lean management process, and excellent linkage to management accounting activities. Highly recommended.

I thank my lucky stars that I got a hand of this book, just before embarking on my first large scale BizTalk project. It is a veritable treasure chest of biztalk goodies! Exception handling, reliable messaging, operational best practices - this is just the tip of the iceberg.

While a lot of the information is available on the net, nowhere is it more clearly explained and categorized than in this book. Look no further!

The authors know what an architect needs to consider when designing and implementing a BizTalk 2006 solution. They wrote a readable, compact book packed with their wisdom. Not surprisingly, it does not cover every (most?) BizTalk feature.

My only beef with the book is the code - all VB.NET. ;-)

With BizTalk2006 fairly fresh on the market there is not a lot of documentation out there, along with me being so new to BizTalk itself, this book is a great resource. Everything from the administration side of things to development. My seminar instructor also agreed. I strongly recommend this book for those getting into BizTalk2006.

This book expands on the introduction to orchestrations and other key BizTalk components given in the Foundations book. Personally I think that this combined with the Foundations book sets you up nicely to start doing some serious BizTalk work.

Every so often a book comes along which transcends the technology that it is intended to explain. If you are a BizTalk novice, this seminal work is for you. With a self-deprecating style, the authors guide you through the wide and deep integration waters. They tell you just enough so that you can be proficient and yet feel comfortable that you have chosen the correct course. What you might not know is that the authors are building a framework for you to develop the best solutions going forward. For the expert, the authors have redefined what it means to orchestrate the integration space and to use a product to its maximum utility and purpose. I support both small and enterprise BizTalk customers every day. I can't recommend this book enough!

This book can easily be used as a college textbook on Oracle RAC. I am studying for the Oracle Certified Master exam and this is possibly the most high level book on Oracle I have read.

It has 3 major strengths which I found to be superior to any Oracle RAC books I have read (including the manual from Oracle).

1)Technical Depth
2)Comprehensive Overview and instructions
3)Quality of writing


1)Technical Depth
The authors write about Linux and Oracle and are high level experts in the subjects. For example, the authors have a very detailed description of how Oracle Cache Fusion handles locking across all the nodes in a RAC environment (probably the crown jewel of RAC technology). They also discuss, in detail, different types of CPU, memory, and storage and contains detailed description of each architecture. Lastly, it contains vast number of "how to" install, configure, change, analyze, backup/restore, and utilize Oracle RAC and Linux.

2)Comprehensive Coverage and Instructions
No small amount of detail has been skipped. The book contains every utility (there are many) provided by Oracle to implement RAC. It provides a good step-by-step coverage of Linux and Oracle RAC installation as well what each step is adding to the RAC environment. To top it off, it adds how to performance tune, administer, troubleshoot, backup/restore, and use Dataguard in a RAC environment. I can't think of a subject on RAC which the authors did not cover.

3)Quality of Writing
I was pleasantly surprised how well written this book is. Although far from a Pulitzer Prize material, it certainly belongs in that category amongst the Oracle books. Every praragraph has been well organized and written. The proofreader of this book deserves major praise for their work.

Many books around Oracle's advanced topics simply parrot the manuals. Julian avoids that. Instead, he describes Real Application Cluster technology from the ground concepts up to full implementation, with practical notes and tips. He gets into topics that the manuals never touch, and much of what he writes can be useful in any RAC environment, not just Linux.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book and own both the paper and eBook version which I often reference.

This book delivers what it promises. It contains a great balance of technical detail,examples and theory. It encompasses all aspects of implementing/maintaing 10g RAC on Linux.

Very well written. No mater you are a Pro or a newbie, it will be helpful. A very well written book.


Highly recommended.

This is a very hands on command line oriented book. Good understanding of RAC concepts. I found it extremly useful in my day-to-day work.

Highly recommended.

Thanks!

This is an absolutely oustanding book - Richmond managed to recreate a world which ceased to exist at the onset of the Second World War, the world of Jews from the central Polish town of Konin. The book is touching both in descriptions of Richmond's quest for the missing shtetl which can be found only in the fading memories of Jews who somehow survived the Holocaust and in his recreation of the Jewish town that does not exist any more. An absolute must for all those who think that Holocaust was just another tragedy in the past on some distant continent. A perfect gift to people who have roots in Poland - some of my friends found their relatives described in the book. Maybe you or your friends will share this luck?

I found this book absolutely fascinating. My Grandmother came from Konin so for me it was a look into the world my Grandmother left behind.

There is little I can add to the existing reviews save yet another resounding confirmation of this book's brilliance. Konin is a superbly written, award-winning thing translated into Polish, Hebrew, German and Italian.

The book is impeccable stylistically and intellectually, and the thorny issue of Polish-Jewish relations is penetrated with honesty and insight. The people interviewed and depicted in the book are -- well, simply, REAL.

Yes, this is another Holocaust archival work and yes, it is brilliantly researched and written. But Richmond's crowning achievement, I propose, is his ability to create a lengthy work as this, about people many readers could never know, without ever letting it lapse into sentimentality or a wearisome litany of names, faces and facts. And yes, I have tearfully walked the streets of Konin with those Shoah survivors who now live in England, the US, and Israel. Richmond has ensured that the Nazi attempt to relegate Jewish Konin to oblivion has been thwarted. And we are much the better for it. "For the dead and the living we must bear witness." Thank you Mr Richmond. You have witnessed for the murdered of Kazimierz forest and all the other killing fields of Nazi Europe.

My wife Urszula and I had decided to take a day out in London, some sight seeing and shopping. We passed the many book shops on Charing Cross rd, but a book in one shop window caught my eye, 'Konin, a quest'. My wife is Polish, from the town of Konin. But what could this book be about, we wonder? There is nothing in Konin. How wrong we were! The book amazed us. I have read many publications on the holocaust, but nothing moved me quite like this book. The research and the feeling, the hardwork put into this account of a community so thoroughly wiped out that my wife hadn't even been aware that a Jewish community had ever existed and yet she grew up on its streets. In fact, the school she went to, the Gymnasium was built by the jewish people prior to the war. But nothing was or is taught about the jewish people within its walls, no reminders, nothing. Until now. Theo Richmond's work is a priceless reminder of want was lost and what should never be forgotten. We look forward greatly to the day the book is published in polish, when everyone there has a chance to understand just what was lost. We met Theo recently, his powerful charater came across so well in his book, as it is such an honest account, that it felt as though we had known him for years. Buy It! It is the best book you will ever read on the Jewish people.

After half a dozen years as a Mac traitor who got dragged kicking and screaming into the Windows-only world at work, I'm retiring from the work world and switching back to Mac-only at home. I waited for about six months for Robin's update for Leopard to be published and it was well worth the wait. While I'm just getting into the book, I can already see that it's going to be a member of my on-desk library of essential Mac reference books. Way to go Robin and John!

I switched to MAC about one month ago, bought the book the next day and found it very helpful. I went through it page by page and it was easy to read and understand and it was more than helpful. I recommend it highly for the first time MAC users.

Can these people write, or can they write? Thier books are always easy to follow, and presented in an entertaining fashion as well. If Robin Williams had written books about all the subjects I so disliked in school, I would undoubtedly have been very well read in all topics.
In a matter of minutes, I was able to unlock a few mysteries about my Mac...in days, I was using the applications without fear or hesitation. And while I am quite aware of how user friendly Macs are anyway, Ms Williams takes away the fears I still tend to harbor. I'm no computer wiz kid, I am FAR on the opposite end of the spectrum. But this book in particular, opened my eyes....from a place of feeling overwhelmed by all the things I KNEW this little box could do(that I didn't think I could) to a world of fun, and confidence. Cool Mac Apps is quickly becoming my favorite book. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn anything about the iLife applications.

Book is very informative, easy to understand and use. I bought this book for school (I don't own a mac), but there were many things I learned about iTunes (only non Mac program I use) I wouldn't have known without reading this book. Definitely would recommend for anyone wanting to get the most out of their Mac.

As we have all come to expect from Robin Williams, this book is written in a clear, precise manor. The illustrations are all very helpful. I particularly like the way the windows of each application are illustrated with details about each item within the window.

I have been using OSX for over two years now and thought I knew my way around each of these applications, but I was able to learn a lot of easier ways to do things . I have also learned that there were a lot of the features that I was not even coming close to using to their full potential. I have been using iCal, iTunes, and iPhoto on an almost daily basis, so these new tips and techniques are a real timesaver for me.

I was really surprised at how much new knowledge I gained on using Safari. I am on the internet on a daily basis and just took the browser for granted. The quick Tips section was very helpful. The section on RSS feeds opened up a whole new world of information for me.

Cool Mac Apps is a must have reference book that every MAC user needs in their personal library. I would give this book an excellent rating!

When I got a copy of this book and realized what was on my hands I hurried up to ask for a copy to our University Library. Unfortunately, it seemed that the book has been discontinued from Addison Wesley's catalog. 'It must be a joke...' I thought. Well, I'm not pretty sure about that, but if it's true 0 stars for AW editors!

I really think that this should have be a bestseller, if only the 've made a better promotional campaign. I found the book thanks to a cross reference in 'Wi-Foo', a masterpiece of Wi-Fi security. I had never heard of Puzmanova's book before.

It's a superb guide about networking interconnections, at the same level of Radia Perlman's Interconnections book. But with some useful enhancements, including keywords and concepts highlights, and a very organized content presentation. It's extremely easy to find what you're looking for in a moment.

I agree with the other reviews about the contents so I won't add anything here. No matter if you only manage to find a used copy, it worths your money and effort. Get it!!

Excellent. Well written, well structured and comprehensive. Breadth of coverage necessarily means less depth on any given subject, but good references allow in-depth follow up. All in all, easy to read and very insightful.

I am a Beng Electronic engineer Final Year student doing my final year project on routing efficiencies, investigating packet arrival times using different routing protocols. I have so far found this book extremely beneficial, which explains a lot of the terminology and techniques in the routing world in great detail. For me its not a book to read from back to back, but one that I found very handy to have near by when working along with my project.

I bought this book on Brian Dennis' recommendation, and I've been very happy with my purchase. The book goes into a tremendous amount of detail on various bridging techniques and routing protocols, but it's quite easy to read and very enjoyable. Excellent work.

Chris Bryant
CCIE #12933

Puzmanova says the main aim in her book is to show what's behind "the evolution in network interconnection, and give some clue as to where industry developments and standardization efforts are headed: to gain performance by avoiding unnecessary processing in the internetworking device itself, whether router or switch."

Part I is on the principles of network interconnection. This is an overview of the layering principles in building and operating networks. Puzmanova's enthusiasm comes out here as she talks about how she became fascinated in the relaying (routing) principles observed in each layer. She peeled the OSI onion from the outside in, looking at the network from the top layers down. The relaying principles at each layer cover pretty much all the widespread LAN (802.3, Token Ring, FDDI) and WAN (X.25, ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM and SONET) technologies. Then she covers network management and remote monitoring, as well as the principles of network interconnection. At this section she addresses a key question: What is the difference between a router and a switch? After all, switches route, and routers switch. The difference is in the architecture. A switch architecture provides additional forwarding capacity as ports are added. A router typically has a single forwarding engine and additional ports still share the capacity of this single engine. Interestingly, this is somewhat analogous to the difference between shared and switched media, seen in the evolution from hubs to switches. With hubs (as with routers), users share the capacity; with switched media, the capacity is dedicated to all the users.

Part II is very brief and talks about bridging, essentially a precursor to switching. It talks about transparent bridging which is used for Ethernet and source route bridging for Token Ring. The difficulty in creating hybrids for these two is discussed, and indeed there usually has to be some kind of routing function. The important thing with transparent bridging (which has pretty much won the day by the way - forget about Token Ring at this stage) is the prevention of loops through the spanning tree protocol.

Part III deals with switching principles and architectures, including circuit switching, packet switching, and cell switching. Switches have pretty much the same functionality as bridges, breaking up collision domains and sharing a broadcast domain, but with greater port capacity and most of the functionality in the hardware. Virtual LANs (or VLANs) are a way to break up broadcast domains at Layer 2. WAN switches also do cell switching for ATM. The developments in switch fabrics and congestion management define where some convergence in routing and switching is taking place-in multilayer switches (Layer 2 and 3). This has also led to some high speed routers and switches.

Part IV, Routing, is what seems to fascinate Puzmanova the most. All routing has become Routing IP - other routed protocols like IPX and AppleTalk are fading away and more or less don't matter any more. This is good, because routing protocols are complicated enough. Older distance vector protocols (like RIP and IGRP) which use direction and hops and provide the whole routing table in updates, have given way (thankfully) to link state protocols (like OSPF and ISIS); the latter are tougher to administer but bring rapid convergence and all routers know of a topology change, whether it's due to a broken link or an added device, in very short order. Knowledge of routing protocols and their behaviors in different scenarios is the key to the highway for network administrators. Especially important is how different protocols play with each other, in terms of how they coexist, how the filter traffic or redistribute routes into one another, or how they tunnel (wrap packets from) one protocol into another. Routing protocols have extra intelligence but these smarts are processed and take up cycles, and anything that can be done to limit the overhead, by choosing a lighter weight protocol, by redistributing routes, or by using a dial-up link as a backup, is potentially helpful to the performance or the scalability of the network. Part IV also talks about the architecture of routers, in terms of their internal switching fabrics and switching processes. Then it discusses how the highest performance can be achieved with advanced mechanisms that distribute the effort among different devices - the foremost example is label switching or label swapping as used in MPLS, which is essentially a protocol that operates at both Layers 2 and 3, and which helps a network combine the speed of switching with the scalability of routing. This provides another example of the convergence that the book's title implies.

Part V deals with hot topics of the day: speeding things up with QoS and high performance, and optical networking. It also goes into a lot more detail on MPLS, which was alluded to in Part IV. The advantages and disadvantages of routing versus layer 3 switching, and the question of when to use a router and when to use a switch are detailed here. It explains how MPLS clearly distinguishes between path determination (which should mainly be performed at the edge) and packet forwarding. Packet forwarding is very fast because once the packet is labeled at the network edge, it quickly traverses the network, only requiring the label switching routers to perform the label processing without actually performing any lookups in the routing tables. Packet forwarding will be getting faster in the future with optical networking and the development of optical switches that can operate within MPLS networks, perhaps at the dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) level with multiprotocol lambda (wavelength) switching.

The appendices include an acronym glossary, standardization notes, troubleshooting guidelines, port transmission speeds, and some general useful numbers including port numbers, hex to binary conversion and multicast addresses.