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Sidnie Feit's TCP/IP Architecture, Protocols and Implementation with IPv6 and IP Security is a comprehensive one-volume introduction to TCP/IP networking that is worthy of being a professional's reference of first resort. It is broad, refined, and accurate. This is easily one of the best networking books of the decade.
In a little over 900 pages, TCP/IP conducts a brisk inspection of most nooks and crannies of the TCP/IP edifice. Everything legal and ethical in TCP/IP is covered, and quite a bit that is not. Let the savvy sysadmin tighten down the hatches!
Feit's prose is a model of technical writing. Every sentence states a fact. Every fact is germane to the discussion, and proceeds smoothly from what came before. The author has as close to an exhaustive knowledge of the subject as could be desired by the most exigent reader, and is expert at demonstrating how disparate elements fit together. By the standards of contemporary American computer engineering literature, this book is above criticism.
While running the gamut of IPv4, TCP/IP also presents a lucid introduction to IPv6. IPv6 is the juncture where the sophistication of the Internet Protocol reaches parity with SNA. Cognoscenti such as network administrators and router technicians already up to the elbows in IPv4 might consider this book as their heads-up on IPv6.
Of course this is a revised edition, because books of this quality, like Guinness Stout, aren't poured -- they're built. It has taken most of a decade to assemble this material into the present form. In a field as rich as the world's most popular internetworking protocol, form is content. The presentation is refreshing and engaging. The editing is excellent. The typesetting and layout are simple and classic. From the introduction in the front to the index, glossary, acronym list, and bibliography at the end, TCP/IP is top of form.
Still, I'm glad we don't judge books by their covers. While Bill Schick's photo of the Triborough Bridge is lovely (and also a clever touch -- the bridge cables form a century-old network), the raised gilt lettering, "Signature Edition," on the edge of the cover is fatuous and will cause the cover to tear easily. Those who need this book don't know or care if the author is a celebrity. What they do care about is that Sidnie Feit writes authoritatively. Why did the publisher hide this esteemed author's honorable curriculum vitae in the back flyleaf instead of emblazoning it on the back cover? Instead we find breathless blurbs like "Hands-on help with DNS, DHCP, and more" and "Sample dialogs featuring new GUI's." Do people really buy a 900-page, $60 reference book for the same reasons people buy a $19.99 "Word for Dummies"?
Knowledge of networking protocols is traditionally gained by night hours on holiday weekends debugging customer installations in Fargo. Pouring over standards and implementation documentation is another neat trick. Bookshelf presentations take a long time to read. You'll be able to find topic-specific networking literature that is deeper than TCP/IP by Dr. Sidnie Feit, but this book equals or betters all current overviews of this critical technical field for breadth and good reading.
-- Jack Woehr
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Explanation of ERCB rating scale: No stars = unacceptable, 1 Star = marginal, 2 Stars = average, 3 Stars = above average, 4 Stars = exceptional.