Craig Hunt
TCP/IP Network Administration, 2nd Ed.
O'Reilly & Associates, 1998. ISBN 1-56592-322-7. Pp. 612 (184 pages of index and appendices). $32.95 Paper.

Reviewed by Rob Jenson
<robjen@spotch.com>

Craig Hunt describes the target audience of his book in the preface to the first edition of TCP/IP Network Administration. This book is for neither UNIX dummies nor idiots. Nor is it for network administration gurus and geniuses. Most other system administrators who deal with a system connected to a TCP/IP network can get something out of TCP/IP Network Administration.

The book gives an overview of and some details about the various components that network an individual UNIX system to a TCP/IP network. Some of the abstract basics of networking and TCP/IP are covered, followed by an introduction to the important network services. The author then takes you, step by step, through a detailed discussion of the configuration of various network components. Every section provides a pointer to the appropriate O'Reilly book that is specific to the topic at hand, if one exists. Absent are pointers to some of the canonical sources of the source code and official documentation sites for some of the services described. My expectation from a paperback book that is such a reference would be that pointers to some of the basic sites would be included, especially since many TCP/IP service programs are in a constant state of flux.

Craig Hunt gives you many command-line examples to describe what you want to do. If you are working with Solaris or Linux operating systems, this is a miniature cookbook of how to perform many of the network administration tasks for those systems. There are also some notes on configuring a BSD kernel. Linux and Solaris are two of the more common flavors of UNIX in use today, but neither is a contender for "vanilla." For other flavors of UNIX, you will be able to find the appropriate manual pages online after reading the book.

The appendices are voluminous, and, at first glance, excessive. Specific configuration guides for PPP, gated, named, dhcpd, and sendmail are available from the suppliers of those respective packages on the Internet. Eventually those will be your bible for configuring and troubleshooting the software. However, Craig Hunt's

appendices cover most of the bases in a very consistent, linear fashion that is written from the perspective of someone who has used the software frequently. He will get you started, he will probably get you up and running, and he'll definitely leave you ahead of the game when you need to dig deeper.

TCP/IP Network Administration is a well-written book. It reads smoothly from beginning to end. It was a useful overview of many host networking elements of systems administration that I've learned over the past ten years. The network security and the troubleshooting sections were a disappointment to me. I would have liked to see more information about how to troubleshoot specific problems with each section. That also holds true for the security concerns attached to many of the network services. You will not find anything here about BIND 8 or IPv6 and very little about hardware. If your idea of network administration has anything to do with configuring router hardware, load-balancing traffic, designing LAN, CAN, or WAN infrastructures, or choosing high-speed switch technology, this book has nothing to interest you. Everything here is about how to make UNIX play nicely with other computers on the network, once you have your ducks in a row with the network itself.

So, who will find this book useful? I would certainly recommend it as required reading for any novice or junior level systems administrator. It probably has a place on the bookshelf of many intermediate/advanced or senior level system administrators. It's also a good loaner for the curious power users who want to learn more about what is involved in keeping their network fed and happy. As a reference guide it has a limited shelf life, because the details change so quickly. If I were going to be suddenly shipped off-planet as a new system administrator and I could take nothing with me but three books, TCP/IP Network Administration would be worth considering as one of them.