TCP/IP
Essentials: A Lab-Based Approach
by Shivendra
S. Panwar, Shiwen Mao, Jeong-dong Ryoo,
Yihan Li
University of Cambridge Press, New York,
2004
284 pp. illus. Paper, $39.99
ISBN: 052160124X.
Reviewed by Rob Harle (Australia)
harle@dodo.com.au
Ever wondered why when you send an
email and download a web site, it doesn't
result in terminal electronic gridlock?
Ever wondered what TCP/IP or SMTP means
when you're setting up your home computer
to connect to the Internet? This book
reveals all. It does so in a logical,
straightforward easy to read manner.
The book is primarily intended for electrical
engineering, computer science and computer
engineering students and, as such, is
specialised and, at times, highly technical.
It presumes a background in networking
as a prerequisite to undertake the course
offered in the book. I really enjoyed
reading TCP/IP Essentials: A Lab-Based
Approach mainly because it answered
many questions I'd been wondering about.
Millions of us use the Internet, as well
as networked computers almost every day,
and we haven't got a clue what happens
after we hit the Send Button.
The book is not simply a dry textbook,
but as the title suggests, a lab-based
approach to understanding networks, internet
protocols and data transmission. Each
section contains specific details so students
can set-up experiments to test the theories
explained on relatively inexpensive equipment.
As the authors suggest, " . . . only the
most Scrooge-like University administrator
would raise an eyebrow over the cost of
the lab equipment . . . " (p. xiii).
The book has nine chapters together with
various appendices. Chapter 0 is an overview
of TCP/IP, which acts as a framework for
the rest of the book. Chapters 1 to 9
provide introductory explanatory material,
suitable for lecture presentation, followed
by details of the associated lab experiments.
The experiments are based on courses taught
at the Polytechnic University over eight
years. Whilst Solaris commands are included
in the book, the main operating system
discussed and used is Linux. The four
authors are all senior research associates
at various universities, except for Shivendra
Panwar who is also Professor of Electrical
and Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic
University, Brooklyn, NY.
As the preface suggests, this book uses
a minimalist approach to teaching the
essentials of networking and is not intended
as a comprehensive reference text on the
subject. Appendix A is a fairly comprehensive
Instructor's Guide, which includes
lab equipment required, software installation
and router configuration and set-up. Appendix
B covers initial router configuration,
and Appendix C provides Source Code applicable
to the experiments. This book is well
illustrated with numerous diagrams and
flow charts to visually explain the theories
and experiments involved.
The book clearly explains that the secret
of avoiding electronic gridlock or contaminated
data lies in the layered hierarchical
arrangement of the various protocols involved.
Each layer controls certain aspects of
the transmission, and then reports back
to the layer above which can then perform
its function within the stack. The whole
process involves a great deal of forward
and reverse checking and sending data
in discrete stages or hops. I remember
a few years ago a little program available
for home computers that traced your email
message. It was truly astounding to see
the hops from one server to the next,
sometimes going around the world to end
up back in the next state to which it
was sent from!
As mentioned the book is intended for
serious networking students and qualified
engineers seeking networking certification.
However, I think it is also suitable for
those computer "nerds" amongst us that
just like to know how things work. As
a matter of interest TCP stands for Transmission
Control Protocol and IP stands for, strangely
enough, Internet Protocol. These seemingly
simple letters are actually the basis
of the whole internet data flow management
and control. A soundly researched and
very well presented technical manual.