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by Randy Cassingham

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Practically Networked

It used to be Ethernet was a high-end office computer option. Not anymore; even the lowliest systems tend to come with networking built in, which is nice since more and more households have more than one computer. But how do you decide whether to buy a hub, a switch, or a router? And which one? Do you need a "g" wireless access point or will a "b" do? Reviews, tutorials, troubleshooting, security considerations, and lots more.

From This is True for 9 May 2004

Suggestions for further reading:

Network Warrior
By: Gary A. Donahue
List Price: $44.99
Amazon Price: $26.99
Editorial Review:
Written by networking veteran with 20 years of experience, Network Warrior provides a thorough and practical introduction to the entire network infrastructure, from cabling to the routers. What you need to learn to pass a Cisco certification exam such as CCNA and what you need to know to survive in the real world are two very different things. The strategies that this book offers weren 't on the exam, but they 're exactly what you need to do your job well. Network Warrior takes you step by step through the world of hubs, switches, firewalls, and more, including ways to troubleshoot a congested network, and when to upgrade and why. Along the way, you 'll gain an historical perspective of various networking features, such as the way Ethernet evolved. Based on the author 's own experience as well as those he worked for and with, Network Warrior is a Cisco-centric book, focused primarily on the TCP/IP protocol and Ethernet networks -- the realm that Cisco Systems now dominates. The book covers: The type of networks now in use, from LANs, WANs and MANs to CANs The OSI Model and the layers involved in sending data Hubs, repeaters, switches, and trunks in practice Auto negotiation and why it 's a common problem in network slowdowns Route maps, routing protocols, and switching algorithms in Cisco routers The resilient Ethernet -- how to make things truly redundant Cisco 6500 multi-layer switches and the Catalyst 3750 switch Telecom nomenclature -- why it 's different from the data world T1 and DS3 Firewall theory, designing access lists, authentication in Cisco devices Server load balancing technology Content switch module in action Designing QOS and what QOS does not do IP design andsubnetting made easy The book also explains how to sell your ideas to management, how networks become a mess as a company grows, and why change control is your friend. Network Warrior will help network administrators and engineers win the complex battles they face every day.
 
The All-New Switch Book: The Complete Guide to LAN Switching Technology
By: Rich SeifertJames Edwards
List Price: $80.00
Amazon Price: $64.00
Editorial Review:
This much-needed update to the bestselling guide on the extensive changes to the local area networks (LAN) switching technologies explains why LAN switching technologies are critical to network design. This in-depth guide covers the capabilities, application, and design of LAN switches and switched internetworks and examines the significant changes that have taken place since the publication of the first edition seven years ago. You’re sure to appreciate the witty writing style and easy-to-follow format on such an often-complicated subject matter.
 
Ethernet: The Definitive Guide
By: Charles Spurgeon
List Price: $44.95
Amazon Price: $32.81
Editorial Review:
The "Ethernet"--as distinct from the Internet, intranet, sneakernet, and others in the net family--is both a familiar face and a familiar name. However, it evokes the mental experience of the school crossing guard whose ownership of a corner of your mindscape is so context-sensitive that a change in venue renders the name or face placeless. Crossing guard or letter carrier? Just what is the Ethernet, again? True to his subject's infrastructural centrality and steadfast obscurity, Charles E. Spurgeon delivers a solid, basic treatise, Ethernet: The Definitive Guide, which describes its subject matter in all of its mundane glory. Appropriately, this is the octopus book from O'Reilly.

Spurgeon's examination of Ethernet spans four sections with 20 chapters, three appendices, an 18-page glossary of acronyms and jargon, and a generous index. The Ethernet is the hardware of the Inter/intranet and the underlying packet-formatting software protocols that control the hardware interfaces. But it is mostly just hardware: cables (thin-coaxial, thick, twisted pair, fiber optical), connectors (BNC, RJ-45), hubs (switching, routing), and system catch-all naming conventions (10BASE-2, 10BASE-T.) Sensibly, the discussion excludes Ethernet cards and network communications protocols that are more detailed than frame or packet definition, viz., there is essentially no information on packet-level security. But if you need a plan for designing a telephone closet, Spurgeon waxes eloquent on both network topologies and impedance matching.

Spurgeon's survey of the Ethernet is enriched by his intimate knowledge of its historical and developmental context. He glances through the original 1970s papers by Metcalfe in which the Ethernet was parameterized as well as the unfortunate misunderstanding of Metcalfe's simple model of throughput, and the subsequent papers that tracked performance characteristics and corrected misunderstandings.

Since Spurgeon's book is aimed at the network practitioner, his discussions answer engineering questions: How do you design a network? How do the pieces perform? How does it all go together? How do you know what broke? The book is copiously and clearly illustrated with conceptual figures, pin-out diagrams, performance charts, and some basic printouts from network diagnostic applications. There is no network monitoring code whatsoever. Clearly it is best not to mix up the network designer with the programmer, just as the school crossing guard really isn't the letter carrier. But you have to remember to remember that. --Peter LeopoldEthernet is a core networking technology used by every high tech business. While the basic protocols have changed little, new options such as Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet have increased the complexity of the topic. Ethernet has been the flavor of choice for networking administrators since the early 1980s because of its ease of use and scalability. Written by one of the foremost experts on Ethernet standards and configuration, Charles E. Spurgeon, Ethernet: The Definitive Guide includes everything you need to know to set up and maintain an Ethernet network. Ethernet: The Definitive Guide teaches you everything you need to know about the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard and its protocols. The book is logically separated into five parts: Introduction to Ethernet provides a tour of basic Ethernet theory and operation, including a description of Ethernet frames, operation of the Media Access Control (MAC) protocol, full-duplex mode and auto-negotiation. Ethernet Media Systems is the heart of the book. This sectionof Ethernet: The Definitive Guide shows you how to build media-specific Ethernet networks, from a basic 10BASE-T Ethernet offering 10 Mbps over twisted-pair cables, to an advanced 1000BASE-X Gigabit Ethernet, providing up to 1 Gbps of data transfer over fiber optic cables. Building Your Ethernet System teaches you how to build twisted-pair and fiber optic media segments, as well as how to build your Ethernet using repeaters and hubs. Performance and Troubleshooting is divided into two chapters. The first describes both the performance of a given Ethernet channel, as well as the performance of the entire network system. The second includes a tutorial on troubleshooting techniques and describes the kinds of problems network administrators are likely to encounter. The last part of the book includes a complete glossary of terms used throughout the book, a resource list, descriptions of thick and thin coax-based Ethernet systems, a guide to AUI equipment installation and configuration, and a listing of troubleshooting numbers. This book is the definitive guide for anyone wanting to build a scalable local area network (LAN) using Ethernet.


 
Embedded Ethernet and Internet Complete
By: Jan Axelson
List Price: $49.95
Amazon Price: $32.97
Editorial Review:
Bringing together two areas of computer technology—networking and embedded systems—this developer's guide offers guidance and examples for each of these, with a focus on the special requirements and limits of embedded systems. Because developing an embedded system for networking requires knowledge from many areas, including circuit design, programming, network architecture, and Ethernet and Internet protocols, developers are given valuable technical information on each that can be put to use right away. Covered are the advantages and limits of using Ethernet to connect embedded systems in a local network, hardware and program code needed to connect an embedded system to an Ethernet network and the Internet, and how to build a network. Also discussed are how embedded systems can use TCP/IP and related protocols and how personal-computer applications can use the protocols to communicate with embedded systems. Developers will learn how their Web server's pages can include dynamic, real-time content and respond to user input.
Bringing together two areas of computer technology-networking and embedded systems-this developer's guide offers guidance and examples for each of these, with a focus on the special requirements and limits of embedded systems. Because developing an embedded system for networking requires knowledge from many areas, including circuit design, programming, network architecture, and Ethernet and Internet protocols, developers are given valuable technical information on each that can be put to use right away. Covered are the advantages and limits of using Ethernet to connect embedded systems in a local network, hardware and program code needed to connect an embedded system to an Ethernet network and the Internet, and how to build a network. Also discussed are how embedded systems can use TCP/IP and related protocols and how personal-computer applications can use the protocols to communicate with embedded systems. Developers will learn how their Web server's pages can include dynamic, real-time content and respond to user input.
 
Data Center Networks and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
By: Silvano Gai
List Price: $9.40
Amazon Price: $9.40
Editorial Review:
This books describes recent trends in Data Center Networks including lossy vs. lossless, Pause, Priority Flow Control, Enhanced Transmission Scheduler, Data Center Bridging, Layer 2 Multipath and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
 
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