TCP/IP For Dummies? (For Dummies (Computers))

TCP/IP for Dummies aims to decode the protocols and executables that underlie the Internet and other networks that comply with its data communications standards. By combining how-to information that explains how to configure TCP/IP networking on various Microsoft Windows systems (including Windows 2000) with plenty of academic material on how Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) work, the authors deliver considerable value to their readers. There ought to be TCP/IP configuration coverage of Linux and Mac OS, too--TCP/IP is, after all, ideal for heterogeneous networking--but the detailed information about the stack's workings offsets the hands-on shortcomings.

The authors spend a bit too long explaining elementary stuff about the Internet. Still, they unravel Internet phenomena very clearly and explain, for example, that FTP is a protocol, a service, and an application in complete TCP/IP suites. Dummies books are big on the use of analogies to explain technical subjects; this book uses food and a dinnerware set as an analogy for the TCP/IP software, and sometimes distracts from its educational objective by struggling to make the comparison fit. Regardless, the authors succeed in explaining an important and complex set of internetworking technologies to readers who have no prior TCP/IP experience. You'll appreciate the background that this book provides if you're planning to configure a small TCP/IP network or work your way toward more elaborate jobs. --David Wall

Topics covered: The TCP/IP stack and its applications, explained in terms that--while not oversimplified--will be understood easily by someone who has little networking knowledge. Fundamentals of networking, client-server communications, TCP/IP protocols (including SMTP, HTTP, POP3, FTP, and various routing protocols), Windows configuration procedures, and name resolution all get attention. A nice section explains IPv6 well.