BKINTRCN.RVW  991004

"Interconnections", Radia Perlman, 2000, 0-201-63448-1,
U$59.95/C$89.95
%A   Radia Perlman radia@alum.mit.edu
%C   P.O. Box 520, 26 Prince Andrew Place, Don Mills, Ontario  M3C 2T8
%D   2000
%G   0-201-63448-1
%I   Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
%O   U$59.95/C$89.95 416-447-5101 fax: 416-443-0948 bkexpress@aw.com
%P   537 p.
%T   "Interconnections, Second Edition"

When one delves into aspects of internetworking, one invariably comes
across a chapter on routing and the difficulty thereof.  It is usually
at this point that the book dissolves into a maze of twisty little
formulae and acronyms, all alike.  It is, therefore, appropriate that
bridges and routers should have a book all to themselves.

This is a thorough examination and presentation of the concepts of,
and problems in, the interconnection of networks.  It deals primarily
with the constructs and algorithms at what would generally be seen as
an academic level.  There is much practical information, but for the
system designer of routers, rather than the system administrator. 
This second edition of the classic has been extended, not only in the
addition of a number of examples and protocols, but also in conceptual
terms, expanding to include more types of connections such as switches
and hubs.

The academic appearance is heightened by the presence of homework and
exercise questions at the end of every chapter.  These are not mere
reading checks, but require some thought.  A few of them even contain
some subtle humour.  For those already working in the field, these
likely would provide a means of self-study and self-assessment.

Topics include networking concepts, data link issues, basic bridges,
source routing, LANs, network services, connection-oriented nets,
connectionless service, network layer addressing, connectionless data
packet formats, autoconfiguration and discovery, routing algorithms,
packet forwarding, specific routing protocols, WAN (Wide Area Network)
multicasting, and high-reliability routing.  Two further chapters
examine the questions of the bridge versus router versus switch
decision, and protocol design folklore (abiding by the "sufficiently
many jokes" protocol).

This work does a thorough job of explaining a complicated and
important part of the networking puzzle.  Those who work seriously in
the field of wide area networking should definitely have the book to
hand.  However, those who merely want a clearer understanding of this
cluttered area of the network cloud should consider the volume as
well: it makes clear explanations, and is remarkably readable for such
a technical subject.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993, 1999   BKINTRCN.RVW   991004