Victor R. Blake

Here you will find reviews of both classic and contemporary books on network engineering, strategy, architecture, and telecommunications. Reviewed texts range from technical to business topics, and occasionally range into the fields of economics and software development.

 

You can find more of my book reviews on Amazon.com.

 

by W. Richard Stevens

 

Review by Victor R. Blake

 

Any comprehensive library of Internet history or practical collection of useful Internet engineering books must include this series. This is simply the most comprehensive collection of basic IP protocol descriptions one can find. The texts are dated in that they cannot be considered to be comprehensive because they lack newer IP protocols such as RTP and IPsec. Nonetheless you need to read this text before moving on to understand newer protocols.

 

While many of the new protocols offer specific advantages, it is a true lack of understanding of the fundamentals of the original IP protocols that has prevented developers, engineers, and operators from building and delivering advanced services (rather than limitations of the protocols themselves). For example, TCP remains a highly effective transfer protocol, despite claims of its inadequacy. The same is true for claims about UDP not being adequate for video transport (for example).

 

These are really more reference books than narrative reading. Nonetheless if you sit down to read them outside of their use as reference material, you may find yourself fascinated but what you don't know (just as I am) about IP. That's how you'll know you are really an enginEEr.

 

Victor R. Blake

6/26/07