Hi All, What is the single best book you have read on networking? That's a wide topic so to clarify I'm talking about service provider networking but I do enjoy all aspects really and don't want to limit my self to one area of networking. I'm often reading technical books about technology X or protocol Y but they are generally explaining a new technology to me, how it works and how to use it (and how to configure it if its a book by a vendor like Juniper or Cisco). That is usually a learning exercise though required for an upcoming project or deliverable. I haven't read many vendor neutral books recently that explained concepts, or technologies, or paradigms that I found profound, radical and extremely useful. I feel like I'm just reading networking books these days to learn a new technology for a period of time (until a project completes) then moving on to the next technology (book). Longevity of the information doesn't seem as profound as it used to; BGP design principals will stay with me for decades until we reach the need for BGP v5 or similar, learning about 8b/10b encoding was interesting but not really required for my line of work more out of hobbyist interest and serves no practical purpose as a network engineer. Cheers, James.
i found mpls enabled applications better, not sure if that meets your requirement. R On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 2:18 PM, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi All,
What is the single best book you have read on networking? That's a wide topic so to clarify I'm talking about service provider networking but I do enjoy all aspects really and don't want to limit my self to one area of networking.
I'm often reading technical books about technology X or protocol Y but they are generally explaining a new technology to me, how it works and how to use it (and how to configure it if its a book by a vendor like Juniper or Cisco). That is usually a learning exercise though required for an upcoming project or deliverable.
I haven't read many vendor neutral books recently that explained concepts, or technologies, or paradigms that I found profound, radical and extremely useful.
I feel like I'm just reading networking books these days to learn a new technology for a period of time (until a project completes) then moving on to the next technology (book). Longevity of the information doesn't seem as profound as it used to; BGP design principals will stay with me for decades until we reach the need for BGP v5 or similar, learning about 8b/10b encoding was interesting but not really required for my line of work more out of hobbyist interest and serves no practical purpose as a network engineer.
Cheers, James.
On Sep 16, 2014, at 3:48 PM, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
What is the single best book you have read on networking?
Impossible to answer with just one, really. Apart from the classics like Stevens and Perlman and Halabi and McPherson and Doyle, these two: <http://www.ciscopress.com/store/router-security-strategies-securing-ip-network-traffic-9781587053368> <http://www.ciscopress.com/store/mpls-vpn-security-9781587051838> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Roland Dobbins <rdobbins@arbor.net> // <http://www.arbornetworks.com> Equo ne credite, Teucri. -- Laocoön
Everything Stevens wrote. Including newer editions since his passing. Bill kept him listed as first author on the new edition of APUE for a reason. Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 16, 2014, at 5:04, Roland Dobbins <rdobbins@arbor.net> wrote:
On Sep 16, 2014, at 3:48 PM, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
What is the single best book you have read on networking?
Impossible to answer with just one, really.
Apart from the classics like Stevens and Perlman and Halabi and McPherson and Doyle, these two:
<http://www.ciscopress.com/store/mpls-vpn-security-9781587051838>
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Roland Dobbins <rdobbins@arbor.net> // <http://www.arbornetworks.com>
Equo ne credite, Teucri.
-- Laocoön
On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 6:59 AM, <coy.hile@coyhile.com> wrote:
Everything Stevens wrote.
Even volume 3? TCP/IP Illustrated volume 1 is one of the finest books on IPv4 ever written but volume 3 smells of "Please write us another book. We don't care what it's about, just write something." Regards, Bill Herrin -- William Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/> May I solve your unusual networking challenges?
"Patterns in Network Architecture" You might not agree with it, but it does stimulate some thinking. Matthew Kaufman (Sent from my iPhone)
On Sep 16, 2014, at 10:48 AM, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi All,
What is the single best book you have read on networking? That's a wide topic so to clarify I'm talking about service provider networking but I do enjoy all aspects really and don't want to limit my self to one area of networking.
I'm often reading technical books about technology X or protocol Y but they are generally explaining a new technology to me, how it works and how to use it (and how to configure it if its a book by a vendor like Juniper or Cisco). That is usually a learning exercise though required for an upcoming project or deliverable.
I haven't read many vendor neutral books recently that explained concepts, or technologies, or paradigms that I found profound, radical and extremely useful.
I feel like I'm just reading networking books these days to learn a new technology for a period of time (until a project completes) then moving on to the next technology (book). Longevity of the information doesn't seem as profound as it used to; BGP design principals will stay with me for decades until we reach the need for BGP v5 or similar, learning about 8b/10b encoding was interesting but not really required for my line of work more out of hobbyist interest and serves no practical purpose as a network engineer.
Cheers, James.
BGP Bible: Internet Routing Architectures (2nd Edition) http://amzn.com/157870233X On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 4:07 AM, Matthew Kaufman <matthew@matthew.at> wrote:
"Patterns in Network Architecture"
You might not agree with it, but it does stimulate some thinking.
Matthew Kaufman
(Sent from my iPhone)
On Sep 16, 2014, at 10:48 AM, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi All,
What is the single best book you have read on networking? That's a wide topic so to clarify I'm talking about service provider networking but I do enjoy all aspects really and don't want to limit my self to one area of networking.
I'm often reading technical books about technology X or protocol Y but they are generally explaining a new technology to me, how it works and how to use it (and how to configure it if its a book by a vendor like Juniper or Cisco). That is usually a learning exercise though required for an upcoming project or deliverable.
I haven't read many vendor neutral books recently that explained concepts, or technologies, or paradigms that I found profound, radical and extremely useful.
I feel like I'm just reading networking books these days to learn a new technology for a period of time (until a project completes) then moving on to the next technology (book). Longevity of the information doesn't seem as profound as it used to; BGP design principals will stay with me for decades until we reach the need for BGP v5 or similar, learning about 8b/10b encoding was interesting but not really required for my line of work more out of hobbyist interest and serves no practical purpose as a network engineer.
Cheers, James.
-- Jason
On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 5:07 AM, Matthew Kaufman <matthew@matthew.at> wrote:
"Patterns in Network Architecture"
You might not agree with it, but it does stimulate some thinking.
Hi Matthew, I would agree that any attempt to understand the material stimulates thinking. The book ranges from "inscrutable" to "extremely poorly written." Regards, Bill Herrin -- William Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/> May I solve your unusual networking challenges?
On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 09:48:45AM +0100, James Bensley wrote:
What is the single best book you have read on networking?
Elements of Networking Style, Michael A. Padlipsky, 1984. How could anyone *not* love a book which includes this in the foreword: Brace yourselves. We are about to try something that borders on the unique: an actually rather serious technical book which is not only (gasp) vehemently anti-Solemn but also (shudder) takes sides. I tend to think of it as "Constructive Snottiness". ---rsk p.s. And anything/everything Stevens wrote.
³Designing Campus Networks² From Cisco. ³Internet Routing Architectures² ³Next Generation Network Services² from Cisco Press To me those are pretty general and how to apply it to different scenarios. Justin -- Justin Wilson <j2sw@mtin.net> http://www.mtin.net <http://www.mtin.net/blog> Managed Services xISP Solutions Data Centers http://www.thebrotherswisp.com Podcast about xISP topics On 9/16/14, 1:41 PM, "Rich Kulawiec" <rsk@gsp.org> wrote:
On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 09:48:45AM +0100, James Bensley wrote:
What is the single best book you have read on networking?
Elements of Networking Style, Michael A. Padlipsky, 1984. How could anyone *not* love a book which includes this in the foreword:
Brace yourselves. We are about to try something that borders on the unique: an actually rather serious technical book which is not only (gasp) vehemently anti-Solemn but also (shudder) takes sides. I tend to think of it as "Constructive Snottiness".
---rsk
p.s. And anything/everything Stevens wrote.
³Designing Campus Networks² From Cisco. ³Internet Routing Architectures² ³Next Generation Network Services² from Cisco Press
I hate to suggest my own book, but -- The Art of Network Architecture, I think, is pretty good. I know Doyle's Routing TCP/IP is good, I really appreciate Radia's Interconnections, and I found Day's book useful in thinking through models (even if it's not the best written -- but Im pretty tolerant on that front). And no, you won't hurt my feelings if you disagree. :-) Russ
On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 1:48 AM, James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi All,
What is the single best book you have read on networking? That's a wide topic so to clarify I'm talking about service provider networking but I do enjoy all aspects really and don't want to limit my self to one area of networking.
I'm often reading technical books about technology X or protocol Y but they are generally explaining a new technology to me, how it works and how to use it (and how to configure it if its a book by a vendor like Juniper or Cisco). That is usually a learning exercise though required for an upcoming project or deliverable.
I haven't read many vendor neutral books recently that explained concepts, or technologies, or paradigms that I found profound, radical and extremely useful.
I feel like I'm just reading networking books these days to learn a new technology for a period of time (until a project completes) then moving on to the next technology (book). Longevity of the information doesn't seem as profound as it used to; BGP design principals will stay with me for decades until we reach the need for BGP v5 or similar, learning about 8b/10b encoding was interesting but not really required for my line of work more out of hobbyist interest and serves no practical purpose as a network engineer.
Cheers, James.
I recommend reading the NANOG meeting materials archive presos and videos. Good to see what people are actually doing, real lessons learned. CB
On Tue, 16 Sep 2014 09:48:45 +0100 James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com> wrote:
What is the single best book you have read on networking?
I couldn't narrow it down to one, but since it hasn't been mentioned already, Radia Perlman's Interconnections. Her's is utterly fantastic largely in part because she often explains why some things are the way they are (how we got what we have) and sometimes why what we have isn't always so great. Other great books mentioned take a similar tack, they go beyond what is in written specs. John
+1 for Perlman's Interconnections. I love her humor peppered throughout. On Tuesday, September 16, 2014, John Kristoff <jtk@cymru.com> wrote:
On Tue, 16 Sep 2014 09:48:45 +0100 James Bensley <jwbensley@gmail.com <javascript:;>> wrote:
What is the single best book you have read on networking?
I couldn't narrow it down to one, but since it hasn't been mentioned already, Radia Perlman's Interconnections. Her's is utterly fantastic largely in part because she often explains why some things are the way they are (how we got what we have) and sometimes why what we have isn't always so great. Other great books mentioned take a similar tack, they go beyond what is in written specs.
John
participants (14)
-
Ca By -
coy.hile＠coyhile.com -
Daniel Rohan -
James Bensley -
Jason Biel -
John Kristoff -
Justin Wilson -
Matthew Kaufman -
Miles Fidelman -
Rakesh M -
Rich Kulawiec -
Roland Dobbins -
Russ White -
William Herrin