Book Review: Network Know-How

Network Know-How is directed primarily for novices and people having the necessity to have the network up and running for amateur/home use or maybe a SOHO setup. It pretty much covers all the topics that could be of interest for the intended readers such as the difference between hubs, switches and routers, designing the network using floor plans and some bit of future planning for placement of extra network equipment and some relatively advanced topics such as setting up file server in the network.

There is a useful explanation for the TCP/IP protocol and some of the elementary network commands used in different Operating Systems such as ipconfig, ifconfig and traceroute. One of the highlights of this book is the practical ideas given for designing and implementing the network control center using the appropriate network equipment and power supplies.

One of the uncommon topics in this book is the step-by-step procedure outlined for setting up a VPN server within the network using tools for all the popular operating systems. A list of general troubleshooting techniques comes in the last chapter of this book.

To summarize, there is a well-rounded discussion without getting into confusing technical jargon or becoming an advanced network manuals for enterprise class networks. Most of the intended readers would find this a utility book.