Customer Reviews

Interconnections: Bridges and Routers (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An excellent treatise on bridging/switching and routing. The book begins with thorough background theory, progresses through current implementations and concludes with a discussion of when one should be used over the other. It also describes token ring source route bridging for those that are new to it. The only networking book I've gotten more mileage out of is Douglas Comer's revered Internetworking with TCP/IP, which sits right next to it on the shelf. I would class it as an intermediate to advanced level networking text. Some familiarity with layered networking models is essential to understand the differences between bridging and routing and appreciate the sometimes subtle but profound differences between implementations. A must read for the serious network engineer - you'll discover something new every time you pick it up.

This book is very rich in information on layer 2 and 3 in respects to bridging and routing. It provides a solid foundation on which to build. Perlman includes a lot of information on OSI, which was important at the time it was written, however it is semi useless unless you are working in this type of environment. She also makes personal comments throughout the text which in almost all cases are completely unnecessary. However, aside from the extra information and comments, there is still a good set of useful information.

A classic work that details importanct aspects of Bridging and Routing in data networks. Although covering particular current technologies, this book gives a thorough treatment of the issues behind vendor offerings. Readers will gain an understanding of what Bridging (Layer 2) and Routing (Layer 3) functionality can and can't do for their networks. Layer 2 functionality is currently being sold as "switching" rather than "bridging", but the issues are the same. This book was recommended to me and I bought it. The first time I read it, I guess I understood it on a superficial level only. The next time I read it, it clarified many issues for me. I return to it from time to time, and am never disappointed with the information I find. It certainly helps cut through the current hype with switching vs routing.

This review applies to the Second Edition published in September 1999:

Following the tradition of Radia Perlman's first edition, this update covers just about all of the current and most pertinent aspects of data communications protocols. I view it as an indispensable resource, and is highly authoritative within the discipline and topics covered.

Radia Perlman is a well known authority in the fields of networking and internetworking protocols. This book published in 1992 is the one-stop introduction to the field. It explains (in quite some details) the transparent and source routing bridges, the spanning tree protocol, and the various IP/OSI routing protocols: RIP, OSPF, BGP, ISIS. It also has little introductory sections on multicast routing, on lookup algorithm, and finally a chapter that deals with "whether to bridge or route?" I am sure this topic might be of interest to network adiministrators. But, as a protocols engineer, I find myself going back to this book for a quick intro to a topic before I actually delve into the code and the standards/RFCs.

This is a must read for anyone interested in gaining a good grounding in internetworking protocols.

This book is clearly written and well illustrated. It is an essential building block for achieving the kind of understanding of network infrastructure that is necessary to architect and troubleshoot well.

This is not a book about how to configure and run OSPF networks or set up BGP4 peering with ISPs. People who complain about a lack of "practical" information in the book miss the point. This is one of the best sources of information on the design of network routing protocols that exists.

This book is indispensable if you are involved in a software development project that benefits from routing, at any level. The book describes a tool (network routing) and gives modern best-practice advice for how to implement that tool.

Even the OSI content is useful in this context; you're never going to "use" OSI, but many people could definitely "use" an understanding of the design process that went into IS-IS.

This book is a great for people who aspire to be called 'Networking Gurus'. It is very useful in understanding the nuts and bolts of Networking. This book explains why things are the way they are. This book will be useful to people/students who want to build a strong foundation in Networking. Even though this book is of great use as a Academic interest, it does give the day-to-day Networking professional, the answers that are not easily avaiable elsewhere.

This helped me a lot in understanding Networking and was quite useful for my CCIE certification. (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)

No other book ever written is better suited to build a strong understanding of networking concepts. Radia Perlman has been intimately involved with networking during its evolution, and her experience carries over into this entertaining book. I am also a networking author and always strive to make my books as readable as Radia's masterpiece.

Radia's book is perfect for beginners who wish to build a strong base of networking knowledge. It's also a great book for experienced network professionals who have a difficult time finding books that have new information.

This book gives an excellent overview of the routing and bridging state-of-the-art in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and will give the reader an understanding of the issues that will carry them forward to tomorrow. It emphasizes OSI standards over Internet Standards, while the OSI standards may often be better designed, but how widely are they used? Still, it's a good book to read first.