Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide [Paperback]

Daniel Steinberg (Author), Stuart Cheshire (Author)

Book Description

Series: Definitive Guide | Publication Date: December 20, 2005

It used to be that two laptops, sitting side by side, couldn't communicate with each other; they may as well have been a thousand miles apart. But that was then, before the advent of Zero Configuration Networking technology. This amazing cross-platform open source technology automatically connects electronic devices on a network, allowing them to interoperate seamlessly-without any user configuration. So now you don't have to lift a finger! Needless to say, it has completely changed the way people connect to devices and programs for printing, file sharing, and other activities.

Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide walks you through this groundbreaking network technology, with a complete description of the protocols and ways to implement network-aware applications and devices.

Written by two Zero Configuration Networking experts, including one of Apple's own computer scientists, the book covers more than just file sharing and printing. Zero Configuration Networking also enables activities such as music and photo sharing and automatic buddy discovery on Instant Messaging applications. In fact, Zero Configuration Networking can be used for virtually any device that can be controlled by a computer. And this handy guide has the inside scoop on all of its capabilities-and how you can easily apply them in your own environment.

For the technically advanced, Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide examines the three core technologies that make up Zero Configuration Networking: Link-Local Addressing, Multicast DNS, and DNS Service Discovery. It also reviews a series of APIs, including C-API, Java API, CFNetServices, and Cocoa's NSNetServices.

Whether you want to understand how iTunes works, or you want to network a series of laptops and other devices at your office for maximum efficiency, you'll find all the answers in this authoritative guide.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel Steinberg is the editor of ONJava and java.net for the O'Reilly Network. He's been working with Java on the Mac since it first appeared, but also enjoys coding in ObjC and other languages. Daniel is a longtime technical writer, trainer, and developer with Dim Sum Thinking, Inc. and recently co-authored the book, "Extreme Software Engineering: A Hands-on approach" (Prentice Hall).

Stuart Cheshire is currently a Senior Scientist with Apple Computer, specializing in Internet Protocols. He's published papers in the areas of wireless and networking, and Mobile IP, and previously worked on IBM Token Ring with Madge Networks in the U.K. Stuart received the B.A. and M.A. degrees from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, U.K., and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (December 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596101007
• ISBN-13: 978-0596101008
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Computers & Technology > Apple > Mac Administration

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!, August 16, 2006

By 

John R. Vacca "Tech Write Independent Reviewer" (Pomeroy, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide (Paperback)

Are you a curious user or software developer or hardware developer? If you are, then this book is for you! Authors Daniel Steinberg and Stuart Cheshire, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that provides an in-depth look at the components of Zeroconf technology and a survey of programming APIs that will allow you to Zeroconf-enable your product.

Steinberg and Stuart Cheshire, begin by giving you a quick overview of the various components that make up Zeroconf. Then, the authors discuss link-local addressing. Next, they provide a description of multicast DNS. The authors then provide you with a description of DNS Service Discovery. They continue by introducing the concepts of DNS Service Discovery and focus on how it applies to discovering services on the local link using Multicast DNS. Then, the authors introduce the dns-sd command line toll that lets you experiment with Zeroconf service advertising and discovery before you actually write your first line of Zeroconf.code. Next, they introduce you to the C API for advertising and browsing for services. The authors then explain the Java API, which lets you write portable cross-platform programs that will run on any supported platform that ha Java and Zeroconf installed. They continue by describing two of the Bonjour APIs that are specific to Mac OS X: CFNet-Services and Cocoa's NSNetServices. Finally, they outline the Zeroconf support appearing in some unexpected languages like Ruby and Python.

This most excellent book shows you how you can, with very little effort, make your devices a lot easier to use. More importantly, this book explains how you can add the benefits of TCP/IP networking to your products without having to sacrifice ease of use.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I needed, September 13, 2008

By 

Evgeni Stavinov "OutputLogic.com" (Sunnyvale, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide (Paperback)

I needed to design a simple network protocol for custom embedded devices with features similar to Zeroconf.
I spent quite some time gathering bits and pieces about it on the web before giving up and buying this book. It's comprehensive. It explains different Zeroconf design choices and pitfalls, which was important to me.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The World is Far from Zeroconf, August 13, 2008

By 

Clint Pachl (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zero Configuration Networking: The Definitive Guide (Paperback)

First of all, this book wasn't what I expected. I was anticipating a UNIX-like book about how to use common servers to automate network and computer configurations. I guess I should have read the book description better. Instead, it is very Mac-centric and covers service discovery, automatic configuration, and Apple's zeroconf software currently known as Bonjour.

After discovering early on that this was not the book I was looking for, I still decided to read it cover to cover. It is actually ok, but I see lots of arguments against zeroconf. First of all, security. I would not recommend attaching a zeroconf network directly to the Internet. There are too many opportunities for the bad guy to exploit your network when things just automagically configure themselves. That's why UPnP just kind of died. Sure, this stuff is useful for secure isolated networks, but those are becoming a rarity. Security is addressed very briefly and the authors don't make a very strong argument.

Second, zeroconf is to make our lives easier by not having to run service oriented servers, like DNS and DHCP, however, this book tells you how to setup and use DNS to make zeroconf work better; very contradicting.

I would recommend this book to a Mac application developer who is building an app that needs to take advantage of service discovery and automatic configuration. There is tons of good API code snippets, explanations, and examples. However, if you are a regular Mac/UNIX/Windows user who just wants your computer to automatically detect your network printers, scanners, cameras, etc., you can skip this book and find all the documentation you need online. I would suggest starting at Wikipedia.