A few reviews are critical of this book as being too academic or concept orient or out of date. There is an updated version of this book, 2011 copy. But know most of what is in this book covers the same IPv4 that is used today!
.
I have read TOO MANY books that use inaccurate or mismatched or generic INTERNETWORK terms. This book does an excellent job at being explicit and accurate in the use of terms and concepts, and in explaining them. Ohhhh, is that considered too academic. Well you do not want an IDIOT medical surgeon dropout doing surgery on you any more than you want an IDIOT unqualified network person working on your network.
.
I have met networking techs who do not know what a datagram is, or they get circuit and package switching concepts mixed up with connection and connectionless oriented concepts. Or they think IP is connection oriented, or they do not know what CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA are. I mean, Earth is round not flat. The sun is larger than the Earth. Paul Revere did NOT warn the British that the American were coming.
.
Ya, explicit commands or scripts or configurations are nice for a specific device or hardware or system, but ENGINEERS also need to know exactly what they are talking about and what they are doing as far as the ideas and concepts of TCP/IP. That is extremely critical!!!
.
You want a true ENGINEER, not a HOBBYIST, working on your network.
.
"What did you do?" OHHHH I connected this with that, and that with this, and configured that packet service to block this packet port and.... and I got this collision domain connected with that application... um...I had trouble getting that plug into that port, but I was able stick it in there anyway.... ummm everything should be working now...
.
That is why the Challenger space shuttle was lost and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened, because of the LACK of academic and technical and engineering appreciation. IDIOTS, or head honchos, doing something or giving orders or making judgement calls about something that they do not know enough about.
.
As for the down play of academics. You better know, you are not a network engineer if you do not have an actual engineering degree related to, or applicable to, the field of computer internetworking. You are just a hobbyist or at best a technician. But that is not the same as an engineer. People who down play the academic side of education or REAL engineering, do it to push the false idea that an engineering degree is not need to be an engineer.
.
TCP/IP is not a mystery. There is real 100% science and academics behind it. You just have to read and study it. Oh, also know that is exactly how TCP/IP started, with academics and the old ARPANET. The original ARPANET consisted of the University of Utah, University of California, and the Stanford Research Institute. If not for academics, TCP/IP would not exist at all!
.
Knowing what is what and what you are talking about is critical. Those who dismiss the academic side, obviously do not know what they are talking about.
Customer reviews
Bought 2nd Edition but received 1st edition
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2017
The title on Amazon says "By W. Richard Stevens - TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols: 2nd (second) Edition" but the picture is of the older 1st edition of the book. I received the 1st edition of the book which aligns with the picture but I wanted (and thought I was ordering) the more recent 2nd edition as advertised in the title of the product on Amazon.com. :( Hence 4 out of 5 stars.
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2017
Images in this review








