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Rating: 
Summary: Book Review: Keith Sutherland "Understanding the Internet"
Review: BOOK REVIEW: Keith Sutherland "Understanding the Internet" Published by Butterworth and Heinemann in 2000 ISBN: 0 75064555 5 A "clear guide to internet technologies": this is it - read it! It's well produced, clearly illustrated, a concise paperback of 150 pages, easy to read and full of information. As a Professional Telecoms Engineer and internet user, I found myself captivated from cover to cover, with one question after another handled and answered. Some will be irritated by its simplifications and will want to go further, but it is an excellent introduction and summary overview of the whole subject. It begins with the History of the Internet and its dependence on the TCP Internet Protocol (Chapter 1) clearly explaining the conventions for naming and addressing (Ch 2), the Domain Name System (DNS - Ch 3), and the Windows Internet Naming System (WINS - Ch4). Do you know what a Fully Qualified Domain Name is (FQDN), a NetBIOS name, a MAC address and how they relate: you will when you have read through these chapters. The next three chapters consider the evolution of three of the internet services: FTP (Ch 5), World Wide Web (Ch 6) and E-mail (Ch 7). The WWW (Ch 6) is characterised by HTML (devised by a Brit) the standard hypertext mark up language, which introduced the concept of a "hyperlink". There is useful discussion on Browsers and the use of the Universal Resource Locater (URL). When you have read about e-mail (Ch 7) you'll understand the terminology of your computer support department when they refer to: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and POP3 (Post Office Protocol). If you travel round with your lap top, and link up to the internet at various locations, then it may be useful to understand how the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP - Ch 8) allocates IP addresses to your PC. You'll be introduced to the Index Server and Proxy Server (Ch 9), Simple Network Management Protocol (Ch 10), Security, Data Encryption and E-Commerce (Ch 11), and (in Ch 12) the five examples of how all the parts function together, followed (in Ch 13) by useful information on Search Engines and how to register your own Domain Name and Web Presence. The Author scans the future (in Ch 14) in terms of the evolution of IP, use of ADSL and Napster, and (in Ch 15) Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), UMTS and Bluetooth. Appendix A is a useful overview of the physical structure of the internet, and Appendix B gives some useful URLs. The book is furnished with a helpful glossary and index. This book is highly recommended for users of the internet who will be greatly helped by a real appreciation of the internet technologies, and how they all work together. It will also provide a valuable framework for those who specialise in some of the technologies, and a good introduction for students. It may be a little expensive at $39.99 but this reviewer thinks it is good value for money. END
Rating:
Summary: Book Review: Keith Sutherland "Understanding the Internet"
Review: BOOK REVIEW: Keith Sutherland "Understanding the Internet" Published by Butterworth and Heinemann in 2000 ISBN: 0 75064555 5 A "clear guide to internet technologies": this is it - read it! It's well produced, clearly illustrated, a concise paperback of 150 pages, easy to read and full of information. As a Professional Telecoms Engineer and internet user, I found myself captivated from cover to cover, with one question after another handled and answered. Some will be irritated by its simplifications and will want to go further, but it is an excellent introduction and summary overview of the whole subject. It begins with the History of the Internet and its dependence on the TCP Internet Protocol (Chapter 1) clearly explaining the conventions for naming and addressing (Ch 2), the Domain Name System (DNS - Ch 3), and the Windows Internet Naming System (WINS - Ch4). Do you know what a Fully Qualified Domain Name is (FQDN), a NetBIOS name, a MAC address and how they relate: you will when you have read through these chapters. The next three chapters consider the evolution of three of the internet services: FTP (Ch 5), World Wide Web (Ch 6) and E-mail (Ch 7). The WWW (Ch 6) is characterised by HTML (devised by a Brit) the standard hypertext mark up language, which introduced the concept of a "hyperlink". There is useful discussion on Browsers and the use of the Universal Resource Locater (URL). When you have read about e-mail (Ch 7) you'll understand the terminology of your computer support department when they refer to: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and POP3 (Post Office Protocol). If you travel round with your lap top, and link up to the internet at various locations, then it may be useful to understand how the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP - Ch 8) allocates IP addresses to your PC. You'll be introduced to the Index Server and Proxy Server (Ch 9), Simple Network Management Protocol (Ch 10), Security, Data Encryption and E-Commerce (Ch 11), and (in Ch 12) the five examples of how all the parts function together, followed (in Ch 13) by useful information on Search Engines and how to register your own Domain Name and Web Presence. The Author scans the future (in Ch 14) in terms of the evolution of IP, use of ADSL and Napster, and (in Ch 15) Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), UMTS and Bluetooth. Appendix A is a useful overview of the physical structure of the internet, and Appendix B gives some useful URLs. The book is furnished with a helpful glossary and index. This book is highly recommended for users of the internet who will be greatly helped by a real appreciation of the internet technologies, and how they all work together. It will also provide a valuable framework for those who specialise in some of the technologies, and a good introduction for students. It may be a little expensive at $39.99 but this reviewer thinks it is good value for money. END
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