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The Internet and Its Protocols: A Comparative Approach Review by Richard Bejtlich
A modern protocols book for all networking practitioners
Adrian Farrel's 'The Internet and Its Protocols' (TIAIP) blew me away. I read this book because it explains the Internet I know, but also how new protocols work with that Internet and make it different from the network I first encountered over a decade ago. Farrel's amusing yet clear writing style delivers a great deal of knowledge in a hefty hardcover. If you want to learn about the protocols that make the Internet work, you need to read TIAIP.
One of the strongest aspects of TIAIP is the inclusion of protocol header figures for every protocol mentioned. I considered this an absolute must for any new protocol book I purchase, and Farrel delivers. Unlike some other books that rely on generic box line drawings, TIAIP's figures are bit-specific. In other words, the header at the top of the figure shows where each bit lies. The diagrams are also all in the same format, facilitating comparison between headers.
Comparison is another strength of TIAIP. Farrel doesn't just present protocols and leave the reader to work out their strengths and weaknesses. In most sections he spends time helping readers choose which protocol will best suit their needs. This is both practical and educational.
There is a ton of information in this book, so much that it may be better used as a reference than a read-through title. I admit to not reading every page, especially those that featured large diagrams of header options and their meanings. This level of details is perfect when I need to understand exactly how a protocol functions, however.
I'll mention a few topics that were fairly new to me and appeared in TIAIP. Topics like multicast (ch 3); DiffServ and IntServ (ch 6); SCTP and RTP (ch 7); MPLS (ch 9); GMPLS (ch 10); GSMP (ch 11); and header compression (ch 15) were all well documented. Farrel is heavily involved in MPLS issues, which is of benefit to the reader. MPLS seems to be appearing in many places outside the ISP realm.
I found a few issues with TIAIP, some of which author Farrel was kind enough to acknowledge via email. P. 50 switches the ARP and InARP meanings in table 2.10. In ch 5 on p. 118, the 172.19.168.16/28 and 172.19.168.32/28 networks can be summarized as 172.19.168.16/27, not 172.19.168.32/27. I would have liked to have read more on EIGRP, even though it's a Cisco proprietary routing protocol. Also, ISO does not mean 'International Standards Organization'; ISO is the 'International Organization for Standardization.' They use ISO, derived from the Greek word for equal, to avoid international language issues. For example, the English acronym would be IOS, and the French would be OIN. Clearly I put these minor issues aside when I rated TIAIP five stars; the amount of value this book delivers is incredible.
If you are looking for a book that shows you real details on Internet protocols in a thorough and engaging manner, I highly suggest considering TIAIP. I am adding it to my recommending reading lists today.