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TCP/IP JumpStart: Internet Protocol Basics Review by anonymous
Simplistic, and in many places just plain incorrect.
Clearly there is a market for a book like this--it's just too bad this one is so bad. The writing is good, but the things Mr. Blank writes are so frequently incorrect or oversimplified to the point of meaninglessness.
Here are some major issues:
- Oversimplification. I suppose that's OK, particularly if this text is aimed at elementary or middle school students, who can't deal as well with the details. In the Introduction, we're told that, among others, "decision-makers", network administrators, small business owners, and TCP/IP instructors, are the intended audience.
- Major misconceptions. For example, UDP and TCP are the two most important transport layer protocols but not the only ones (SCTP, as well as, arguably, TLS and others). Classful IP addresses have been deprecated for years. And so on.
- More specific errors of fact. Things like saying that a host is "any device... on a network..." with an IP address--that's wrong. Ditto for claiming the the sender/builder of a packet has to know the destination's hardware address (highlighted as a "Tip") or that TCP data is chunked into "packets" or that the Internet layer "contains" ARP. And on and on and on.
- Condescending layout. Yes, the layout is condescending, with the special symbols placed above every page number to indicate whether or not the current "topic" continues on the next page; the "NOTE"'s spread throughout, letting the reader know what's coming up in the next paragraph; simple-minded end of chapter review questions; and so on.
- Minimal content. Two full pages at the start of every chapter for the number, title, and list of chapter topics. Lots and lots of white space within the text, plus huge header fonts, plus two full pages (at least) for review questions at the end of every chapter, plus way too many screenshots of Windows dialog boxes.
If you must buy this book, realize that you won't know as much about TCP/IP as you think you do, and be prepared to be corrected if you go on with your networking education.