The World is Far from Zeroconf

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.

Other Reviews

• The World is Far from Zeroconf
• Great Networking Resource
• How to integrate hardware and software with no configuration files in between - and no error messages