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Detailed description of basic Internet protocols

As a free-lance technical writer interested in learning the basics of TCP/IP networking, I chose this as the first book to read on the subject. The author suggested reading Chs. 1, 2, and 7 before the other ones to gain an understanding of TCP and IP before moving on to the other protocols discussed in the book.

Chapter 1 contains a brief "history of the Internet" and also an overview of TCP/IP. Chapter 2 describes IP, from how it works, to the information contained in each IP header, to IP in action. Chapter 7 approaches TCP in a similar fashion. Other chapters describe the other "core protocols," what they do and how they each work with TCP/IP.

I gained a good understanding of each of these protocols from reading this book. I recommend it to any system administrator or related persons wanting to learn more about running a TCP/IP network.