Network Know-How: An Essential Guide for the Accidental Admin

Reviewed by Robert L Pritchett

 

Author: John Ross No Starch Press http://nostarch.com/frameset.php?startat=catalog Released: February 2009 $30 USD Also available as an eBook for $24 USD. ISBN: 978-1593271916 Requirements: Computer Network Support   Strengths: An overview of computer network Administration for very small networks.   Weaknesses: Perhaps too generalistic. Not really intended for enterprise-level network admins.

 

Introduction

 

Are the machines in your office living isolated lives? Do you have a few computers at home that you want to connect to each other and the Internet? The best way to share files on a group of computers is to create a network. But how do you do that?

Network Know-How is your guide to connecting your machines, filled with practical advice that will show you how to get things done. You'll learn the nitty-gritty of network setup, design, and maintenance, from running cables and placing wireless access points to configuring file sharing and printing. This practical and comprehensive guide will teach you how to implement security, create intranets, and more. You'll learn how to:

•      Connect Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers

•      Implement network addressing

•      Configure your network adapters, hubs, switches, and router

•      Share music, photos, and documents

•      Automate household appliances and stream digital audio and video to your home entertainment center

•      Troubleshoot network slowdowns and failures

 

No matter which operating system you use, and even if you've never installed or run a network before, you'll get what you need to know in Network Know-How.

What I Learned

 

This book is not for those who are being paid to be network admins at the enterprise level. It is however, a book designed for those who end up bumping into network admin duties as a result of, over time, gaining more than one computer to communicate on a Local Area Network at the home business or small business level.

 

John Ross had to balance too much with not enough and I think he did a swell job creating that balance. However, I wanted specific info regarding wireless connectivity for the Macintosh local area network and though he addresses the Macintosh environment, he doesn't go into much depth. You won't find much geek-speak here. It is an overview, not a dirty-detail kind of book.

 

I wouldn't go as far as to say the book has everything in it (it does not), but it is a place to start, if you are a weekend warrior type or occasional IT Admin that gets paid to do other things besides managing a network.

 

Conclusion

 

If you got stuck with the task of maintaining a computer network, because a bunch of high-tech boxes got connected somehow and now it is your job to see they work well together, this book is a nice intro into the highly demanding job of Network Administration.