Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration

Review dynamo chromatic again regales you with enough information to tweak your ears and possibly encourage serious browsing, at least if if you are lucky enough to deal with multi-platform networks involving such obscurities as Windows NT and TCP/IP. Just like an O'Reilly book to make things easy.

Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration
author	Craig Hunt and Robert Bruce Thompson
pages	504
publisher	O'Reilly & Associates
rating	8
reviewer	chromatic
ISBN	1-56592-377-4
summary	Setting up a Windows NT Server-based network? You'll learn the basics of TCP/IP and the NT TCP/IP services with this guide.

Overview

If you find yourself using or administering a network with Windows NT clients and servers, but don't understand TCP/IP and all that it entails, this book will teach you. Note that it's aimed at administrators and power users, though the first few chapters provide a good introduction to a complicated subject. Expect plenty of information about providing services with components like WINS, RRAS, and IIS.

The Details

While the pragmatic approach might brush over gory details of routing protocols and protocol architecture to reach pages full of screenshots, Administration takes a more gradual approach by explaining first. (Understanding the intricacies may not be a prerequisite to follow the wizards and set up a working NT Server, but the planning and troubleshooting stages require the real knowledge you'll get here.) Thankfully, the authors have organized the book into three logical sections -- Fundamentals, Tutorials, and Reference.

Fundamentals digs into the history of TCP/IP, covering its development, usage, and peculiarities. Included is information about routing, addressing, clients, and services. It covers a lot of ground, and most of the discussion is clear. (Some of the explanation of address classes and subnetting less clear -- but the subject matter can be complex the first time through.) Where there are multiple solutions to a problem, as in the case of routing protocols, the authors take time to show the benefits and drawbacks of each approach, and suggest which is most appropriate for a given situation.

The Tutorials section demonstrates setup and configuration of various services of the network. It's server-centric, so don't expect complete details on setting up clients. Topics covered range from the basic TCP/IP component installation to IIS setup and configuration. The scope of the network the authors describe ranges from a small network with a dialup Internet connection (at best) to a full-blown multi-subnet beast with a dedicated connection. The planning section is very informative and useful.

As it's dedicated to tutorials, the installation and configuration sections follow the Microsoft dialogs very closely. It's a good resource for explaining each of the options in sequence. The authors also point out the strengths and weaknesses of NT's implementation of the various services.

The final section is a Reference section. Two chapters stand out as very important -- the chapter on Troubleshooting and the chapter on Network Security. Troubleshooting describes various command-line tools such as ping, netstat, and traceroute, with regard to the information they provide and how they are useful in tracking down network problems. It even gets into the basics of SNMP and protocol analysis. It's a unique approach, and it works well.

Summary

One overall weakness is that there was little information about integrating an NT server into a heterogenous network -- certainly a common task. Still, with the breadth of information covered, there's really not room to get into the specifics and peculiarities involved. Also, while there is some discussion of future developments (such as IPv6 support), be aware that the information pertains to Windows NT 4.0 (with IIS 4.0 from the Option Pack).

The strengths of Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration are plenty. Information is presented clearly and accurately and arranged logically and chronologically, as one would set up a network. The tutorials are comprehensive, relying more on thorough written explanation than strategic screenshots. The section on additional resources points straight to the authoritative sources, such as RFCs. The Appendixes go into a great deal of detail that may never apply -- but would be useful and handy in some cases. Clearly, this book will be useful even after the network is in operation.

Table of Contents

1. Overview of TCP/IP
2. Delivering the Data
3. Network Services
4. Getting Started
5. Installing TCP/IP
6. Using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
7. Using Windows Internet Name Service
8. Configuring DNS Name System
9. Microsoft Routing and Remote Access Service
10. Internet Information Server (IIS)
11. Troubleshooting TCP/IP
12. Network Security
13. Information Resources

Appendixes

1. PPP Scripting Languages
2. DNS Resource Records
3. Microsoft DHCP Option Support
4. Routing Protocols

---