Network
troubleshooting: Back-to-basics
Network
Troubleshooting Tools does not talk about every aspect
of network troubleshooting. It only deals with one aspect,
which is information collection. That's pardonable,
because network troubleshooting is after all a very
vast area of expertise and every single network has
problems peculiar to it. The book is more of an introduction
to tools and techniques for collecting information about
networks.
Since network management is a large area of study there
are numerous tools an administrator can use to troubleshoot.
In many cases even if two organizations have an identical
equipment setup, similar troubleshooting tools may not
work. This makes an administrator's job more difficult.
A helping hand in the form of a book or manual certainly
can throw light on the issues.
The book has selected only a few tools which the author
believes are the most useful. The tools discussed are
mostly Unix tools and many of them are open source products
powered by GNU or BSD style licenses. Some tools talked
about in the book are ping, traceroute, pathchar, tcpdump,
tcpslice, nmap, tkined, snmpwalk, ntop, nemesis, and
mgen.
A few troubleshooting strategies have also been included
in the book. This may be useful in case of a complex
problem which cannot be addressed with a single troubleshooting
tool. In such a case a combined use of tools with a
relevant strategy may help.
Network Troubleshooting Tools is primarily for those
new to network administration, and experienced network
administrators will find it a useful back-to-basics
experience.
The idea of the book is to make a reader aware of the
options and functionalities of the troubleshooting processes
so that a choice for the most appropriate tool can be
made without much difficulty.
Title: Network
Troubleshooting Tools
Author: Joseph D. Sloan
Publisher: SPD
Pages: 346
Price: Rs. 250
Scripting
PHP
The
PHP Black Book is mainly for intermediate and advanced
Web programmers. The reader needs to have a desktop
workstation which has a browser program and a Web server
to begin using the information in the book.
Since PHP is a very reliable server-side, HTML embedded
scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages;
most programmers have embraced its use for their organizations'
Web-related needs. PHP can perform any task that a CGI
(Common Gateway Interface) program can perform, but
its strength lies in its compatibility with many types
of databases.
The book is constituted rather simply with relatively
detailed theories, explanations, and examples in each
chapter. It explains the PHP language, data, constructs,
arrays, functions, and objects in the beginning to set
the base for further reading. Later on it looks at issues
related to Web server environments, file access, and
databases. Integration with various image formats, mail
protocols, and XML is also explained clearly.
It reads like a text book in most places but the presence
of code examples in the form of 'immediate solutions'
helps.
A CD which comes along with the book contains a lot
of source code to help readers in their projects. The
Apache Web server and MySQL database is included in
the CD.
Title: PHP
Black Book
Author: Peter Moulding
Publisher: Dreamtech Press
Pages: 399
Price: Rs. 845
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