Readerware

Mainframe reference
IBM Mainframe Handbook is a single-point reference book for mainframe professionals, designers, developers, project leaders, and team members. The book is not meant for only the experienced mainframe professionals, but also caters to the novice. It provides details on IBM mainframes and the programming environment for mainframe. Under this section, the author deals with topics like MVS concepts, JES, JES2, JES3, SMS, TSO, and ISPF. Another section of the book covers popular IBM products and languages like VS COBOL II, JCL, REXX, VSAM, CICS, DB2, and IMS. An interesting section that will be useful to the reader is a question bank listing more than 100 questions on IBM mainframes. Readers can use the question bank to prepare themselves for interviews as well as check their knowledge on IBM mainframes.

Title: IBM Mainframe Handbook
Author: Alexis Leon
Publisher: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
Pages: 991
Price: Rs 495

Securing the network
Cisco Security Bible is a guide to equip networking professionals with the knowledge required to install, configure, operate, and manage Cisco network security products. The book begins by explaining network security, the need to formulate and evaluate a security policy, and security measures that need to be considered at transport, network, and data link layers of the OSI model. It explains the methods of securing the network infrastructure with an overview of Cisco network security products like firewalls, AAA mechanisms, and intrusion detection systems. The book provides the reader with a background of real-world origins of security threats and scenario-based examples, to give an insight and methods to keep a network secure.

Title: Cisco Security Bible
Author: Rajesh Kumar Sharma
Publisher: WILEY Dreamtech India
Pages: 780
Price: Rs 429

Internet Humour

Bad networking jokes

• Q: What happens when you put a bunch of hubs on a network?
  A: Hubba-hubba.
• Q: Why don't network administrators like the SLIP protocol?
  A: Because it trips up their network!
• Q: Why do guys like to go to the Macromedia website?
  A: To get flashed.
• Q: What does a computer nerd say when he can't understand something you just told him?
  A: "Bad command or file name."
• Q: Who is a computer user's least favorite military figure?
  A: General Protection
  (Ed: General Protection Fault is an old Windows/DOS error message)
• Q: Why is it wrong to update your BIOS?
  A: Because you have to flash it!
• Q: How do you steal a PDA?
  A: You palm it!
• Q: What do you call a druggie network administrator?
  A: A packet sniffer!
• Q: What did the router do when it was mad at the network administrator?
  A: He SPID on him!