Kevin R. Fall - TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol 1. The Protocols

This is sure to be the bible for TCP/IP developers and users. Within minutes of picking up the text, I encountered several scenarios that had tripped up both my colleagues and myself in the past. Stevens reveals many of the mysteries once held tightly by the ever-elusive networking gurus. Having been involved in the implementation of TCP/IP for some years now, I consider this by far the finest text to date.

Robert A. Ciampa, network engineer, Synernetics, division of 3COM

While all of Stevens books are readable and technically excellent, this new opus is awesome. Although many books describe the TCP/IP protocols, Stevens provides a level of depth and real-world detail lacking from the competition. He puts the reader inside TCP/IP using a visual approach and shows the protocols in action.

Steven Baker, networking columnist, Unix Review

TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1, is an excellent reference for developers, network administrators, or anyone who needs to understand TCP/IP technology. TCP/IP Illustrated is comprehensive in its coverage of TCP/IP topics, providing enough details to satisfy the experts while giving enough background and commentary for the novice.

Bob Williams, vice president, Marketing, NetManage, Inc.

... [T]he difference is that Stevens wants to show as well as tell about the protocols. His principal teaching tools are straightforward explanations, exercises at the ends of chapters, byte-by-byte diagrams of headers and the like, and listings of actual traffic as examples.

Walter Zintz, UnixWorld

Much better than theory only.... W. Richard Stevens takes a multihost-based configuration and uses it as a travelogue of TCP/IP examples with illustrations. TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1, is based on practical examples that reinforce the theorydistinguishing this book from others on the subject, and making it both readable and informative.

Peter M. Haverlock, consultant, IBM TCP/IP Development

The diagrams he uses are excellent and his writing style is clear and readable. In sum, Stevens has made a complex topic easy to understand. This book merits everyones attention. Please read it and keep it on your bookshelf.

Elizabeth Zinkann, sys admin

W. Richard Stevens has produced a fine text and reference work. It is well organized and very clearly written with, as the title suggests, many excellent illustrations exposing the intimate details of the logic and operation of IP, TCP, and the supporting cast of protocols and applications.

Scott Bradner, consultant, Harvard University OIT/NSD

The Protocols

Second Edition

Kevin R. Fall
W. Richard Stevens

Originally written by Dr. W. Richard Stevens.
Revised by Dr. Kevin R. Fall.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fall, Kevin R.
TCP/IP illustrated.2nd ed. / Kevin R. Fall, W. Richard Stevens.
p. cm.
Stevens name appears first on the earlier edition.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-33631-6 (v. 1 : hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-321-33631-3 (v. 1 : hardcover : alk. paper) 1. TCP/IP (Computer network protocol)
I. Stevens, W. Richard. II. Title.
TK5105.55.S74 2012
004.62dc23
2011029411

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to (201) 236-3290.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-33631-6
ISBN-10: 0-321-33631-3

Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at Edwards Brothers in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Second printing, May 2012

To Vicki, George, Audrey, Maya, Dylan, and Jan,
for their insight, tolerance, and support
through the long nights and weekends.

Kevin

Rarely does one find a book on a well-known topic that is both historically and technically comprehensive and remarkably accurate. One of the things I admire about this work is the warts and all approach that gives it such credibility. The TCP/IP architecture is a product of the time in which it was conceived. That it has been able to adapt to growing requirements in many dimensions by factors of a million or more, to say nothing of a plethora of applications, is quite remarkable. Understanding the scope and limitations of the architecture and its protocols is a sound basis from which to think about future evolution and even revolution.

During the early formulation of the Internet architecture, the notion of enterprise was not really recognized. In consequence, most networks had their own IP address space and announced their addresses in the routing system directly. After the introduction of commercial service, Internet Service Providers emerged as intermediaries who announced Internet address blocks on behalf of their customers. Thus, most of the address space was assigned in a provider dependent fashion. Provider independent addressing was unusual. The net result (no pun intended) led to route aggregation and containment of the size of the global routing table. While this tactic had benefits, it also created the multi-homing problem since users of provider-dependent addresses did not have their own entries in the global routing table. The IP address crunch also led to Network Address Translation, which also did not solve provider dependence and multi-homing problems.

Reading through this book evokes a sense of wonder at the complexity that has evolved from a set of relatively simple concepts that worked with a small number of networks and application circumstances. As the chapters unfold, one can see the level of complexity that has evolved to accommodate an increasing number of requirements, dictated in part by new deployment conditions and challenges, to say nothing of sheer growth in the scale of the system.