I bought this book because I needed to learn some real details of constructing Ethernet networks, such as distance and hop limitations in mixed 10 and 100 BaseT installations. In this I was disappointed, as I found this portion of the book confusing, unclear and even self-contradictory in places. I was able to figure out what I needed to know, but that took a lot of rereading and extrapolation. The text has the feel of a book written by committee, with the same information repeated in various places with different degrees of clarity and from different points of view. The index is so limited as to be useless.
On the other hand, the book contains an extensive introduction to IP and TCP (including their frame structures) and routing, nearly as extensive as the pure Ethernet sections. This was unexpected from the title, but I found it to be a technically strong starting point to making the jump from the details of Ethernet to what may be its major use, the transport of TCP/IP to and from the workstation. The extensive discussions on token ring networks and IBM's SNA were also unexpected, although not relevant to my personal needs. The book succeeds quite well in presenting an integration of the activities of network communication looking from the workstation out to the network. It's driven me to other sources for more detailed information in these areas.
All in all, I found this to be a significant book in my studies. The next edition, in my opinion, would benefit greatly from a more descriptive title and the attention of a professional editor.
