A338/A538
Required and Recommended Books

Required Textbooks:

1. Local Area Networks: A Business-Oriented Approach. Second Edition

James Goldman/John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ISBN: 0-471-33047-7

This is the primary text for the course. It covers most of what we will need, although we will supplement it heavily and not read it in chapter order. This is the second year we have used this book, even though it is the latest edition. While it isn't exactly what I'd like, it's still far and away the best book available for this course.

2. Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking, Second Edition.

Mitch and Ingrid Tulloch/Microsoft Press, ISBN: 0-73-561378-8

Just as its name suggestions, this is a general reference for virtually anything having to do with LANs and networking. Some sections are short, others very thorough. This is the latest version (2nd Edition) of the Encyclopedia. We've never used this book before, so I cannot say for sure how good it is. However, it certainly appears to be the best currently available. We'll be assigning readings from this book every week of the course.

Recommended Textbooks:

There are no recommended books for this course at this time.

Other Books I may be using to prepare this course:

1. Learning Windows NT Server 4.

   Que Education and Training/Macmillan Computer Publishing, ISBN: 1-57576-476-8

   This is a good basic introduction to Windows NT 4 server and just as importantly, the Microsoft NT Network strategy of workstations, workgroups, domains, etc.

2. Learning Netware 4.1

   Que Education and Training/Macmillan Computer Publishing, ISBN: 1-57576-052-5

   This is an equally good basic introduction to Netware 4.1. It includes all the basics plus a good section on NDS, a must know for any 4.1 administrator.

3. Local Area Networks: A Client/Server Approach.

   John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ISBN: 0-471-14162-3

   This is the first edition of the current main textbook for the course, even though the titles are slightly different. We used this book through Summer Session 2000.

4. LAN TIMES Encyclopedia of Networking.

   Sheldon/McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-881965-2

   Just as its name suggestions, this is a general reference for virtually anything having to do with LANs and networking. Some sections are short, others very thorough. This is the older version of the book we are using as one of the required texts.

5. Mastering Windows NT Server 3.51

   2nd Edition, Network Press (Sybex), ISBN: 0-7821-1874-7

   This is one of many good books on NT Advanced Server 3.51. Even though NT 4.0 is now available, even Microsoft claims you may want to leave your 3.51 AS in place while upgrading to Workstation 4.0. Either way, the basics of AS administration will not change significantly, so this will be a valuable reference.

6. Netware 4.1: The Complete Reference.

   2nd Edition, Osbourn/McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-882172-X

   While there is another recommended text on Netware 4.10, this is also a good reference text. Anyone who believes they will be working in a Netware environment could use an additional book like this. There are enough major differences between 3.x and 4.x that this sort of reference is a necessity to move to 4.x.

7. Computer Networks and Internets.

   Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0-13-239070-1

   If we were all rich and could afford 5-6 books for this course, this would be an excellent book for the first half of the course on Networking Protocols. It covers virtually all the bases and it's very up-to-date.

8. Understanding Local Area Networks: An Easy Introduction to Network Concepts and Products.

   5th Edition, SAMS Publishing, ISBN: 0-672-30840-1

   This is a beginning to intermediate introduction to LAN concepts and systems. We used to use this book as the basic text for the course, but both I and the students agreed to was both too basic and too general. Still a nice introductory text, though.

9. Absolute Beginners Guide to Networking.

   2nd Edition, SAMS Publishing, ISBN: 0-672-30553-4

   This book is what it says, a beginners book. However, it has a nice section on networking strategies and how to prepare to install and administer a network for the first time.

10. Local Area Networking.

    2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0-07-912256-6

    This is a more advanced book covering LANs in general.

11. Building Local Area Networks.

    M&T Books, ISBN: 1-55851-239-X

    This is an older book that focuses almost exclusively on Netware 2.x and 3.x.

12. PC Networking Handbook.

    Academic Press, ISBN: 0-12-691398-6

    This is another advanced text with more focus on hardware and protocols. If you are going to be involved with building, configuring, and maintaining infrastructure, this book is almost a must have.

13. TCP/IP Unleashed.

    SAMS Publishing, ISBN: 0-672-30603-4

    The definitive book on TCP/IP. If you want to learn about WINS, DHCP, DNS, etc., this is the book.