TCP IP Analysis and Troubleshooting Toolkit

Who Should Read This Book

Although this book does provide an introduction to network analysis tech­niques and the TCP/IP protocol, it is not for beginners. A basic understanding of the OSI model is important, as well as a decent level of experience manag­ing server operating systems running TCP/IP.

More advanced readers already familiar with the protocol will benefit greatly from the case studies presented in each chapter. This book will help you become a better network analyst. If you are a network administrator eagerto learn more about understanding communications between clients and servers, this is a good place to start. If you are already familiar with configur­ing routers and switches, this book will teach you the technology behind the configuration commands; it will help you learn to think “outside the box.”

This book is about technology and how to best use tools at your disposal to keep your networks running smoothly.

How This Book Is Organized

The book is organized into three parts:

■ Part I: Foundations of Network Analysis answers such questions as “Why protocol analysis?” and “What tools do I use?” It explains the process of capturing and manipulating trace files. It also provides a refresher of the OSI model and the basic concepts of network communi­cation that are needed to benefit from the material presented in the later chapters.

■ Part II: The Core Protocols builds the foundation for understanding the protocols that TCP/IP is built upon. It is these protocols that provide the support for all other application-layer protocols.

■ Part III: Related TCP/IP Protocols extends the search for understand­ing by revealing the inner workings of standard and vendor-indepen­dent protocol implementations. Applications such as DNS (Domain Name System), HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol), and FTP (File Transport Protocol) are thoroughly analyzed, and a deep investigation is conducted into Microsoft’s TCP/IP implementation, including the ever-so-mysterious Server Message Block protocol.

In each chapter, the material is complemented with numerous case studies and examples from real, live networks. These examples and case studies are given to illustrate how the knowledge and techniques discussed can be put to use.
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