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The switch book: the complete guide to LAN switching technology [Book
Review]

Article  in  IEEE Network · December 2000

DOI: 10.1109/MNET.2000.885663 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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 NEW BOOKS and MULTIMEDIA
(Continuedfrom page 5)
The Switch Book: The
Complete Guide to LAN
Switching Technology
Rich Seifert, 2000, John Wile)’ & Sons,
0471-34586-51 698 pages/ hardcover
This book by Rich Seifert should not be
misunderstood as a routing/switching
book. It is a bridging/routing book,
dedicated to MAC protocols, bridges,
LANs, VLANs, and so on. IP is kept at
54
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a safe, but influential, distance. The dif-
ferences of switching at Layers 2 , 3 or 4
are briefly discussed in the fourth chap-
ter. Rather than hurt the value of the book,
the lack of network layer specifics adds
to the pleasure ofreadingit. Indeed, if you
are of the opinion that routing is the
crucial techniquebehindnetworking,you
will be rightlv immessed bv the oDtions
that exilt for r i u t i n g MAC frames.
Seifert’s prose can be light but remains
insightfuland attracts thereadertounder-
stand concepts and issues behind MAC
protocols and layer 2 switching. For exam-
ple, the catchy title “Diary of a Loopy
LAN” serves as prelude to the spanning
tree protocol. Nonexperts will find it
easy to delve into Seifert’stext, whichcom-
bines conceptual and technical discussion,
sprinkled with quotes of what its author
calls “Seifert’s Laws of Networking.”
The first part of the book is a presentation
of principles behind the 802 standards, 802
MAC protocols, the definition of bridges,
transparent bridges, 802.1D, remote
bridges, problems of bridging dissimilar
LANs, principlesof LAN switching,aswell
as two routing issues: loop resolution
(hence, spanning tree protocols and span-
ning tree Catents) and source routing. The
second part of the book, on advanced top-
ics, spans from flow control, link aggre-
gation, and multicast pruning to virtual
LANs, VLAN standards (specifically
802.lQ), priority operation (including
802.lp), andmanagement.Thebookends
with an architectural overview of switch
design principlesand architectures (shared
memory, shared bus, crosspoint, input
vs. output queuing, and the HOL prob-
lem). Seifert stays clear of providing exam-
ple configurations of specific products.
Instead, he presents the features expect-
ed of products and how they are combined
in networks. In summary, the book is a fair-
ly comprehensive introduction to bridg-
inghwitching tuned to a newcomer to
the area who wishes to find out how to
solve (if they can be solved) internet-
working problems using br,idges and
switches alone. As Seifert’s law of net-
working #16 (p. 417) states: “Solutions to
network problems usually involve the
invention of new protocols.” And, maywe
add, invention of a totally new layer
too.
EDITOR’S NOTE/cont’d from page 2
(H. Newton and R. Horak, 2000), and
Thomas’ Concise Telecom and Network-
ing Dictionary (T. M. Thomas 11, 2000).
This may give an indication that the
number of acronyms and terms in net-
working have saturated and exceeded
the capacity of the human brain. Even
though I may have come close, so far I
have easily resisted the temptation to
attach disclaimers alerting readers to
the hazards of choking on the number
of acronyms in some articles.
My experience as Editor-in-Chief
has been a wonderful one. I hope you
have enjoyed the articles in IEEE Net-
work that we have published in the last
two years, and I hope you will continue
t o find our magazine to be the first
address for tutorial and survey articles
on hot topics in computer networking.
IEEE Network NovemberDecember 2000