The Linux TCP/IP Stack: Networking for Embedded Systems (Networking Series) (Networking Series)

Linux Kernel Development (2nd Edition)

Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition

Building Embedded Linux Systems

Networking And System Administration

Linux Network Architecture

Format: Hardcover
Author: Klaus Wehrle
ReleaseDate: 29 April, 2004
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Rating:

Very poor translation kills a good book
The English translation is very poor, the text is unreadable. I second "science-buff" below: the book is clearly very good, but you gotta read it in German. What a shame.

Excellent but needs to be updated to cover the 2.6 kernel
6 kernel. I did not give this book a 5-star rating only because it does not cover the latest 2. There are quite a few changes in the networking subsystem, nevertheless, there are lot of useful information in this book.

The books covers all protocols (not only TCP/IP). It provides the theoretical background along with the step-by-step technical explanation of the implementation code in Linux.

It covers the Linux implementation of SLIP, PPP, PPP over Ethernet, ATM, Bluetooth, Bridges, TCP/IP, ARP, NAT and even Ipv6.

It is a must to read for anyone interested in Linux Networking and the TCP/IP implementation in Linux.

poor translation from German, but great code walkthrough
It takes a while to figure out that the translator is more an English major struggling with intricate computer science terminologies than a fellow programmer. This book is marred by pretty bad translation from the original German edition. For example, device "base address" is translated to device "basic address" in chapter 5, multiple times; "re-compile the entire kernel" miraculously becomes "retranslate the entire kernel" in chapter 2.

There are also quite a bit of misleading typos. Like "ip_input()" appears multiple times in the discussion of chapter 14, although no such function exists in the code. Actually, the correct term should have been "ip_input. c" - referring to a file, not a function.

It is a major triumph for a German book on Linux network stack to be translated to English by a major publisher; my guess is the German version is well written and well received. This probably means that the English translation/editing is the main culprit.

Other than the cryptic translation and typos, the book does quite detailed code walkthroughs in the Linux network stack. It traces the function calls as an incoming packet enters the Linux kernel from the device driver, and as an outgoing packet propagates down from the higher protocols. The stack uses a lot of function pointers and this makes reading the code quite difficult unless a book like this tells you what function the pointer is pointing to. This, I feel, is the redeeming feature of the book, especially when you are diving deep into the code. There are a bit of code insights described here and there throughout the book, but generally such passages are few and far between, amidst the voluminous mechanical description of who calls who in the code; nothing compares to the kind of insights in Robert Love's "Linux Kernel Development" book.

I would suggest that you look at the "Linux TCP/IP Stack" book by Herbert first, then try this one if you really need help tracing the code.

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