TCP/IP Defined - Additional Reading

 

Requests for Comments (RFCs) are documents that contain the specifications and information for all internet protocols.

RFC 1739, A Primer on Internet and TCP/IP Tools by G. Kessler & S. Shepard, is a useful, short introductory guide to Internet and TCP/IP resources that refers to itself as a “tutorial for individual self-learning.” It includes a beginner's guide and a list of resources and documentation.

You can obtain RFCs via FTP over the Internet from the following sites:

  • FTP.NISC.SRI.COM
  • NIS.NSF.NET
  • NISC.ATNC.NET
  • VENERA.ISI.EDU
  • WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU
  • SRC.DOC.IC.AC.UK
  • FTP.CONCERT.NET
  • NIC.DDN.MIL

You can also obtain RFCs by E-mail by sending a message, which includes the RFC number, to mailserv@ds.internic.net.

RFCs are available on the World Wide Web. For example, you can get RFC 1739 by using the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfcl739.txt.

An additional RFC, number 1359, Connecting to the Internet: What Connecting Institutions Should Anticipate, outlines the major issues an institution should consider when deciding to implement a campus network connection to the Internet.

The following books also provide information about the TCP/IP protocol suite:

  • Comer, Douglas. Internetworking with TCP/IP, Volume I: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture. 3rd ed. Prentice-Hall, 1995
  • Comer, Douglas. Internetworking with TCP/IP, Volume II: Design, Implementation, and Internals. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, 1994
  • Comer, Douglas, & David L. Stevens. Internetworking with TCP/IP, Volume III: Client-Server Programming and Applications, BSD Socket Version. Prentice-Hall, 1992
  • Perlman, Radia, Interconnections, Bridges and Routers. Addison-Wesley, 1992