So there you are, staring at your computer and wondering why your Internet connection is running slower than slow, and wishing you knew enough to penetrate the endless runaround you get from your service provider. Or, you’re the Lone IT Staffer in a small business who got the job because you know the difference between a switch and hub, and now you’re supposed to have all the answers. Or, you’re really interested in networking, and want to learn more and make it your profession. Or, you are already knowledgeable, and you simply have a few gaps you need to fill. But you’re finding out that computer networking is a subject with reams and reams of reference material that is not always organized in a coherent, useful order, and it takes an awful lot of reading just to figure out which button to push.

To make things even more interesting, you need to integrate Linux and Windows hosts. If you want to pick up a book that lays out the steps for specific tasks, that explains clearly the necessary commands and configurations, and does not tax your patience with endless ramblings and meanderings into theory and obscure RFCs, this is the book for you.