Linux is a young UNIX variant for the personal computer, and as such is one of the greatest achievements of the free software movement. It originated in a student project (its kernel was created by Finnish student Linus Torvalds), and has developed at an astonishing pace ever since. Both its software and its documentation are the fruit of numerous contributions from volunteers.

This book, as part of the documentation, was first available as an online version (which is still available) that can be downloaded for free. The fact that this documentation has made it into a “real” book is proof of the growing popularity of Linux.

Kirch has been involved in systems programming and in contributing to the documentation since early in the short history of Linux. He has thus written from hands-on experience.

In the long and useful preface, he explains the Linux project, lists sources for software and help, and gives a thorough outline of the book. According to the author, this book “is organized roughly in the sequence of steps you have to take to configure your system for networking.” The book starts by discussing basic networking concepts with an eye to TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), explains how to configure the hardware, and then looks at TCP/IP configuration and the problem of resolving hostnames to IP addresses. This is followed by the SLIP (serial line IP) and PPP (point-to-point protocol) protocols and important network features, including the configuration of remote commands. After providing details on how to set up the network information system and the network file system, Kirch presents the longest chapter of the book, treating Taylor UUCP, Linux’s implementation of the UNIX-to-UNIX copy facility.

Electronic mail and Usenet are the subject of what could be considered Part 2, although the book lacks a further structuring of its 19 chapters. The general concepts of email, with consideration given to the Internet (Kirch distinguishes clearly between an internet and the Internet) are discussed before these concepts are exemplified by the two methods smail (for which sample configuration files are provided in the appendix) and sendmail. Then Usenet, the C News package, and the NNTP protocol are presented. The last topic covered is the configuration of newsreaders.

The author is security conscious, and he often warns the reader about inherent risks of certain approaches, or of pure negligence, for that matter. Two other valuable features are the meticulous index and glossary. In both places, abbreviations are usually spelled out, with the exception of “IDA”--a cross-reference to “sendmail+IDA” is given, but the whole referenced chapter leaves the abbreviation unexplained. Also, no explanation is given for the terms “Fidonet” (chapter 4) and “moderated newsgroups” (chapter 17).

It is always difficult to write a book about ongoing developments, but Kirch is well aware of the danger of giving obsolescent advice. Therefore, the book comes with an abundant listing of sources as well as reports about ongoing work, and is it sprinkled throughout with email and net addresses through which the reader can get further help.

Overall, this is a technical book about installation and configuration issues, meant for the knowledgeable reader. The mass of information makes it easy to get lost, despite an overview in the preface, miscellaneous advice scattered throughout the book, and hints about configuration file entries that are not really required. The book could gain from a clearer structure. Also, I would like to see the reader guided by a situational approach with respect to the different kinds of networks that could be involved--from the individual computer to be connected to the Internet, through a minor school (for example), up to a multinational corporation; clearly, their network management requirements can differ enormously.

Despite these few critical remarks, this book certainly deserves a place on the reference shelf of the intended user. One of its best features is its international appeal, making the reader aware of UNIX life beyond the borders of North America.