I'm reading both this book and _IPv6 Essentials, 2nd Ed._

Both of these books are good. but those interested in

IPv6 for OpenBSD will probably find IPv6 Essentials more

useful since this book does not mention OpenBSD at all, whereas the Essentials book

describes details of enabling optional ip6 features in OpenBSD (OpenBSD comes with

both ip4 and ip6 enabled by default) and even mentions OpenBSD

in the index.



Proofreading at OReilly is slipping. I have encountered

grammatical errors in the text that make me wonder if

English is the native language of the proofreader(s).



Also, note that O'Reilly appears to have severed

all email links to the rest of the world. The email addresses given in OReilly books no longer work,

(I tried to send this info to O'Reilly using the email address given in the book but the email bounced.)

I'm reading both this book and _IPv6 Essentials, 2nd Ed._
Both of these books are good. but those interested in
IPv6 for OpenBSD will probably find IPv6 Essentials more
useful since this book does not mention OpenBSD at all, whereas the Essentials book
describes details of enabling optional ip6 features in OpenBSD (OpenBSD comes with
both ip4 and ip6 enabled by default) and even mentions OpenBSD
in the index.

Proofreading at OReilly is slipping. I have encountered
grammatical errors in the text that make me wonder if
English is the native language of the proofreader(s).

Also, note that O'Reilly appears to have severed
all email links to the rest of the world. The email addresses given in OReilly books no longer work,
(I tried to send this info to O'Reilly using the email address given in the book but the email bounced.)

I'm reading both this book and _IPv6 Essentials, 2nd Ed._
Both of these books are good. but those interested in
IPv6 for OpenBSD will probably find IPv6 Essentials more
useful since this book does not mention OpenBSD at all, whereas the Essentials book
describes details of enabling optional ip6 features in OpenBSD (OpenBSD comes with
both ip4 and ip6 enabled by default) and even mentions OpenBSD
in the index.

Proofreading at OReilly is slipping. I have encountered
grammatical errors in the text that make me wonder if
English is the native language of the proofreader(s).

Also, note that O'Reilly appears to have severed
all email links to the rest of the world. The email addresses given in OReilly books no longer work,
(I tried to send this info to O'Reilly using the email address given in the book but the email bounced.)

IPv6 Network Administration is an absolutely first-rate technical guide. It is refreshing to read a book that doesn't waste time by assuming the reader has no networking background. IPv6 Network Administration achieves just the right balance between history, theory, and practical application to serve the needs of administrators and interested readers. If you've been waiting for the right resource from which to learn IPv6, this book is it.

The preface, a less than useful part of many books, offers an interesting history of IPv6 development. Rather than assume IPv4 is worthless, ch 1 and 2 debate IPv4's merits; ch 1 is anti-IPv4 and ch 2 is pro-IPv4. In ch 3 we learn IPv6 details, and here the authors' writing style and judgement shines. They avoid describing every detail of IPv6, and instead summarize or present just the important parts of the protocol. This technique could have earned the book the title "Practical IPv6".

Another smart choice made by the authors involves relating IPv6 concepts in IPv4 terms, where possible and appropriate. For example, ch 3 shows how neighbor solicitation fulfills a role similar to ARP. It will be many years before any student of networking will have to ignore learning IPv4, so I appreciate authors who speak in familiar terms.

Beginning in ch 5 and elsewhere, the authors make a third excellent decision. Rather than just present a Linux command reference and a Windows command reference, they present syntax for many operating systems and networking devices. This must have taken a decent amount of research, but such level of detail makes the work accessible to a wide audience. I found the use of FreeBSD in repeated examples to be particularly appealing.

The authors are not shy about saying what works and what doesn't when IPv6 is involved. In ch 7 they present some novel ways to work around certain issues, e.g., using netcat6 for port forwarding IPv6 traffic. They even show programming examples and outline new aspects of the sockets API to handle IPv6 addressing in ch 8.

Finally, IPv6 Network Administration presents workable ways for admins to give IPv6 a try, such as 6to4 and other tunnel methods. Almost anyone with a public IP address should be able to experiment with IPv6 thanks to the book's directions. Given that I operate multiple IPv6-capable systems in my lab, I was able to test some of the book's commands using link-local addressing (described in the text).

In brief, this is a must-have book for all network administrators. Even if you never intend to deploy IPv6, you should understand it as a professional technician. As a personal observation, I see many opportunities for intruders to exploit misconfigurations, poor coding, and various complexities in IPv6 (such as the huge variety of addresses assigned to single machines). IPv6 Network Administration will help get an IPv6 network running, at least to the point where administrators can begin becoming familiar with this new network protocol.