If you want to learn the basics of IPv6 and its peripheral routing and transition protocols, there are a number of good books on the market. But what if you're a software coder needing to work with IPv6, or want to understand its implementation in intimate detail?

For this, there is only one choice: The two-volume set by Qing Li, Tatuya Jinmei, and Keiichi Shima. These are the IPv6 equivalent of Steven's TCP/IP Illustrated and Comer's Internetworking with TCP/IP, books that should be on every networking professional's bookshelf. Like the multi-volume Stevens and Comer books, these books go deep into the functional structures of an IPv6 implementation--in this case the KAME implementation for BSD.

The first volume, IPv6 Core Protocols Implementation, starts off with an overview of the KAME IPv6 distribution for BSD and how to build a KAME-enabled kernel; in little more than a dozen pages the book takes you directly into the code structure. From there the remainder of the book leads you through the core protocols from basic address architecture to ICMPv6 and Neighbor Discovery Protocol to the intricacies of IPv6 at the transport layer and socket API extensions.

The second volume, IPv6 Advanced Protocols Implementation, covers IPv6 routing protocols (through route6d), IPv6 multicast, DNS, and DHCPv6. The last two chapters of the book delve into Mobile IPv6 and the basics of IPv6 security.

While these books are a deep-dive into the code, they don't assume you know IPv6; each chapter covers the basics of its topic before getting into the coding. So whether you are a coder needing to learn IPv6, a network architect wanting to know the IPv6 protocols more intimately, or just want a solid reference on your bookshelf for those times when the RFCs and general configuration guides just aren't enough to troubleshoot an IPv6 problem, I highly recommend these books. There are no others to compare.

If you want to learn the basics of IPv6 and its peripheral routing and transition protocols, there are a number of good books on the market. But what if you're a software coder needing to work with IPv6, or want to understand its implementation in intimate detail?

For this, there is only one choice: The two-volume set by Qing Li, Tatuya Jinmei, and Keiichi Shima. These are the IPv6 equivalent of Steven's TCP/IP Illustrated and Comer's Internetworking with TCP/IP, books that should be on every networking professional's bookshelf. Like the multi-volume Stevens and Comer books, these books go deep into the functional structures of an IPv6 implementation--in this case the KAME implementation for BSD.

The first volume, IPv6 Core Protocols Implementation, starts off with an overview of the KAME IPv6 distribution for BSD and how to build a KAME-enabled kernel; in little more than a dozen pages the book takes you directly into the code structure. From there the remainder of the book leads you through the core protocols from basic address architecture to ICMPv6 and Neighbor Discovery Protocol to the intricacies of IPv6 at the transport layer and socket API extensions.

The second volume, IPv6 Advanced Protocols Implementation, covers IPv6 routing protocols (through route6d), IPv6 multicast, DNS, and DHCPv6. The last two chapters of the book delve into Mobile IPv6 and the basics of IPv6 security.

While these books are a deep-dive into the code, they don't assume you know IPv6; each chapter covers the basics of its topic before getting into the coding. So whether you are a coder needing to learn IPv6, a network architect wanting to know the IPv6 protocols more intimately, or just want a solid reference on your bookshelf for those times when the RFCs and general configuration guides just aren't enough to troubleshoot an IPv6 problem, I highly recommend these books. There are no others to compare.

IPv6 Advanced Protocols Implementations provides the advanced next level core networking functions, applications, and technology that extends the use of IPv6 to support Routing, Multicasting, Domain Name System, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, Mobile IPv6, and Security. The authors identify each of the aforementioned technology components and provide an in-depth analysis, operational, and implementation view of these functions and applications. The authors also provide the differences at key points in the discussions with the current Internet Model and the advantages of IPv6. These are very hard technology components to present with clarity and the authors did that and in a concise manner. This book would be of value to architects, programmers, operators, and technologists that will deploy IPv6 and a good companion book to the authors IPv6 Core Protocols Implementation book.[...].

The first volume covered the core protocols, but what's a network without routing, mobility and security? The second volume covers the rest of the story of IPv6, how it works, and how it's implemented. This book covers the routing code in IPv6, as well as important network services such as DHCPv6,
DNS. A large section on mobility describes what is likely one of the most exciting aspects of an IPv6 Internet, the ability to connect wherever you are, seamlessly. No networking book is complete without information on security, especially important in a global Internet, and the last section of this book covers how security is provided at multiple layers within the IPv6 protocols.

Written by the same writing team as the first volume, this second volume finishes the series in the same, easy to read, easy to comprehend, style.

This second volume on IPv6 and the KAME implementation advances the readers
to new chanllenging protocols including DNS, DHCPv6, Mobile IPv6, IPv6
routing protocols, Multicasting in IPv6 and Security. This book offers expert
instructions on these advanced IPv6 protocols and the corresponding KAME
implementation through detailed protocol discussion and intensive code
walkthrough. As the core KAME developer, I highly recommend this book to all
IPv6 developers as the must-have IPv6 network programming reference.

After reading the first book in the series, I had high expectations for the second book. And this book definitely delivers beyond my expectations. This book builds on top of the basic IPv6 networking knowledge from book 1, and explain in details how it affects the various advanced protocols that build on top of IPv6, including all the nitty-grittys of protocols with corresdponding source code. A developer who is already familiar with IPv6 and want to work on certain protocol or protocols may jump right into a chapter and go through the details. And if you are a developer who is planning on working on a IPv6 project or is currently learning IPv6, will definitely find it useful going through the whole book quickly and come back to any chapter or protocol of interest later. All in all, this is an excellent reference book that I would recommend to all network developers.