Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet" by Ed Krol is a practical guidebook aimed at those familiar with local area networks, written during the late 1980s. This comprehensive manual provides insight into the structure, protocols, and operations of the emerging Internet, serving as an essential resource for networking professionals and enthusiasts looking to connect their systems to the wider Internet. The book's content is reflective of an era when the Internet was transitioning from experimental networks to a more interconnected global framework. The book covers a vast range of topics essential for understanding the Internet's functionality, starting from its historical context with the ARPAnet and leading to the complexities of network protocols, addressing, and domain name services. Krol explains critical concepts such as RFCs (Request for Comments), addressing allocation, and the role of various entities like the Network Information Center (NIC). The guide is both informative and technical, providing detailed procedures for network operation, troubleshooting, and effective use of Internet resources, making it a valuable resource for those entering the field of computer networking amidst the rapid evolution of digital communications. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Ed Krol is the former network manager at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and the former assistant director of Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services (CITES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He is also the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet and The Whole Internet .