By Matthew Gast
First Edition
April 2002
Pages: 464
ISBN 10: 0-596-00183-5 |
ISBN 13: 9780596001834
(Average of 6 Customer Reviews)
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As a network administrator, architect, or security professional, you need to understand the capabilities, limitations, and risks associated with integrating wireless LAN technology into your current infrastructure. This practical guide provides all the information necessary to analyze and deploy wireless networks with confidence. It's the only source that offers a full spectrum view of 802.11, from the minute details of the specification, to deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
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Book details
First Edition: April 2002
ISBN: 0-596-00183-5
Pages: 464
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 6 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide Review, September 09 2003
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide's coverage of 802.11 issues was both broad and deep. Linux installs, Windows installs, WEP, access points, network deployment, network analyzers, Medium Access Control and Apple airport issues were well covered topics.
Marie
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide Review, July 19 2003
Pros
+ Great overall discussion of securing wireless networks
+ Comprehensive guide for planning, purchasing, implementing and securing a wireless network
+ Provides case studies of wireless networks to support the lessons from the book
Cons
- None
MC
-webmaster of Extra reviews
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide Review, June 09 2003
This book describes a most dynamic technology. Much of what is described is history. Yet it does provide insight although I often wish it provided more technical details: show us some math involved such as FFT or a good reference to such details.
I would give it 5 stars if it dived into the firmware or software more. The book skims details like a small pebble skims across the top of the water.
Good job with a difficult topic!
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide Review, March 03 2003
Very good book, like it a lot. It does a lot of zooming in on very specific low level stuff, but just skip those chapters if you don't want them. This book is more about wireless than implimenting it. It does comment on possible pitfalls when describing a part of the tech. It does not say that "If you can't get a signal in this situation" it reads more like "Ohh, and this is the reason you get that one problem." Very good book for the fundamentals of the technology not the implimentation
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide Review, June 23 2002
The Scenario
For a lot of folks, implementing an 802.11 network involves selecting and purchasing an access point and adapter cards, and installing or compiling the proper drivers. From there, we are off and running, usually in under an hour. However for the few, the proud, the sysadmins of the world it’s a whole different ballgame. Sysadmins need a deeper understanding of network technologies to be able effectively design, deploy and debug them.
What's Bad?
Most of the book is right on the mark when it comes to the sysadmin audience, however chapters 8 (the PCF, for contention free service), 10 (the ISM PHYs), 11 (802.11a overview) are only of interest to folks who are implementing 802.11 hardware, IMHO. These chapters contain very low level material about the 802.11 transmisison protocol, and will not be generally useful since equipment manufacturers do not provide access to this layer. A dead giveaway that you can skip over chapter 8 is the phrase “The PCF has not been widely implemented.” If it’s not widely implemented, chances are you won’t have the option of using it in a deployment.
After this bellycrawl through the weeds, chapters 12 and 14 give click by click instructions about installing two commercially available 802.11 access point/client adapter pairs on your Windows box. The selected products are Nokia’s A032 Access Point along with their C110/C111 and Lucent’s Orinoco (formerly WaveLan) Access Point and client adapter. It's worth noting that these are two of the most expensive 802.11 solutions available on the market and have enhanced features that are not present in other models. These chapters are simply rehashed vendor installation documentation for these products and provide very little addede value. There's nothing that I hate more than paying $30-$50 for a book which repackages documentation that is freely available on the web. Skip these chapters, the rest of the book is excellent.
What's Good?
This book starts off with six strong chapters that cover the 802.11 protocol specification, why WEP is vulnerable and some of the upcoming security specifications. The first six chapters are invaluable reading for any sysadmin that is planning/currently responsible for an 802.11 deployment. This is your ammunition when users come and ask why the wireless network is slower than the wired network with fewer users (preventing contention adds more overhead in wireless) or why they really really should tunnel every wireless connection over SSH (because WEP is fundamentally flawed). The chapter that covers the current WEP implementation demystifies the "40 bit" vs. "64 bit" key length sleight of hand that some vendors play. The standard WEP key length is 64 bits. However, 24 of those bits are used as WEP's initialization vector for the RC4 cipher. These bits aren't encrypted in an 802.11 packet, so by sniffing 802.11 traffic you can examine the IVs of the packets and see how many distict keys are in use, and even retrieve the actual key once you have captured enough packets. AirSnort retrieves WEP keys by implementing the Fluhrer/Martin/Shamir attack (orig paper, Stubblefield paper). Chapter 16 covers using tools such as Airsnort and Ethereal to analyze the 802.11 traffic on your network. Remember to use your powers for good and not evil.
The final 3 chapters address deployment, analysis and tuning of 802.11 networks. These chapters, combined with the first six are the heart of this book and the whole motivation for buying the book. The analysis chapter has a particularly wonderful section about gathering user requirements with respect to 802.11 specific issues (security requirements, roaming...) and a very practical section about physical installation that clearly illustrates the author's mastery of integrating 802.11 technologies into an existing infrastructure.
So What's In It For Me?
If you're an sysadmin and implementing 802.11 technologies is on the horizon, this book is a solid reference of the current state of 802.11 solutions, the good and bad. It pulls no punches in presenting issues and weaknesses with the current solutions and documents forthcoming standards that are being proposed/developed to address them. If you're considering a smaller deployment at home, the security aspects of the text are still applicable, but the design/deployment sections are more rigorous than you will need. There is a bit of starch (repackaged vendor installation documentation) and unnecessary details (knowing that 802.11 frequency hopping uses Gaussian frequency shift keying is good for impressing women at parties, but doesn't really impact the design/deployment of an 802.11 network) but the other chapters redeem themselves and make this a very valuable text.
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide Review, April 16 2002
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide is a easy to read
well organized reference. It was a welcome addition to my network
integration library. I highly recommend this book.
Media reviews
"If you are expecting someone to teach you the inner working of a wireless network, the book will surely fulfill your expectations...Despite providing a wealth of extensive in-depth technical pieces of information...the book is very easy to read. I was impressed with the magnitude of theory the author provided on the core of wireless networking and the way he interconnected it with actual workings of a wireless network...Although more than half of the topics covered inside the publication are directly targeted towards advanced users, the book should be a pre-requisite for anyone wanting to seriously enter the 'wireless waters.' You cannot miss with any of O'Reilly's books on wireless networks and this one surely isn't an exception."
--Berislav Kucan, Net-security.org, September 2004
http://www.net-security.org/review.php?id=137
"Having put in a wireless network last year, I was happy to see O'Reilly come out with a book about wireless networks...There is some really great material here...Mr. Gist's book is that rare technical book that succeeds on two levels. For those of us that want to understand why things are the way they are, there's a very detailed section on the technical stuff that makes it work. For those that want to make it work or make it work better, there's the second half of the book. All in all, Mr. Gast is to be congratulated for putting to together a book that scores on both levels."
--Gary Smith, Dallas/Fort Worth UNIX Users Group, September 2003
"The book is written so that the administrator who needs to get a wireless network up and running can do so quickly...I found the text to be well written, logically laid out and a good technical read."
--Jim Huddle, kickstartnews.com
http://kickstartnews.com/reviews/books/80211_wireless_networks.html
"...gets down into the technical nitty-gritty of 802.11 wireless networks. I've been using just the Chapters on 802.11 MAC and Framing so far and have found each answer that I went looking for. This one will be on my desk (not bookshelf) for awhile!"
--Tim Higgins, Smallnetbuilder,com, February 2003
"The Best of 2002: Staff Favorites, Engineering Books"
--Barnes & Noble.com
"In recent years, an Ethernet-based wireless protocol named 802.11 has become a viable, robust, and proven answer to all these challenges. '802.11 Networks: The Definitive Guide,' by Matthew S. Gast, covers this protocol from the inside out and discusses other issues related to wireless networks...'802.11 Networks: The Definitive Guide' excels in its authoritative, detailed, and realistic approach to wireless technology, and 802.11 in particular. Not many books on wireless networks offer the level of accuracy and practical approach as does this book. Undoubtedly, it can be heartily recommended to 802.11 users and system administrators."
--Danny Kalev, IBM developerworks, September 2002
"This book will prove to be very useful to the system administrator that will be deploying wireless networks. It gives good background on the protocol and also some tips in how to set up things. It has really good value for the money."
--Wireless Leiden.nl, October 2002
"If you want to know more about the inner workings of wireless networks, I recommend the book '802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide' by Matthew S. Gast (published by O'Reilly & Associates). Though it may be too technical for some, the book offers plenty of information for those looking to lockdown their wireless nets."
--Robert Vamosi, AnchorDesk, September 2002
"If you want to deploy an 802.11 on a large scale, then you probably want this book as a definitive reference. If you are a casual user who just wants it to work, you probably want to just borrow this from your local wireless guru."
--Brian D. Foy, The Perl Review, May 2002
"Gast's epic compendium is everything a system or network administrator could hope to find on the subject, including 'an extensive discussion of wireless security issues, including the problems with the WEP standard and a look at the 802.1x security standard.' Gast has produced something of an encyclopedia that more advanced users will readily access often for reference and insight."
--North Bay Multimedia Association, August 2002
"'802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide' lives up to its title and provides virtually everything you could need to know about 802.11 networks?Anyone who has looked at network standards can attest to how boring they are to read. However, Gast does a wonderful job writing about wireless Ethernet in a way that is not only 'not boring,' but actually interesting. This is due to his expertise with the subject matter and the many real-world scenarios that he shares...Overall, '802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide' is an excellent guide for any network administrator or architect who needs to understand the ins and outs of 802.11 networking. It has all the necessary information for design and deployment of wireless networks in an easy to read and enjoyable style."
--Ben Rothke, unixreview.com, July 2002
"First, educate yourself. The best place to start is Matthew Gast's '802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide.' Digest what Gast has to say and you'll be far ahead of the power curve."
--Joel Snyder, Network World, August 2002
"This is just the book I wished for while thumping my forehead against the wall trying to inject the same material directly from the IEEE 802.11 docs. Thank you, Mr. Gast, for saving my house while giving me a better understanding of low level 802.11...Gast nimbly leads the reader through the 802.11 minefield, making the complicated concepts understandable; no easy task in a world where time units of kilo-micro seconds reign. (Only 802.11 could mangle the metric system so mercilessly.) Definitely worth the read if you are doing any wireless Ethernet work. This is the best 802.11 reference I've seen."
--Monta Elkins, Linux Journal, May 2002
"The most comprehensive text is '802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide' from O'Reilly...this is both a theoretical and practical text that is sure to live up to its claim of being the definitive guide."
--Major Keary, Book News 2002 No. 10
"The first six chapters are invaluable reading for any sysadmin who is planning (or already responsible) for an 802.11 deployment. This is your ammunition when users come and ask why the wireless network is slower than the wired network with fewer users (preventing contention adds more overhead in wireless) or why they really really should tunnel every wireless connection over SSH (because WEP is fundamentally flawed)...a very practical section about physical installation that clearly illustrates the author's mastery of integrating 802.11 technologies into an existing infrastructure. If you're a sysadmin and implementing 802.11 technologies is on the horizon, this book is a solid reference of the current state of 802.11 solutions, both good and bad. It pulls no punches in presenting issues and weaknesses with the current solutions, and documents forthcoming standards that are being proposed or developed to address them. Rating 9/10."
--Craig Pfeifer, slashdot.org, July 2002
