Whether you're a hobbyist or seasoned professional, you'll want to grab a copy of Carla Schroder's newest book, the Linux Networking Cookbook.

If you want to learn how to manage a corporate network, I'd say you're gonna need more books. But honestly, sometimes you just want to get up and running quickly with a given technology, whether to test its capabilities for your own environment, or even to get a working, usable deployment. In situations like this, you'll want to have a copy of the Linux Networking Cookbook on hand. Even if you are a complete and utter newbie, you ought to be able to follow Carla Schroder's 'recipes' for such tasks as deploying OpenLDAP, using VNC in a cross-platform environment, and monitoring your network.

Schroder covers the gamut, from simple gateway, firewall and routing issues to Asterisk and VOIP, to remote connections via SSH and graphical tools, to monitoring and troubleshooting your network. She covers the differences between Debian and Fedora, since these are the two parents of so many off-spring GNU/Linux distributions, noting important differences between the two. For example, her discussion of OpenLDAP covers the fact that Fedora admins will need to take some additional steps beyond what Debian admins will need to perform, in order to get an OpenLDAP server running at a basic level.

While I consider myself to be an advanced user, and even dabble in some high-level networking tasks, I usually keep to the basics. I have had difficulty implementing some network services in the past, including OpenLDAP. I always feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available. The Linux Networking Cookbook, however, has helped me to implement OpenLDAP at a basic level. Now I can feel much more confident about exploring OpenLDAP further on my own.

I also followed her recipes for tunneling X sessions over SSH, using VNC and even some of the tricks to troubleshoot network issues with no problems. I read up on IPv6, something I haven't dared to venture into yet. Schroder's explanation of IPv6 and the reasons for deploying it were clear and easy to understand. She even offers help with calculating IPv6 addresses and dealing with IPv6 in an SMTP server.

Schroder's style compliments her obvious experience. I actually find myself exploring the tools she covers - even the ones I have no way to implement - precisely because she draws me into the problem, both from a practical position and with a subtle sense of humor. She opens each recipe by presenting a specific problem, offers the recipe, and then discusses how the recipe actually works. She explains the process, pointing out advantages and pitfalls along the way.

Look, maybe you've run your own LAN for years, but have just never played with Asterisk. Or maybe, like a number of admins I know, you've never had the chance to explore OpenLDAP - or some other technology Schroder discusses. All I can say is, this is your chance. Grab a copy of the Linux Networking Cookbook and get to networking! Frankly, I haven't had this much fun trying out new tricks since I discovered SQL servers. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go explore Asterisk!