Sign up ×

Can someone suggest a book which contains all the essentials required for linux networking. I need something that common to all linux distributions rather than specific distribution.

Thank you Bala

share|improve this question

3 Answers 3

O'Reilly books are where it's at for Open Source. Here's a few that should get you started..

share|improve this answer
Most of the networking stuff is the same across distributions, at least to a large extent. It would probably also be useful to get a few general books on networking. Once you understand NAT, BGP, RIP, subnetting, etc. it's just a matter of command/config file syntax, whether you're on Linux, Windows or Cisco. – Jason Antman Mar 3 '10 at 22:40
Totally with Kyle and Jason on their points. – Warner Mar 3 '10 at 22:46

It isn't a book, but the Linux Advanced Routing & Traffic Control HOWTO has a lot of detail that cover some of the advanced usages and configurations.

share|improve this answer

If none of the books appeal to you (Warner's recommendations look good), the following homework assignments might get you up to speed:

Set up a Linux box as a router by having it route between different networks, then on this box, do the following:

  • Set up a firewall between the networks with basic accept and deny rules. For extra credit, find some modules that will filter out certain qualities within packets, not just ports.
  • Set up NAT from one network to the other, designate one as the 'internal' network
  • In the internal network, setup some sort of service like apache, and then set up port fowarding while NAT is still on so it can be reached from the 'external' network.
  • Set up another Linux box as a router, and have these to communicate using a routing protocol such as EGP, RIP, OSPF, or BGP.
  • When doing any of the above, capture some packets with tcpdump from the commandline, then view the packet dump in wireshark to aid in trouble shooting.

Do the above by googling for tutorials, reading manuals, and asking questions on here or IRC when you get stuck. If you accomplish all of the above, I would say you are quite accomplished in Linux networking.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer


