Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 13:23:48 MDT From: Rob Slade Subject: Book Review: "NetWare for Dummies" by Tittel BKNTWDUM.RVW 940208 IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. 155 Bovet Road, Suite 310 San Mateo, CA 94402 "Netware for Dummies", Tittel, 1993, 1-56884-003-9, U$19.95/C$26.95 Dummies are not supposed to run networks. This was probably not a terribly good concept. A computer network is a complicated object. There are many factors to consider in planning, building and running a network. Given the complexity, the topic is not a good candidate for an easy reading manual. In addition, the network operating system chosen is Novell NetWare, which is not only complex in terms of the feature set, but also in terms of incompatible versions. The "... For Dummies" breezy and light-minded style does not suit the topic. Too many topics are opened simply to be discarded when the going gets tough. An example is security rights, one of the areas that many administrators have problems with. Combinations of attribute rights, trustee rights, and rights masks contribute to effective rights. All of the various rights and attributes are mentioned, but no formula is given for calculating effective rights and there is only a single example. The content is presented in an organized and amusing manner. If you are faced with getting up a Novell network and are terrified of the prospect, you may find this easier to read through than the NetWare documentation. It will also help you consider some aspects, such as cabling (although there is not much detail here, either). This may, therefore be a helpful starting guide -- but no more. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKNTWDUM.RVW 940208. Distribution is permitted in TELECOM Digest and associated newsgroups/mailing lists. Vancouver ROBERTS@decus.ca Institute for Robert_Slade@sfu.ca Research into rslade@cue.bc.ca User p1@CyberStore.ca Security Canada V7K 2G6