Contributors are encouraged to discuss major contributions (e.g.,
significant rewrites or new sections/chapters) on the
discuss@systemsapproach.org mailing list before putting in a lot of
effort. The first step is to join the
forum.
Also, while GitHub is a great place to archive and track revisions over time, it is often the case that a shared Google Document is a better tool for collaboration. This is true not only for from-scratch efforts, but also as a way to get comments and feedback on a fairly complete draft. If you’re game, we have a shared Google Drive Folder.
If you have new material that doesn’t fit into the current book organization in an obvious way, check it into one of the following repositories:
- sdn: Sections or articles related to Software-Defined Networking.
- cloud: Sections or articles related to cloud networking, both how Internet protocols have been adapted to work in data centers and how the cloud has impacted the greater Internet.
- tools: Tutorials or user guides describing diagnostic, monitoring, visualization, or analysis tools that can be used to gain insight into the how the Internet works in practice.
- advanced-topics: Sections or articles on any other advanced topic.
This is likely a stop-gap solution. We’ll figure out the best way to organize material (both old and new) over time.
As for stylistic guidelines, there are only a few things to keep in mind.
First, try to keep each major topic (what corresponded to a chapter in the original textbook) self-contained, with minimal forward- or backward-references to other material. The idea is that each chapter should be able to stand alone. (Think self-contained software module with no hard-coded dependencies.)
Second, adhere to best practices using Sphinx. Run make lint on
any new text you write. This may seem pedantic, but it’s important
that the raw ReStructrued Text be easily read, edited, and compared.
Third, when creating figures, reuse as many of the existing graphical
elements as possible and stick to the current color scheme. Check in
both editable source (currently .eps and .pptx) and a PNG file
(600 dpi) for each figure.
Finally, keep the Systems Approach in mind as you write. To quote the Preface in the original book:
Approach
For an area that’s as dynamic and changing as computer networks, the most important thing a textbook can offer is perspective—to distinguish between what’s important and what’s not, and between what’s lasting and what’s superficial. Based on our experience over the past 25-plus years doing research that has led to new networking technology, teaching undergraduate and graduate students about the latest trends in networking, and delivering advanced networking products to market, we have developed a perspective—which we call the systems approach—that forms the soul of this book. The systems approach has several implications:
- First Principles. Rather than accept existing artifacts as gospel, we start with first principles and walk you through the thought process that led to today’s networks. This allows us to explain why networks look like they do. It is our experience that once you understand the underlying concepts, any new protocol that you are confronted with will be relatively easy to digest.
- Non-layerist. Although the material is loosely organized around the traditional network layers, starting at the bottom and moving up the protocol stack, we do not adopt a rigidly layerist approach. Many topics—congestion control and security are good examples—have implications up and down the hierarchy, and so we discuss them outside the traditional layered model. Similarly, routers and switches have so much in common (and are often combined as single products) that we discuss them in the same chapter. In short, we believe layering makes a good servant but a poor master; it’s more often useful to take an end-to-end perspective.
- Real-world Examples. Rather than explain how protocols work in the abstract, we use the most important protocols in use today—most of them from the TCP/IP Internet—to illustrate how networks work in practice. This allows us to include real-world experiences in the discussion.
- Software. Although at the lowest levels networks are constructed from commodity hardware that can be bought from computer vendors and communication services that can be leased from the phone company, it is the software that allows networks to provide new services and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. It is for this reason that we emphasize how network software is implemented, rather than stopping with a description of the abstract algorithms involved. We also include code segments taken from a working protocol stack to illustrate how you might implement certain protocols and algorithms.
- End-to-end Focus. Networks are constructed from many building-block pieces, and while it is necessary to be able to abstract away uninteresting elements when solving a particular problem, it is essential to understand how all the pieces fit together to form a functioning network. We therefore spend considerable time explaining the overall end-to-end behavior of networks, not just the individual components, so that it is possible to understand how a complete network operates, all the way from the application to the hardware.
- Performance. The systems approach implies doing experimental performance studies, and then using the data you gather both to quantitatively analyze various design options and to guide you in optimizing the implementation. This emphasis on empirical analysis pervades the book.
- Design Principles. Networks are like other computer systems—for example, operating systems, processor architectures, distributed and parallel systems, and so on. They are all large and complex. To help manage this complexity, system builders often draw on a collection of design principles. We highlight these design principles as they are introduced throughout the book, illustrated, of course, with examples from computer networks.