I think my conclusion and thoughts regarding this book shouldn’t surprise anyone. I, for one, consider the book, Network Administration with FreeBSD 7, by Babak Farrokhi, to be an amazing resource that is written in a concise and straightforward manner. It teaches the reader how to become an exceptional system and network administrator by building knowledge gradually from the ground up.

It is an easy read and the language isn’t complex. You can pretty much walk through the sentences without feeling a need to have another go at them. Nevertheless, the book is very technical; it covers the “inner workings” of an UNIX system, especially how to turn it into your slave.

As a result, I consider this book a great read and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody that has the slightest interest in UNIX systems and network administration, as well as those willing to endeavor into areas that were untapped until now. It's important to understand that this book is not a general how-to manual that covers FreeBSD installation and basic configuration. It is much more advanced.

Even the author himself says that the book targets an audience that is looking for skills beyond installation and configuration. Don’t be confused. If you have zero experience and practically no idea with what Unix operating systems are all about, then unfortunately, this book isn’t for you. If that’s the case, then you should read this book some time in the future, when you already know the drill.

For those of you that want a numerical rating, here it goes: 5/5 for this book. It definitely meets my expectations and satisfies the factors that I am looking for when reviewing a book. Its language is clear, the content is valid and accurate, it delivers what it promises, and most importantly, it is very up to date (at the time of writing).

Come to think of it, FreeBSD 7 was officially released on Feb 27, 2008, while the book was published on March 17, 2008. At the moment, lots of companies and multinational corporations are migrating (or simply just updating) to FreeBSD 7 (from older versions, perhaps). So reading a highly technical and informative reference book like this would give you the winning edge in order to become the very best sys admin!

Lastly, before we finish, please bear with me as I’d like to thank everyone over at PACKT Publishing for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I’ve had the good fortune to be in touch with Duane Moraes from their team and he has shown a great deal of professionalism and business expertise.

As a finale, I'd like to congratulate Babak Farrokhi for taking the initiative to write this book. Be sure to also check out his personal site at farrokhi.net. I personally would like more content like this and I certainly hope that this is just the beginning of his writing career. We can surely learn a lot from him. Great work, Babak!

Furthermore, please don’t miss the sample article that is an excerpt from the book: Network Configuration—Tunneling with Free BSD. And if you feel like being part of the right audience, then don’t hesitate to grab a copy of this book (PACKT, Amazon, B&N). You may want to check out some relevant information about the book below:

ISBN-10: 1847192645

ISBN-13: 978-1847192646

Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds

Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches