A Reference That Needs Updating
Might be useful for a beginner's IT library, but newer sources are better.
- By Douglas Mechaber
- October 01, 2001
Given the press date, this dictionary is still
out of date: RAID is defined as Redundant Array
of Inexpensive Disks only, (most in the industry
now use "Independent Disks"), and the Berkeley
paper defining RAID is not mentioned; JBOD is
not listed and terms like BERT, HSRP, RACF, transitive,
PPPoE, and alternate definitions of CDE aren't
listed, but the very old ECNE is listed. This
dictionary is not as complete as my (old) IBM
reference, and it lacks the clear, extended definitions
of the newer Cyber Dictionary by David
Morse.
Given that this was once a dictionary of primarily
Novell terms, Dyson has done mostly a good job
of adding Microsoft/NT/Win2K terms to the previous
(1999), but he hasn't kept up with Novell (janitor,
obituary) nor Cisco (HSRP) terminology. This dictionary
would most appeal to beginners and businesses
with libraries that lack a basic LAN dictionary.
It's nice to have the searchable version but it
needs more comprehensive content to search.
| Quick
Review |
|
Pro: Includes a searchable,
cross-referenced version on
the CD
Con: Outdated information
and lack of completeness, both
in definitions and listing choice.
Verdict: Revised and
updated, but not revised and
updated enough
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About the Author
Douglas Mechaber, MCSE, MCNE, CCDA, is a network consultant and dive instructor and is always on the lookout for utilities that make his life easier, or panulirus interruptus, the California spiny lobster.