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The Cathedral & the Bazaar

Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary

By Eric Raymond

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Release Date: June 2009

Pages: 279

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"This is how we did it." --Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel It all started with a series of odd statistics. The leading challenger to Microsoft's stranglehold on the computer industry is an operating system called Linux, the product of thousands of volunteer programmers who collaborate over the Internet. The software behind a majority of all the world's web sites doesn't come from a big company either, but from a loosely coordinated group of volunteer programmers called the Apache Group. The Internet itself, and much of its core software, was developed through a process of networked collaboration. The key to these stunning successes is a movement that has come to be called open source, because it depends on the ability of programmers to freely share their program source code so that others can improve it. In 1997, Eric S. Raymond outlined the core principles of this movement in a manifesto called "The Cathedral and the Bazaar," which was published and freely redistributed over the Internet. Mr. Raymond's thinking electrified the computer industry. He argues that the development of the Linux operating system by a loose confederation of thousands of programmers--without central project management or control--turns on its head everything we thought we knew about software project management. Internet-enabled collaboration and free information sharing, not monopolistic control, is the key to innovation and product quality. This idea was interesting to more than programmers and software project leaders. It suggested a whole new way of doing business, and the possibility of unprecedented shifts in the power structures of the computer industry. The rush to capitalize on the idea of open source started with Netscape's decision to release its flagship Netscape Navigator product under open source licensing terms in early 1998. Before long, Fortune 500 companies like Intel, IBM, and Oracle were joining the party. By August 1999, when the leading Linux distributor, Red Hat Software, made its hugely successful public stock offering, it had become clear that open source was "the next big thing" in the computer industry. This revolutionary book starts out with "A Brief History of Hackerdom"--the historical roots of the open-source movement--and details the events that led to the recognition of the power of open source. It contains the full text of "The Cathedral & the Bazaar," updated and expanded for this book, plus Mr. Raymond's other key essays on the social and economic dynamics of open source software development. Open source is the competitive advantage in the Internet Age. The Cathedral & the Bazaar is a must for anyone who cares about the computer industry or the dynamics of the information economy. Already, billions of dollars have been made and lost based on the ideas in this book. Its conclusions will be studied, debated, and implemented for years to come.

Chapter 1 The Internet, Routing, and BGP
1. Topology of the Internet
2. TCP/IP Design Philosophy
3. Routing Protocols
4. Multihoming
Chapter 2 IP Addressing and the BGP Protocol
1. IP Addresses
2. Interdomain Routing History
3. The BGP Protocol
4. Multiprotocol BGP
5. Interior Routing Protocols
Chapter 3 Physical Design Considerations
1. Availability
2. Selecting ISPs
3. Bandwidth
4. Router Hardware
5. Failure Risks
6. Building a Wide Area Network
7. Network Topology Design
Chapter 4 IP Address Space and AS Numbers
1. The Different Types of Address Space
2. Requesting Address Space
3. Renumbering IP Addresses
4. The AS Number
5. Routing Registries
6. Routing Policy Specification Language
Chapter 5 Getting Started with BGP
1. Enabling BGP
2. Monitoring BGP
3. Clearing BGP Sessions
4. Filtering Routes
5. Internal BGP
6. The Internal Network
7. Minimizing the Impact of Link Failures
8. eBGP Multihop
Chapter 6 Traffic Engineering
1. Knowing Which Route Is Best
2. Route Maps
3. Setting the Local Preference
4. Manipulating Inbound AS Paths
5. Inbound Communities
6. BGP Load Balancing
7. Traffic Engineering for Incoming Traffic
8. Setting the MED
9. Announcing More Specific Routes
10. Queuing, Traffic Shaping, and Policing
Chapter 7 Security and Integrity of the Network
1. Passwords and Security
2. Software
3. Protecting BGP
4. Denial-of-Service Attacks
Chapter 8 Day-to-Day Operation of the Network
1. The Network Operations Center
2. NOC Hardware Facilities
3. SNMP Management
4. Router Names
5. General IP Network Management
Chapter 9 When Things Start to Go Down: Troubleshooting
1. Keeping a Clear Head
2. Managing the Troubleshooting Process
3. Dealing with Service Providers
4. Physical and Datalink Layer Problems
5. Routing and Reachability Problems
6. Black Holes
7. DNS Problems
Chapter 10 BGP in Larger Networks
1. Peer Groups
2. Using Loopback Addresses for iBGP
3. iBGP Scaling
4. Dampening Route Flaps
5. OSPF as the IGP
6. Traffic Engineering in the Internal Network
7. Network Partitions
Chapter 11 Providing Transit Services
1. Route Filters
2. Communities
3. Anti-DoS Measures
4. Customers with Backup Connections
5. Providing IPv6 and Multicast
Chapter 12 Interconnecting with Other Networks
1. Peering
2. Internet Exchanges, NAPs, and MAEs
3. Connecting to an Internet Exchange
4. Connecting to More Exchange Points
5. Rejecting Unwanted Traffic
6. IX Subnet Problems
7. Talking to Other Network Operators
8. Exchange Point Future

Appendix Cisco Configuration Basics
1. IP Configuration Essentials
Appendix Binary Logic, Netmasks, and Prefixes
Appendix Notes on the IPv4 Address Space
Glossary
Colophon

Books & Videos

The Cathedral & the Bazaar

Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary

Read on Safari with a 10-day trial

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Internet, Routing, and BGP

Topology of the Internet

TCP/IP Design Philosophy

Routing Protocols

Multihoming

Chapter 2 IP Addressing and the BGP Protocol

IP Addresses

Interdomain Routing History

The BGP Protocol

Multiprotocol BGP

Interior Routing Protocols

Chapter 3 Physical Design Considerations

Availability

Selecting ISPs

Bandwidth

Router Hardware

Failure Risks

Building a Wide Area Network

Network Topology Design

Chapter 4 IP Address Space and AS Numbers

The Different Types of Address Space

Requesting Address Space

Renumbering IP Addresses

The AS Number

Routing Registries

Routing Policy Specification Language

Chapter 5 Getting Started with BGP

Enabling BGP

Monitoring BGP

Clearing BGP Sessions

Filtering Routes

Internal BGP

The Internal Network

Minimizing the Impact of Link Failures

eBGP Multihop

Chapter 6 Traffic Engineering

Knowing Which Route Is Best

Route Maps

Setting the Local Preference

Manipulating Inbound AS Paths

Inbound Communities

BGP Load Balancing

Traffic Engineering for Incoming Traffic

Setting the MED

Announcing More Specific Routes

Queuing, Traffic Shaping, and Policing

Chapter 7 Security and Integrity of the Network

Passwords and Security

Software

Protecting BGP

Denial-of-Service Attacks

Chapter 8 Day-to-Day Operation of the Network

The Network Operations Center

NOC Hardware Facilities

SNMP Management

Router Names

General IP Network Management

Chapter 9 When Things Start to Go Down: Troubleshooting

Keeping a Clear Head

Managing the Troubleshooting Process

Dealing with Service Providers

Physical and Datalink Layer Problems

Routing and Reachability Problems

Black Holes

DNS Problems

Chapter 10 BGP in Larger Networks

Peer Groups

Using Loopback Addresses for iBGP

iBGP Scaling

Dampening Route Flaps

OSPF as the IGP

Traffic Engineering in the Internal Network

Network Partitions

Chapter 11 Providing Transit Services

Route Filters