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Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read for Network Planners
Review: According to the Gartner Group, "By 2000, no network design process will be successful without the characterization of applications - a process that will consume 30% of the overall budget." Network Resource Planning is the process of preparing a wide area network to meet the needs of new applications like groupware, messaging, ERP. It can also help identify bottlenecks, single points of failure, and network growth requirements. It can even tell you where you are spending too much on bandwidth that is unneeded. This book is easy to understand if you know anything at all about networks, and the case studies alone are worth the price of the book. People should read it, and then ask themselves if their network is going to be ready for prime time?
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference for seasoned and newcomer networkers!
Review: Clewett et al do a great job of demystifying the current art of network planning. As with any technical challenge, the sound approach is to decompose the problem space to manageable pieces, and Clewett's valuable experience shines through in their approach to this methodology.Their timing has been ideal-- Reference volumes like this coincide with IT industry demand trends, and are a must reading or desk reference for engineers, managers and IT planners who are involved in deploying these hot products. Over time, material like this will help defray the high cost of IT delivery by applying well-accepted and proven methodologies in network planning. One caveat: Practical experience tells us that heavy analysis can produce 99% accurate results yet take an unacceptably long time to produce. As Clewett et al point out, the key is to balance a costly analytical approach with practical judgement calls and systematic *educated guesses* in order to reach decisions quickly enough to make a difference. I would look for sequels that deal with the rest of the lifecycle in this business!
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to find insights into NRP/Capacity Planning
Review: Managers and IT Staff who have not performed Network Resource Planning analysis themselves will learn a great deal from the book. Network IT staff who have experience in capacity planning will be able to adjust and/or validate their approaches by studying the authors' approach. The examples in the book are interesting for two reasons. They elucidate the authors'methodology and they provide some basis from which to compare the NRP maturity level of one's own IT organization. In terms of details, the authors provide useful insights into the various kinds of network delay, approaches to utilization baselining, the strenghts and weaknesses of categories of modeling tools, and a view of the limitations of the state of the art of NRP. Recommended!
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