Building Storage Networks

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Building Storage Networks offers an excellent introduction to the burgeoning field of storage networks.

A few years ago, someone pulled me aside, looked me in the eye, and informed me that the future was storage. I felt like young Ben Braddock in The Graduate, being told the future was plastics. While the average IT engineer isn't dealing with Mrs. Robinson, he or she does need to manage a staggering amount of data.

Storage devices have been around as long as computers. From cassettes or tape drives to multigigabyte hard drives, the growth of storage has gone hand in hand with the growth of computers, and storage capacity has risen dramatically. Even 10 years ago, industry professionals touted the phrase "disk is cheap," effectively writing off storage as a commodity--and this was when hard drives were 120MB or less. During the last decade, continuing improvements in storage technology coincided with the explosion of the Internet, creating a huge demand for reliable, large-scale storage systems. Most businesses have recognized that data is a critical part of their IT systems, what author Marc Farley calls an "independent asset," equal in stature to applications and other system software.

Building Storage Networks gives information professionals the basic skills to understand modern storage technologies. The author argues that the common storage types SAN (Storage Area Network) and NAS (Network Attached Storage) are two different manifestations of a common set of principles, which all professionals should understand no matter which solution they implement.

After an in-depth discussion of his three key storage concepts--wiring, storing, and filing--Farley fleshes out the role of storage in today's corporate networks. This includes the details of storage implementation, different cabling and communication options, backup management, and future developments (e.g., InfiniBand).

This book is easily accessible to intermediate readers familiar with basic networking topologies and computer terminology. A healthy number of illustrations are used to effectively communicate complex topics. At the end of each chapter is a comprehensive summary, followed by several exercises, allowing the reader to fully grasp various storage concepts before proceeding.

Building Storage Networks can be used as an entry point for those wishing to learn about modern storage technologies, or as a reference for IT professionals already knee-deep in storage networks. However, almost all storage issues are considered in the abstract, without explicit reference to a particular vendor's hardware. Although an occasional reference is made to a specific product, the author sets out to educate the reader on storage issues, not to replace the manual for a particular piece of storage hardware. --Pete Ostenson

Book Description

Praise for the first edition of Building Storage Networks: "This book is the Bible of storage networking" --Dave Hill, Senior Storage Analyst, the Aberdeen Group Now more than ever, especially in the age of e-commerce, data must be available and accessible 24x7 on a network. This easy-to-understand book clearly explains all the latest methods of storing data on a network, including updated coverage of Internet storage service providers.

Customer Reviews:

Another rush job..........2001-11-26

It seems like too many technical books, especially those that
cover leading hot topics are rush rush rushed... This is
another one.

The book is full of errors, omitions, redundant verbiage,
dis-organized presentations etc. Overall the book has the
feeling of one of those heavy PC/Windows "throw-away", books
that you see street vendors sell for $1-2 a book after awhile.

Although there are valid and pertinent points in the book, I
found it very troubling to read as you never know what is
verifibly correct and what could be just another mistake or
error ! (Nothing like spending your time learning someone
else's mistakes...)

This level of quality is particularly galling considering
that this is supposidly a "second edition". Perhaps it's
no surprise that there is no information on how to reach
the author. If he did then maybe the suckered masses could
have written him email pointing out all the problems, something
the editor should have done but obviously not in this case.

Advice: wait for the 3rd or 4th "edition", the "second edition"
should have been called a draft...

Very Complete Reference Book. More than need be........2001-01-06

Building Storage Networks is a very complete reference into storage. This book covers it all. If you know nothing about storage, by the time you get through the 590 pages you will have a complete knowledge of storage.

The 'Blueprint' section is somewhat confusing, especially if you are not storage savvy. I have been building storage systems for several years now and had to read the blueprints several times to fully understand them. They could have been done better.

Overall the book is good reference material, but it was not what I was expecting. To me, it appears the author started out with good intentions, but could not decide what 'extra' information could/should be left out. He could have just summarized some topics. There are numerous books on RAID, SCSI, etc that the author should have just referenced at the end of each chapter. This would have cut the size of book down considerably.

SAN and NAS Beginnings.......2000-10-10

Nicely written material for the beginner to the SAN and NAS areas, but ultimately falls short of the depth that I was looking for in understanding SAN and NAS technologies. Covers the networking, protocols, and basic SAN and NAS architectures well. If you have a fairly good idea of the SAN and NAS solutions available today, than this book doesn't provide anything you haven't already been exposed. If your looking for a book that explains how and where SAN and NAS solutions might fit into your organization, than this is the book for you.

A must read if you have to deal with storage issues.......2000-05-04

While there is a lot of industry hype abouts SANs, NAS and related technology, there is little hard information. Mr. Farley's book cuts through the marketing dross and gives a reader the "skinny" on what's real, what's possible, and what you need to do now to control storage in the future. If this isn't the Bible of the storage industry, it's at least the New Testament.

Modern Storage Architecture.......2000-04-05

This is the first book I've seen that addresses the topic of modern storage in a manner that allows both the layperson and the skilled professional to understand the issues involved. The key word here is BUILDING, the first word in the book's title.

Storage has long been an important topic, but it used to be adequate to depict a storage subsystem as simply a series of boxes attached to a host computer. "Subsystem" is now an antiquated term when it comes to describing modern storage systems. The term "network" is often more apropos, and this book delves into what it takes to create such a network.

What is so valuable about this book is that it provides both an overview of various storage topics (disk partitioning, RAID, Storage Area Networks, Network Attached Storage, SCSI, Fibre Channel, caching, etc., etc.) as well as in-depth discussion of the kinds of issues that system architects must address to effectively create a modern storage network.

Book Description

Now in a completely updated and revised Fourth Edition, this highly readable book emphasizes the core data management skills needed to succeed in today's business environment. The book presents a real-world, management perspective and offers fully integrated coverage of data modeling and SQL.
* New chapter on future directions, including u-commerce.
* New material on data integration, data quality, and data schemas.
* Includes reference sections on data modeling and SQL.
* Presents the "big picture" of data management.

Customer Reviews:

Good for a few lines on the resume.......2004-07-18

I have two sets of comments - one for students and one for professors.

Students first... Watson focuses primarily on the practical aspects of SQL in an organizational database environment. However, database theory is also taught fairly well through the many examples offered in the text. Students will have ample opportunity to hone their hands-on skills, and as such, should be confident enough to put a line on their resume for SQL/ Database skills by the time the course is over. Although the publisher's website offers little support beyond lecture slides, the author's personal website does offer more in this regard.

Now for professors... The book is organized well and is thorough in its coverage of SQL and organizational database applications. I don't think I have seen a better text for teaching SQL that wasn't explicitly an SQL text. For my part, though, I prefer a deductive approach to teaching database theory rather than the inductive approach preferred by the text. Also, I would have preferred some more support materials for instructors, such as an instructor CD with testbanks, cases, SQL code examples from the text and problems, etc. Although the author's personal website carries ample support materials, it would be nice to have a CD bundled with the text. The one glaring omission in the instructor support materials was that there doesn't seem to be a testbank available for this text!

Great Book!!.......2003-07-17

I had the good fortune of taking a data management class with Dr. Watson. He uses this book for an MBA level course on data management.He is an excellent teacher with a great sense of humor and it reflects very well in the way this book has been written.

Even though I had known SQL well and also bits and pieces of data modeling prior to taking the class, this book put it all together very nicely.

Data Modeling is taught from the perspective of a business analyst/manager. It covers virtually any type of business problem you may encounter and I guarantee that you won't find any more complex SQL queries in your real life than the ones this book covers at length. The SQL playbook is simply a great reference!!

I would highly recommend it to any business student or executive who has anything to do with data management.

Outstanding Textbook for teaching Data Modeling and SQL.......2003-03-19

By introducing data modeling and SQL together in gradually increasing level of complexity, this book introduces students to these subjects in an intuitive manner.

As a matter of fact, by the time the text covers those two subjects formally in later chapters, most of my students found it almost trivial. And by building on sound data modeling principles through out, the students learn good data modeling habits from the ground up.

If I have any complaints, its that when the topic of normalization is covered in a later chapter, my biggest problem is explaining to my students why anyone would have created tables that are not in second or third normal form in the first place!

Truly a joy to teach from.

Data modeling and SQL integrated.......2002-11-05

This is a beautiful, accessible, up to date, patient, didactic, and all in all a very good book. A Dutch teacher of databases since a long time, I never came across quite the right thing for my non-Dutch students until I found this one.
Watson is not a computer nerd. He appreciates the fact that data modeling problems are real-world problems. And the fact that modeling and SQL are two sides of the same coin: getting the data IN a database in order to get information FROM it. And that fact that databases operate in an organization, not in a vacuum.

Perfect balance of depth and breadth.......2001-09-03

This book is written not for nerds or for lovers of formalisms, but for generalists with a need to really manage data, be competent at designing databases and at using them. It is a bit verbose but reads like a novel. Very didactic, but the reference value could be improved. All in all, better than many books on databases that tend to be narrow-perspectived. Well worth buying.

Feedback and Organization Development: Using Data-Based Methods (Addison-Wesley Series on Organization Development)

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Feedback and Organization Development: Using Data-Based Methods (Addison-Wesley Series on Organization Development)
David A. Nadler
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0201050064

Data Management: Databases & Organizations

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Data Management: Databases & Organizations
Richard T. Watson
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471715360

Book Description

Wanted: Expert Data Modeling and SQL Skills... Inquire Within.

Data modeling and SQL--these are the data management skills that are in demand in today's job market. That's why Richard Watson's Fifth Edition of Data Management: Databases and Organizations offers in-depth, fully integrated coverage of data modeling and SQL, and a broad managerial perspective.

Updated with the latest developments in the field, the Fifth Edition will help you design and create relational databases, formulate complex SQL queries, understand OLAP, use SQL with Java, learn how to use XML, and prepare yourself for the real world of data management.

New Features of the Fifth Edition:
* A new chapter on embedded SQL in Java and JDBC
* A section on multidimensional expressions (MDX)
* New material on content management systems (CMS) and wiki technology
* Greater focus on MySQL
* Increased coverage of mandatory and optional elements in data modeling

Average customer rating:

Very thorough, excellent style

Managing AFS: The Andrew File System
Richard Campbell
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall PTR
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0138027293

Amazon.com

Designed to handle terabytes of data and thousands of users distributed across large networks, the Andrew File System (AFS) works as a Unix and Windows NT add-on that replaces the standard Network File System (NFS). The basic idea of AFS is that all users of a network get a common picture of the file system even though it represents data that's stored on many different machines. Originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University and now commercially promoted by Transarc Corporation, AFS has a solid presence in very large commercial networks. Its popularity seems likely to trickle down to midsize organizations as businesses of all kinds become more network-intensive.

Campbell's book takes the ponderous set of AFS documentation and distills it into a collection of task- and question-oriented segments. The book opens with an analysis of AFS architecture that will prove useful to those thinking about deploying AFS. Managing AFS then covers hardware requirements, volume structure decisions, and client administration in depth. Following a discussion of AFS's implementation of Kerberos security, Campbell gets into task-oriented discussions, covering groups, rights, archive procedures, and disaster recovery. One interesting chapter presents AFS case studies, highlighting how IBM, Morgan Stanley, and the University of Michigan are using the file system. An appendix details the various AFS command suites in a sort of abbreviated man-page format.

Throughout Managing AFS, the text is clear and readable--even entertaining. If you're wondering how AFS might work on your network or you want to know the easiest way to set up a user account, this book meets your needs.

Customer Reviews:

Very thorough, excellent style.......1999-01-13

If you are an afs sysadmin you can't afford not to have this incredible book. I'm surprised there are no other rave reviews here.Richard Campbell has done a tremendous job showing the reader what is going on under the hood of an afs system. He also mentions various little titbits you won't find anywhere in Transarc's documentation or webstite. The chapter on debuggin various problems will give you an procedural methodology on how to tackle certain problems. There is an enormous amount of info in this book. It's also worth mentioning that the publisher has done a wonderfull job on design and typesetting; very clean like one would expect from a serious technical book. Anyway what r u waiting for ?; click and buy, this is your new best friend ;)

Storage Security: Protecting, SANs, NAS and DAS

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A weak text on storage security
Great tool for security planning and implementation
Comprehensive coverage of an oft-overlooked topic
Excellent discussion of Security and Storage
Top Notch Information

Storage Security: Protecting, SANs, NAS and DAS
John Chirillo , and Scott Blaul
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764516884

Book Description

* Storage systems are back-up data centers for vital information and a reliable second line of defense in the event a network is brought down
* Security experts Chirillo and Blaul navigate the challenges of secure storage networks in this invaluable how-to book
* Presents a standard set of secure policies and applications
* Analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of SAN, NAS, and DAS systems, detailing security concerns and considerations
* Discusses how to implement and architect more secure storage systems, focusing on breaches, redundancy, and security strategies
* Takes into consideration protection against internal intruders and tests those plans via vulnerability and penetration testing

Customer Reviews:

A weak text on storage security.......2004-09-29

Securing storage sub-systems is an important, but omitted task. Will this text help you to do what is necessary to secure your storage fabrics? On my third read, the answer remains illusive. Important parts that should be part of standard decision protocol are missing. Will the text help you to understand security as a general topic? Certainly, the text attempts to apply CISSP concepts to the storage security topic.

In Chapter 1, trade articles cite storage pundits on the typical security grind, with a few small customer comments. All neglect in some form the fact that administrative error is the number one risk to availability, and by ISO17799, a security threat. Security is proactive rather than reverse engineered. The listing of security domains is certainly useful as a template for consideration.

Chapter 2 (DAS) discusses at length issues of data protection (RAID), discussion of interface technologies and a useful CISS matrix that is then applied to each interface. Rather than offer mitigation strategies for each interface, security resorts to the traditional CISSP analysis approach, classify, use standards, and build a plan, etc. when people really need situational case studies and risk mitigation. (Certainly, it remains important to do the analysis, but that is part of a CISSP text.)

Chapter 3 (NAS) begins with discussion of the NAS technology and their reasons for values supporting their security evaluation criteria. I found no serious discussion of the relationship of NAS to the outside world (Windows and UNIX) and the risks that this creates (need for authentication, etc.) In addition, one would expect a discussion of NFS flavors, CIFS and active directory, but this too was absent. One nit was a "weakness: NAS may not be good for databases," which with the new locking mechanisms is becoming more popular (although I personally still have a hard time with the idea.) Some protocols discussed are no longer in use. It includes a passable discussion on NASD and key management.

Chapter 4 (SAN) As with the others begins with discussion of technologies in the broad sense of the storage fabric including iSCSI and FC, followed by a SAN security matrix. The discussion of "Manageability" and "Access Control Management" including techniques by title and model remain as definitions without an interpretation within the technology - e.g. The Bell-LaPadula Model includes mandatory access control by determining access rights from different security levels, and discretionary access control by cross-referencing access rights from a matrix. How do we create the matrix in SAN terms, develop security levels, and determine access control rights? When is it appropriate to use this model? Very little discussion of authentication, other than user or administrator rights - techniques were in existence at the time of publication.

I could continue, but my findings remain that this is a book about security, not storage security. It has a lot of potential if the models are given life with real life interpretation.

Great tool for security planning and implementation.......2003-05-29

Prior to this book I was ignorant of a lot of data storage issues. This book opened up areas to me that I had previously overlooked as I always took data storage for granted. The equipment breakdown and analysis was the most concise that I've ever seen. Nearly every page brought me a new item to learn or ponder. The sections on packet breakdown and network latency were fascinating. The information in this book is fully explained and with the author's help, easy to understand. The chapter(8) on designing and implementing a sound data security program almost serves as a blueprint as the steps and procedures are clearly outlined for the reader. This book provides BIG TIME info to the IT professional.

Comprehensive coverage of an oft-overlooked topic.......2003-02-11

What does "Information Security" mean to you? To many, it means firewalls and encryption. To some, it means intrusion detection systems. Chances are the words "file servers" weren't high on your list, but they probably should be. After all, "information security" is about information, and when it's not flying across the network it's got to be stored somewhere, right? In fact, the security of the storage mechanism is often overlooked, which makes it an attractive target for attackers. In their new book, Storage Security, Chirillo and Blaul take a comprehensive look at this often-ignored subject.

Storage Security is not about turning on the right configuration options on your XYZ brand server appliance. It's about applying solid, methodical security practices to your storage systems, regardless of whether they are disks directly attached to a single computer, Network Attached Storage or part of a Storage Area Network. The authors address the full security cycle, too, starting with evaluating the security of proposed new storage solutions. Comparative data in hand, the book shows you how to narrow the field to a single solution that offers the best balance between functionality and security. And once the system is selected, you can't stop there. You've got to decide upon appropriate security policies for the new storage system, draft and implement a backup and restore plan, deal with disaster recovery and take care of a host of other issues. In short, this is a good guide to an entire range of considerations necessary to select, deploy and manage a secure storage solution.

The book's evaluation methodology is particularly valuable. Each type of storage (direct attach, NAS and SAN) is covered in a chapter of its own. Within each chapter, the authors address specific technologies used to implement that type of storage. For example, the direct attach chapter discusses such common storage technologies as SCSI and IDE, moderately exotic systems like USB and Firewire drives, and some more advanced solutions like HiPPI and SSA. Each technology is then placed in a matrix and scored in 11 different categories, including popularity and industry acceptance, built-in data protection features, typical fault tolerance and physical security characteristics. The authors assign each rating on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (the best). This gives a good general indication of how each technology measures up, but they tend to rely on a straight average of the ratings when determining the "best" technology. Although it's true that the average allows you to make a quick ballpark comparison, there are many other factors to consider as well, such as the suitability for your particular environment and the way in which your users need to access their data. The matrixes are quite useful, but just remember that you can't always boil things down to a simple numerical score.

Probably the biggest problem with this book is that it's pretty dry. As a reference book, the writing style is fine: since it's easy to find what you're looking for, and the chapters are concise. It's difficult to read from cover-to-cover, though, which is a shame because that's what you should probably do the first time through. Take it in small doses, a chapter or so at a time, and you should be fine.

Storage Security is about just what you'd think: the security of your data as it's being stored on your server(s). It's not a detailed look at the configuration of any one product, but rather a comprehensive, theory-based approach to managing the security of your storage subsystem from evaluation to purchase to daily operations. If you manage a small or mid-size network, you may not need this book. If you have a larger network, though, or have significant data storage needs, this deserves a space on your shelf.

Excellent discussion of Security and Storage.......2003-02-01

As a Project Manager for an IT company, I found this book to be interesting and compelling. It touches on many of the issues that are facing today's IT managers with it's discussion of SANs, NAS and DAS. The book offers explanations and histories of the technologies without insulting the intelligence of knowledgeable readers.

As stated in another review, the case studies are most helpful and give real world examples. John and Scott do a fine job of creating realistic scenarios and discuss the solutions in a positive way. Any reader will be able to relate in some way to the examples.

One of the features that I enjoyed were the "Security Thoughts" spread throughout the book. They make intersting points and give the reader some real food for thought.

Good job Scott and John! I look forward to your next book.

Top Notch Information.......2003-02-01

The material provided in Storage Security was unique in its approach and provides an excellent foundation for the creation of a secure storage environment. "Ripple Security Logic" provides an interesting and easily understood method that can be utilized to evaluate and strengthen the secirity of individual devices. The sample evaluation criteria workbook is also a valuable baseline tool. Anyone involved with Storage should add this book to their reference library.

Metadata Fundamentals for All Librarians

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Metadata Fundamentals for All Librarians
Priscilla Caplan
Manufacturer: American Library Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0838908470

Agent Intelligence Through Data Mining (Multiagent Systems, Artificial Societies, and Simulated Organizations)

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Agent Intelligence Through Data Mining (Multiagent Systems, Artificial Societies, and Simulated Organizations)
Andreas L. Symeonidis , and Pericles A. Mitkas
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0387243526

Book Description

Knowledge, hidden in voluminous data repositories routinely created and maintained by today’s applications, can be extracted by data mining. The next step is to transform this discovered knowledge into the inference mechanisms or simply the behavior of agents and multi-agent systems. Agent Intelligence Through Data Mining addresses this issue, as well as the arguable challenge of generating intelligence from data while transferring it to a separate, possibly autonomous, software entity. This book contains a methodology, tools and techniques, and several examples of agent-based applications developed with this approach. This volume focuses mainly on the use of data mining for smarter, more efficient agents.

Agent Intelligence Through Data Mining is designed for a professional audience of researchers and practitioners in industry. This book is also suitable for graduate-level students in computer science.

The Design and Implementation of a Log-Structured File System (The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science)

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The Design and Implementation of a Log-Structured File System (The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science)
Mendel Rosenblum
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792395417

Book Description

The Design and Implementation of a Log-Structured File System presents a new technique for disk storage management. A log-structured file system writes all modifications to disk sequentially in a log-like structure, thereby speeding up both file writing and crash recovery. The log is the only structure on disk; it contains indexing information so that files can be read back from the log efficiently. In order to maintain large free areas on disk for fast writing, the log is divided into segments and a segment cleaner to compress the live information from heavily fragmented segments. This book presents a series of simulations that demonstrate the efficiency of a simple cleaning policy based on cost and benefit. The author has implemented a prototype log-structured file system called Sprite LFS; it outperforms current Unix file systems by an order of magnitude for small-file writes while matching or exceeding Unix performance for reads and large writes. Even when the overhead for cleaning is included, Sprite LFS can use 70% of the disk bandwidth for writing, whereas Unix file systems typically can use only 5--10%.
The Design and Implementation of a Log-Structured File System demonstrates how a log-structured file system can be used more efficiently than existing file systems. This new system is well suited to the technology facing the disk storage manager.

Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems (ACM Press)

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Business Process Implementation : Building Workflow Systems
Specifications perhaps, but not enough to build with
Read this before re-engineering your business processes

Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems (ACM Press)
Michael Jackson , and Graham Twaddle
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0201177684

Customer Reviews:

Business Process Implementation : Building Workflow Systems.......2000-09-19

To clarify something that Reviewer Yves Chaix said... "As a reference though, I think that 90% of what I learnt, I actually picked from studying the excellent documents produced by the Workflow Manufacturers Coalition (www.wfmc.com)."

Readers should know that the organization in question is the Workflow Management Coalition, and the website is www.wfmc.org. The WfMC is releasing the Workflow Handbook 2001 in October 2000, by the way. This is the new definitive reference to workflow management, with particular attention to e-business and B2B integration. It includes the full Wf-XML specification and glossary.

Specifications perhaps, but not enough to build with.......2000-09-06

My assignment was to evaluate a certain number of production type workflow engines for my client and, if the bill was too high, estimate what it would take to develop a custom engine. Since I knew - and still do - very little about workflow engines, obviously I had to turn to the existing bibliography. As a reference though, I think that 90% of what I learnt, I actually picked from studying the excellent documents produced by the Workflow Manufacturers Coalition (www.wfmc.com).

Anyway, my initial impression, when I went through my first diagonal reading of this book was "what a total waste of time". However, going over it more thoroughly, I did find a few chapters that brought interesting insights.

To sum it up, I find the title misleading "Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems" transmits the idea that after reading the book, you will be able to BUILD a workflow (engine). Well, forget it. The content can only qualify as a basic description of requirements, at the initial step of the life cycle: analysis. What I feel was a wrong initial decision by the authors, is that a book offering to help you build workflow systems should assume that its readers will not be knowledgeable in data structure as a minimum. But the book dedicates fully 2/3 to 3/4 of its content teaching entities, relationships and a few basic concepts about object orientation, as if the reader started out without any knowledge about Information Technology.

All in all, chapters 4, 6, part of 7, and part of 8 actually deal specifically with worflow concepts. About 65 pages out of 227 are relevant to the field (Unless you accept the authors'premise that you also need to be taught how to design your ERD).

As for the relevant part, I liked the scope of the definitions given by the authors for what should be expected of a workflow engine. The relationships between the lifecycle, stages and tasks states are clear enough so you can start sweating over writing your own algorithms. There is a much too short mention about rules, enough to let you detect a black hole there, but not enough to know what to do about it. The treatment of backtracking is useful as well as that of relevant stages for a task (have not found it mentionned in any wkf engine) and so are the general ideas of when to start and end a task to minimize the cost of backtracking.

On the down side, don't look for block diagrams, structured map, component diagrams, UML definitions, state transition diagrams, sample source code, etc. that you would need to actually build a workflow system.

But then, the question becomes more general: "Can you expect to find in a $45 book enough information and specifications to start building what it took others $100,000 or a $1,000,000?". After all, the book is based on the acquired knowledge of developping a real commercial engine, so maybe I was a little ingenuous in thinking I would find it all ready to take home. I really don't know the answer to that one. Still, as an example among many, I have a book (Simulation Modeling and Analysis, by Law and Kelton) that give you the source code for a basic simulation engine in Fortran, Pascal and C. You really know what simulation is about after reading it. Maybe MM.Jackson and Twaddle could have been slightly more detailed with their experience!

So, if you are a manager and want to understand what the salesmen from FileNet or Oak Grove, are talking about or you are suddenly developping an interest in the subject but never heard of System Architecture I, then this book is for you. To be fair, I am still looking for the right book for what I need!

Read this before re-engineering your business processes.......2000-05-02

This book discusses a method by which workflow based systems can be developed. It focuses on delivering a clear roadmap for the business person who wants to be able to carry out process re-engineering in his/her organisation.

The discussion is at an architectural level and is kept independent of any particular implementation platform or specific software solution.

I liked the detailed coverage of the way in which high volume, parallel workflow can be modelled (including a diagrammatic notation). It is good to see that these concepts are proven to produce actual working systems (via the toolset which Twaddle has developed in his role as Technical Director at Beta Computers and Sherwood International).

This approach is particularly relevant when looking to move to web-based solutions (especially because of the careful attention given to the design of the workflow). At the end of each chapter there is a set of questions which helps the reader to check his/her understanding of the material. Some of these questions are quite challenging and thought provoking.

Business Process Implementation isn't a quick (or simple) read, but is a detailed and thorough coverage by two experts in the field. A 'must have' text for practitioners in this area of business.

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