Surprisingly, Laura Chappell assumes that the reader has little knowledge of the subject. She goes into great detail on what analysis is and why it's useful. She then explains how Ethernet and Token Ring networks should operate and reveals the best places to install an analyzer (she reviews many kinds) in each type of network in order to get the most meaningful data. Chappell then dives into individual protocols, explaining IPX, SPX, and SPX II in glorious detail. Rather than limit her coverage to the major protocols, Chappell also describes SAP, RIP, NLSP, IPXWAN2, and NCP completely. If you want to know what's being said on your network in any Novell protocol, this book will help you with the decoding more than any other. Text and diagrams explain almost every possible network transmission.