As a network administrator, you’re familiar with certain things — TCP/IP, security threats, and Requests for Comments, or RFCs. Published by the Internet Engineering Task Force, RFCs offer a chance for professionals to share information, present papers for review, and generally communicate amongst themselves. Some RFCs eventually get adopted as Internet standards.
The following list contains RFCs that are especially interesting and/or useful:
RFC 3271, “The Internet is for Everyone,” by V. Cerf
RFC 2664, “FYI on Questions and Answers — Answers to Commonly Asked New Internet User Questions,” by R. Plzak, A. Wells, E. Krol
RFC 2151, “A Primer on Internet and TCP/IP Tools and Utilities,” by G. Kessler, S. Shepard
RFC 2504, “Users' Security Handbook,” by E. Guttman, L. Leong, G. Malkin
RFC 1244, “Site Security Handbook” (still useful after many years), by J.P. Holbrook, J.K. Reynolds
RFC 5485, “Digital Signatures on Internet-Draft Documents”
For laughs, scan these April Fool’s Day RFCs:
RFC 3251, “Electricity over IP,” by B. Rajagopalan
RFC 1925, “The Twelve Networking Truths,” R. Callon, Editor
RFC 2100, “The Naming of Hosts” (love the poetry!), by J. Ashworth
RFC 2549, “IP over Avian Carriers with Quality of Service,” by D. Waitzman
