Tubi. Viaggio al centro di internet
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- Create Date：2021-11-14 16:16:04
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Andrew Blum
- ISBN：8833892743
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Questo libro è un tour dietro le quinte del mondo reale， ma nascosto， di internet。 Blum compie un viaggio-reportage e ci mostra in prima persona quanto la rete sia fatta di carne e acciaio， al pari di qualsiasi fabbrica dell'era industriale。 È un regno incredibilmente tattile， popolato da una speciale casta di ingegneri che controlla gli hub attorno a cui è organizzato quel mondo soltanto in apparenza immateriale che chiamiamo «online»。 In questo volume ci sono luoghi reali， presenti sulle mappe ma poco conosciuti: i loro suoni e odori， la loro storia， le loro caratteristiche fisiche e le persone che li abitano sono la sostanza di cui il digitale è costituito。 Nonostante tutte le retoriche sulla «assenza di luogo» dell'era contemporanea， internet è legato a spazi reali e fisici proprio come la ferrovia o il telefono。 Può essere mappato， toccato， visitato。 Blum racconta la complessa storia del suo sviluppo， spiega in dettaglio come funziona e offre al lettore uno sguardo inedito e approfondito， dall'interno， ai monumenti nascosti del mondo di oggi。
Reviews
L。M。 Therrien
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There were some cool aspects to this book。 It takes a deep dive into the internet's infrastructure so it's not going to be interesting to everybody There were some cool aspects to this book。 It takes a deep dive into the internet's infrastructure so it's not going to be interesting to everybody 。。。more
Alex Erlenbach
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The internet is a series of tubes。 Quite literally。 Everything you do online requires data to travel through thousands of miles of tubes。 This is a tale about finding these tubes， the physical locations our digital data travel through。 The author lavishly regales his journey to the internet backbone buildings across the world， the obscure conferences， and various historically relevant locations involved in the creation and maintenance of the modern Internet。 This is a pop-science book， which I a The internet is a series of tubes。 Quite literally。 Everything you do online requires data to travel through thousands of miles of tubes。 This is a tale about finding these tubes， the physical locations our digital data travel through。 The author lavishly regales his journey to the internet backbone buildings across the world， the obscure conferences， and various historically relevant locations involved in the creation and maintenance of the modern Internet。 This is a pop-science book， which I am now realizing has similar issues to the pop-psychology books I’ve previously read。 The author formats the book in a first-person narrative， from the perspective of a layman， adding in all sorts of irrelevant information to keep the reader engaged and the “narrative flowing”。 But I don’t really care about what the author thinks or feels， I just want to learn。 I want a “How It’s Made”， technically-focused， detailed book。 But that’s not what this is， which is disappointing。 Ive been googling up a storm trying to understand PON/AON， QAM， Multiplexing， FTTx， and other aspects about how the internet works that were COMPLETELY ABSENT in this book。 But it’s written by a layman for laymen， so if you want to learn about data centers and intercontinental fiberoptic cables， network centers， and…some other random irrelevant crap formulated as a whimsical journey， this book is for you。 But I was disappointed。Funnily enough， I just noticed the cover has a quote from the author of "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do （and What It Says About Us）" by Tom Vanderbilt， which is another pop science/pop psychology book written by a layman about a complicated subject: automobile traffic。 That’s funny because that book was WAY better than this one。 Go read Traffic。 。。。more
Craic Elf
，
I read the abridged version of this book as a part of a University course on networking。 If you're pursuing networking or have an interest in it， it gives you a decent glimpse of what the internet actually is， the physical hardware， how it works together， how it was set up etc。Interestingly he does reference some of the observed culture of the networking engineers behind the scenes， which was nice for someone like me pursuing that career。The abridged version anyway doesn't get very deep， it just I read the abridged version of this book as a part of a University course on networking。 If you're pursuing networking or have an interest in it， it gives you a decent glimpse of what the internet actually is， the physical hardware， how it works together， how it was set up etc。Interestingly he does reference some of the observed culture of the networking engineers behind the scenes， which was nice for someone like me pursuing that career。The abridged version anyway doesn't get very deep， it just reminds me of my childhood days watching Mr。 Rogers TV show where he would tour a factory or something similar。 You can't help but feel something is missing though， as anyone who has ever worked in industry knows， you never get the honest picture from a tour。 。。。more
Wayne Clark
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A high level but accurate view of the physical infrastructure of the then-current Internet。
Ronald Schoedel III
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If you are starting from zero technical knowledge of how the internet works， which many will be， this could be a 4。 For me， it’s a 3。 I’m prepared to acknowledge though that I’m not probably Blum’s target reader， having nearly 30 years of experience on the internet。 Here， I’ll save you several hundred pages with this quote， which more or less plays out in numerous places around the world: "[The German Internet Exchange Engineer] saved the core itself—the crown jewels—for last， working the key on If you are starting from zero technical knowledge of how the internet works， which many will be， this could be a 4。 For me， it’s a 3。 I’m prepared to acknowledge though that I’m not probably Blum’s target reader， having nearly 30 years of experience on the internet。 Here， I’ll save you several hundred pages with this quote， which more or less plays out in numerous places around the world: "[The German Internet Exchange Engineer] saved the core itself—the crown jewels—for last， working the key on the green bracelet into the lock on the cabinet and then opening it with a playful flourish。 I skipped a breath as I took it in: a black machine in a standard-sized rack; yellow fiber-optic cables sprouting from it like spaghetti from a pasta maker; dozens of busily blinking LEDs; a printed white label that read CORE1。DE-CIX。NET; a plaque that said MLX-32。"As airhead Jen on The IT Crowd asked: “This is the Internet？ The whole Internet？” As machines go， I confess that it looked a lot like all the Internet’s other machines。 I had tried to prepare myself for this—for the possibility of banality， of an apparently unremarkable black box。 This was like visiting Gettysburg: it’s just a bunch of fields。 The object in front of me was true and tangible， if unequivocally abstract; material， yet unknowable。 I knew from Austin that this very machine was among the Internet’s most important—the center of one of the biggest Internet exchanges—but it wore that significance discreetly。 Its meaning had to come from inside me。” 。。。more
Harry Cooper
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Really interesting blend between a tech， travel， and history in this book
Drew
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Pretty dull。
James Pinney
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The premise of the book was interesting and as a systems administrator I found it to be accurate enough， although some of the ways Blum describes simple things （like routing and switching） are confusing at best and I do this for a living。 But this book gets two stars because every other sentence is Blum being “dazzled” by these “tubes of light” crisscrossing the planet， blah blah blah。 It’s a sense of childlike wonder that is annoying because of how often he feels the need to express it。 Serious The premise of the book was interesting and as a systems administrator I found it to be accurate enough， although some of the ways Blum describes simple things （like routing and switching） are confusing at best and I do this for a living。 But this book gets two stars because every other sentence is Blum being “dazzled” by these “tubes of light” crisscrossing the planet， blah blah blah。 It’s a sense of childlike wonder that is annoying because of how often he feels the need to express it。 Seriously， it’s a least once a page。 This book could’ve been about half as long without waxing and waning on how incredible it all is。 We get it， shut up。 Historical sections are definitely interesting but there is no real narrative other than “oh wow look there’s wires。” 。。。more
Mickey Bits
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Even though this book is a few years out of date， it is still very relevant。 It will really open your eyes to how the internet is administered on this globe。 Not too technical and quite compelling。
Alisa Wilhelm
，
I learned a lot about the physical nature of the internet。 I had never thought too much about it before， how it worked was kind of a foggy mystery。 So， now I know。
MA
，
Since we're in CBlite， I figured I should try to get to finishing some of the nearly-finished books on my shelf， one of which is Andrew Blum's Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet。 I've borrowed this book from the library multiple times， plus have had this book forever （my boss passed me his physical copy nearly 10yrs ago）， and I also assign it as a reading for my NUS Infocomm Policy。 But I've dipped in and out of the book， just not finished it。 Figured it's time to do so and close the Since we're in CBlite， I figured I should try to get to finishing some of the nearly-finished books on my shelf， one of which is Andrew Blum's Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet。 I've borrowed this book from the library multiple times， plus have had this book forever （my boss passed me his physical copy nearly 10yrs ago）， and I also assign it as a reading for my NUS Infocomm Policy。 But I've dipped in and out of the book， just not finished it。 Figured it's time to do so and close the book， literally， on this。How's the book？I've taken all this time to finish this book because I find Blum very long-winded: he tells the story of how he traced his thought process of finding out "where is the internet？" and takes his time to describe his interviews and encounters。 Now， Blum is a Wired writer， and I love Wired。 Unfortunately reading a 2012 book about the physicality of the Internet， and his wide-eyed exploratory wonder to "find the internet" is a little grating now; to someone who lives and breathes internet infrastructure， I think it could a little less storytelling， but it is his prose-y way of approaching the "discovery" of the internet's data centres， optic fibre， IXPs， TeleGeography。 It's an important set of stories to record; just that the wide-eyed approach hasn't aged well。 BUT IT IS 2021 and maybe I am just expecting a network diagram， PLUS this is an old book so ok， can give discount on the way it's told。 Overall， it is a pretty good historical account of how the internet grew， and kept outgrowing itself， along with a quick overview of all the technologies involved。 From ARPANET to POPs to MAE-East to Equinix and PAIX， it chronicles how Blum traced his questions and followed the wires around the world， learning about network efficiencies， IXPs， peering， various routers and switches， the role of fiber optic and submarine cables， and of course got introduced to the bajillion acronyms and groups - IANA， NANOG， etc。 Spoiler: eventually he realises that the internet is a series of data centres and submarine wires。 Gasp， I've now spoiled absolutely nothing for you。 #BookReview 。。。more
Niklas
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An interesting read about the infrastructure behind the Internet （and its origins）， giving a comprehensive overview and insights into places that a regular internet user will never visit。 A bit lenghty sometimes （even for the infrastructure nerd that I am）。 I would have liked illustrations or maps at some points。
Max
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Read for summer job。 Great visualization of the internet- I’m now thinking about where this post is moving！
Ashraf
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If you are into fiber connections， long haul links and splicing fiber connections; then this book is for， otherwise， walk away。
Dr。 Cock'n Ballz
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I liked it！The author does a pretty good explaining the infrastructure of the internet。 What is a fiberoptic cable？ How does it connect my house to my internet provider to google？ He travels the world， interviews the builders， and gives very tangible answers to those questions。If you are an internet geek， maybe this book is beneath you。 For the average curious layman， I bet you'll learn a lot （I did）。 My favorite part is that he calls out tons of specific businesses， often publicly traded。 It he I liked it！The author does a pretty good explaining the infrastructure of the internet。 What is a fiberoptic cable？ How does it connect my house to my internet provider to google？ He travels the world， interviews the builders， and gives very tangible answers to those questions。If you are an internet geek， maybe this book is beneath you。 For the average curious layman， I bet you'll learn a lot （I did）。 My favorite part is that he calls out tons of specific businesses， often publicly traded。 It helps me think about the business of the internet。 $EQIXOnly 4 stars because our author got a little too 'spiritual' about this whole thing。 A little too much meditation on the meaning of life for my liking。。。 but it wasn't too bad。 I just kind of rushed through those paragraphs。Published in 2012， it's a little dated now。 I'd be interested in finding a 2021 version of this book， if it exists。 。。。more
Kaesa
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This book was okay。 It was fine。 It was a bit overwrought at times （which the author acknowledged in-text） but there was some decently interesting information here， and I did learn a fair bit about how the actual physical infrastructure of the internet works， so hey。
Erik Molnar
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Read as part of a work book club。 As a former network enigneer， I found this very interesting。 I have spent lots of time in Equinix datacenters， so it was cool to hear a little history about them and how they are basically the foundation of the internet。
Dao Le
，
At work， I cover “communication infrastructure” providers， a label that is as equally bewildering as its contents: data centers， towers， fibers， cables， etc。 I only have the vaguest sense of the sector under one day my MD recommends this book。 Blum has a noble goal: to demystify the Internet and unveil its underlying physical infrastructure — I do think that the goal is too ambitious to achieve given its technical nature， but he also did a respectable job of personalize the “tubes” that make up At work， I cover “communication infrastructure” providers， a label that is as equally bewildering as its contents: data centers， towers， fibers， cables， etc。 I only have the vaguest sense of the sector under one day my MD recommends this book。 Blum has a noble goal: to demystify the Internet and unveil its underlying physical infrastructure — I do think that the goal is too ambitious to achieve given its technical nature， but he also did a respectable job of personalize the “tubes” that make up the Internet。 I enjoyed the journey to UCLA to see the original machine of the ARPANET， to Equinix’s first data center in Ashburn， Virginia， to the various internet exchanges in Frankfurt， Amsterdam， and London， to the first AT&T and Western Union buildings originate New York’s communication hub （I walked right past it just a few weeks ago！）， and many other physical places that collectively make up the Internet。 。。。more
Mahesh Karthik
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I abandoned this book because I thought this has not aged so well。 The book was written in 2012 （not a long while ago）， when the broadband internet was still mostly via underwater cables。 We are now entering an era of global satellite broadband， and this wild goose chase of the underbelly of the old wired internet seems a little less interesting。 I was expecting a different kind of content here。
Jason
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Fascinating！
Robert Martinez
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Beautifully written， but ultimately the physical geography/infrastructure of the internet isn't all that interesting。 Beautifully written， but ultimately the physical geography/infrastructure of the internet isn't all that interesting。 。。。more
Dan Croak
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Nice narrative about the physical infrastructure of the internet。
Kenneth Francisco
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Not an easy read。 But it gets good as it goes on。
Alexander Oster
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Quick read; travel journey genre for the physical infrastructure of the internet。 Interesting concept， but stretched thin over the size of a book。
Linda Ye
，
To me， the title sounds more ambitious as the book actually turned out。 I was expecting "Tubes" to be more of a popular science style with plentiful of knowledge as flesh; I was also looking up to the book to teach me more about how the Internet works， and perhaps to potentially serve as a guidebook if one day one would set off for a similar journey。 Instead， this appears a collection of travel essays with a strong focus on the author's feelings about the journey。 I do like the book pointing out To me， the title sounds more ambitious as the book actually turned out。 I was expecting "Tubes" to be more of a popular science style with plentiful of knowledge as flesh; I was also looking up to the book to teach me more about how the Internet works， and perhaps to potentially serve as a guidebook if one day one would set off for a similar journey。 Instead， this appears a collection of travel essays with a strong focus on the author's feelings about the journey。 I do like the book pointing out the important nexus of the nowadays Internet， i。e。， the metropolises in the virtual world。 I would like the book more if it puts a bit heavier weight on researched facts and takes a more objective perspective。 。。。more
Bobby
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Other reviews nail the book down well--interesting at times but totally bogged down by the author at others。 From not knowing anything beyond basics about the internet's working prior to this book， I just found myself wanting more after reading this （in a way that felt like the author failed）。 2。5 but rounded up for breaking down the basics well when not blathering Other reviews nail the book down well--interesting at times but totally bogged down by the author at others。 From not knowing anything beyond basics about the internet's working prior to this book， I just found myself wanting more after reading this （in a way that felt like the author failed）。 2。5 but rounded up for breaking down the basics well when not blathering 。。。more
g0rd0
，
When you get a shower in the morning you don’t need to know where the water comes from in order to get clean。 You may care only that it disappears down the drain without another thought to what becomes of it。 Internet access is similarly so easy we forget to wonder how it works。 This is a fun read to get started in understanding the hows and to appreciating the infrastructure involved。
Austin Meyer
，
Really interesting information， but I was not a fan of the writing style。 I wanted more information about the internet and less about the plane ride on the way to see it。 There are also a bunch of fluffy and unnecessary references to literature。 I think people who would care about the information in this book would generally not want that sort of junk。
Letícia Godoi
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Achei o livro muito bom， interessante e deu um 'gás' nos meus estudos。Entre estudar tantos termos técnicos e protocolos complexo， aprender mais sobre a parte física， com de fora da área， foi um alívio ao cérebro。 Achei o livro muito bom， interessante e deu um 'gás' nos meus estudos。Entre estudar tantos termos técnicos e protocolos complexo， aprender mais sobre a parte física， com de fora da área， foi um alívio ao cérebro。 。。。more
Jim Peplinski
，