Think of it as Harry Potter for the network set. Publisher Cisco Press next week will release a new edition of its best-selling book, Routing TCP/IP by Jeff Doyle. Cisco Press officials say it is one of the biggest releases in the company's nine-year history.

"One of the most exciting things we have planned for 2005 is the release of the second edition," says John Kane, editor in chief of Cisco Press.

"That's a flagship product of ours," he adds.

Sales of Routing TCP/IP pale in comparison to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which sold 6.4 million copies in its first two weeks on bookshelves this summer. But in the niche of network books, the release of a new edition of Routing TCP/IP is just as significant.

The book has sold more than 55,000 copies - 43,000 in the U.S. and 12,000 overseas - since its release in 1998. It is a must-read for network engineers pursing Cisco certifications. Many keep a dog-eared copy of the 1,000-page tome in their offices for troubleshooting IP routing problems.

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Also: Read a chapter from "Routing TCP/IP"
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The only Cisco Press book that has sold more copies is a self-study test preparation text for the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam.

"This is far and away Cisco Press' best-selling first edition, non-certification book," says Kourtnaye Sturgeon, director of marketing for Cisco Press. Sturgeon says the nearest comparable title sold 24,000 copies.

"For a computer book, selling 45,000 volumes domestically is quite respectable," says Jim Milliot, director of business and news at Publishers Weekly, which tracks book sales. Milliot adds that a book such as Routing TCP/IP can be "very profitable" given its $80 price.

For Cisco Press, publishing a second edition of Routing TCP/IP, Volume 1 is a big deal, and it is more than two years in the making.

Cisco Press is an alliance between Cisco and Pearson Technology Group, which also publishes IT books under the imprints of Addison-Wesley Professional, Peachpit, Prentice Hall PTR, Que, Sams and BradyGames. Cisco Press is the official publisher of training and self-study materials for Cisco certifications, but it also offers general-purpose books about network technology and business strategies.

Cisco Press publishes 50 to 55 books per year, and it has a backlist of 225 titles that it offers. Cisco and Cisco Press agree on the titles that will be published, and Cisco engineers review the books before they are issued. Cisco gives Cisco Press editors and authors early access to information about new products and changes to certification exams so the alliance's books are timely and accurate.

Cisco and Pearson Technology Group share in Cisco Press' revenue. These figures are not publicly available.

Milliot says Cisco Press is a small player in the computer publishing industry, where most of its competitors focus on consumer-oriented books.

"There certainly is room for niches, especially ones that trade on a brand name," Milliot says. "Cisco is a well-established brand name."