if you are someone that wants to learn the basics of hacking (like me) i found a very good text (i think) that describes, different protocols as well as hacking methods. System7
You have to register with the site, but i think that this site has a very good text archive, and good file downloads.

Difficult to get the document but i finally got it. Nice work. If your are looking for a review of hacking a server this is very good.

I hope this document answers alot of questions.
Hacking Guide