Computer Networking
CDN$ 99.95
Certain data-communication protocols hog the spotlight, but all of them have a lot in common. Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet explains the engineering problems that are inherent in communicating digital information from point to point. The top-down approach mentioned in the subtitle means that the book starts at the top of the protocol stack--at the application layer--and works its way down through the other layers, until it reaches bare wire. The authors, for the most part, shun the well-known seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocol stack in favor of their own five-layer (application, transport, network, link, and physical) model. It s an effective approach that helps clear away some of the hand waving traditionally associated with the more obtuse layers in the OSI model. The approach is definitely theoretical--don t look here for instructions on configuring Windows 2000 or a Cisco router--but it s relevant to reality, and should help anyone who needs to understand networking as a programmer, system architect, or even administration guru. The treatment of the network layer, at which routing takes place, is typical of the overall style. In discussing routing, authors James Kurose and Keith Ross explain (by way of lots of clear, definition-packed text) what routing protocols need to do: find the best route to a destination. Then they present the mathematics that determine the best path, show some code that implements those algorithms, and illustrate the logic by using excellent conceptual diagrams. Real-life implementations of the algorithms--including Internet Protocol (both IPv4 and IPv6) and several popular IP routing protocols--help you to make the transition from pure theory to networking technologies. --David Wall Topics covered: The theory behind data networks, with thorough discussion of the problems that are posed at each level (the application layer gets plenty of attention). For each layer, there s academic coverage of networking problems and solutions, followed by discussion of real technologies. Special sections deal with network security and transmission of digital multimedia.
Great text - Great book on networking. Covers a wide range of topics and is clear and straight to the point. Many examples and analogies help illustrate the topics discussed in the book. Definitely recommended.
the 2nd edition is out! - I ve just finished reading the first chapter of the book and it s already solved a lot of questions that have been confusing me for a long time.The only complaint is that you can t use the online materials if you re using an international version like I am,especially when you re in a contry where international VISA is also prohibited.So there s no way to reach the online materials in this case.I hope the it address this issue in the 2nd edition.
Possibly the worst texbook i ever owned! - I hate the way the book was organized. It s just a few chapters with each chapter dedicated to a separate network layer. This makes the chapters absolutly huge, makeing it very easy to get lost in them. The top down approch the author uses is horrible. A lot of times the book talks about a method that you can see is bad, and then then it says, this method is old, has the followind problems and is rearely used. But the worst thing had to be the author s sense of humor. It was extermly poor and made the reading pretty hard. So as an inroduction to networking i hated it.
Best written technical book I ve read - I am coming down to the wire on a Masters degree in Information Technology with about four classes to go. This is the best textbook I have used to date. It is organized in a manner that actually teaches. It is well written with clear concise use of technical terms. It has a good support system in quizzes on the web. I will be keeping this book for a reference for quite a while. The authors have done a great job.
excellent read for all networking enthusiast - a very good book. very practical approach to explaining the topic. I would suggest this book to the beginners and is also a very good book for the experts.
