Customer Reviews

Atm: Theory and Application (Mcgraw-Hill Series on Computer Communications)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I turned to this book to understand how the various ATM functions work. I had quite a bit of both practical and conceptual networking background prior to opening this book. As such, I've read quite a number of good and bad technical books on various networking topics.

If you'd rather not read the rest of this review here's the gist. Don't buy this book. Instead, buy Oliver C. Ibe's 'Essentials of ATM Networks and Services'. After you've mastered that, use Mark Miller's 'Analyzing Broadband Networks' to see how ATM Layer PDUs are put together and exchanged in various situations like call setup/teardown etc.

Here's the rest of the review.

Within minutes of reading, I got that old My-Head-Is-Swimming feeling. Not because I couldn't understand what the authors were saying, but more so because I couldn't figure out why on earth I was reading stuff that was irrelevant. Here are a few cases in point:

Every ATM book I've thumbed through religiously talks about the B-ISDN model. And when it starts explaining how something in ATM acutally works (say SSCOP), there is no reference to any of the terms that were introduced and defined in talking about the B-ISDN model. Why talk about the model at all then? This book is no exception.

The vast number of initial pages (285 in fact!) dedicated to talking about things like X.25, FR, multiplexing schemes etc. are useless. If you don't know this stuff, you have no business reading a book dedicated to ATM. And if you're just learning this stuff, there's no way you're going to really understand ATM. And of course, these authors couldn't resist the whole 'business drivers for ATM' nonsense.

The only redeeeming part about the book was Chapter 25 on Traffic Engineering. Just goes to show what technical authors can do when they're talking about stuff they know really really well. This is also the chapter where the authors use language relatively more precisely and concisely - a rare blessing in this overall tedious and pompous book.

Someone ask these guys to check out (...)!

This book is "The Book" to grab an excellent perspective of ATM Technology from Designers / Engineers point of view. Someone having general knowledge of ATM can reach almost an intermediate-expert level after completing this book. It provides a smooth flow in reading and understanding of the subject. The frequently defined acronyms, easily-reachable cross-references and detail comparison of products of ATM vendors certainly add value to the book. A little off-date but it certainly is a "must read".

To the point,very detailed study of ATM and it's relationship and interworking with other network access and transport protocols. Not for the networking novice. Especially well done explanations of how other services like Frame Relay, TCP/IP, voice, and video are transported over ATM. I give it 4 stars. This book is aimed at the intermediate and advanced networking types who need an in depth tutorial on ATM network functionality.

The introduction to ATM is quite long but worth reading. ATM basic concepts are well illustrated. The text is dense (even for a 800 page book). The higher level layers are well documented. This book explains is great details but does not get to the protocols. For this you need technical specs. I recommend it to designers and planners.

This book is packed with everything. It is the definitive reference on ATM. If you just want an overview, the book is not for you. If you want to understand ATM in depth, this is it. It is valuable not only for network engineers, but also for product engineers designing new equipment or software. However, McDysan has also come out with a new book titled ATM & MPLS Theory and Application. Unless you are certain you will never need to know about MPLS, I would suggest getting the newer book. I haven't had a chance to read that one yet, but I would expect it is the excellent equivalent of this book with additional coverage of MPLS.

If you work with ATM or need to design networks for ATM, you need to have this book on your shelf. It is the argument-settler and really the best reference on ATM available (that can be understood). Matter of fact, I would go as far to say that this is the only ATM book worth buying.

In my working field, I have to handle ATM network frequently. I run into cutomer's picky questions from time to time, some of them are pretty hard to answer. All I can do, just refer to this great book for these questions. For example, my customer asked me to demo F4/F5 functions in our solution, then, I checked this book and offered great test plans for them.
If you are looking for one book that shows you how to configure ATM switch, please choose other one.

In my working field, I have to handle ATM network frequently. I run into cutomer's picky questions from time to time, some of them are pretty hard to answer. All I can do, just refer to this great book for these questions. For example, my customer asked me to demo F4/F5 functions in our solution, then, I checked this book and offered great test plans for them.

If you are looking for one book that shows you how to configure ATM switch, please choose other one.

cover everything new in ATM by 1999 such as UNI4.0 and so on.The examples are concise and helpful to understand the complicated concept. An excellent job! However, if you are a new comer to ATM, you should read some other basic books first.

This is a superbly written book, that explains very clearly, ATM. It makes great use of analogies in an effort to help the reader to understand ATM concepts. If only all technology books were as well written and as easy to read and understand as this book I'd be well on the way to understanding Einstein's theory of relativity :-) !!