Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, Second Edition (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Networking) [Hardcover]

Larry L. Peterson (Author), Bruce S. Davie (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1558605142 | ISBN-13: 978-1558605145 | Publication Date: October 25, 1999 | Edition: 2 Sub

NEW EDITION NOW AVAILABLE! ISBN 1-55860-832-X

Networking technologies and practices are constantly evolving. Equip your students with an understanding that helps them keep pace with Internet time.

In this carefully focused revision of the best-selling first edition, authors Peterson and Davie reiterate their commitment to a systems-oriented approach to networking instruction. Focusing on the why of network design-not just the specifications comprising today's systems but how key technologies and protocols actually work in the real world to solve specific problems-they promote an enduring, practical understanding of networks and their building blocks.

The second edition incorporates coverage of Quality of Service issues, mobile and wireless networks, VPNs, and much more. Over 100 new exercises help users consolidate and expand their knowledge.

No other textbook offers a more solid grounding for aspiring network professionals. Computer Networks: A Systems Approach gives your students the knowledge and perspective they need and gives you the tools you need to maximize their learning experience:

* Unparalleled instruction from an expert team of authors. The authors bring over 30 years of experience in networking research, development and teaching to the task of describing the principles and practical implementation of computer networks. Both have played key roles in defining and implementing many of the protocols discussed inside.
* Cutting-edge coverage. The second edition has been thoroughly updated to cover the most recent advances in networking, including:

* a new chapter on security techniques - PGP, IPSEC, secure sockets and firewalls
* a new chapter on application layer protocols - SMTP, HTTP, SNMP, DNS and RTP
* new material on wireless and mobile technology- spread spectrum techniques and 802.11
* new section on building VPN's on top of the public Internet

* Expanded treatment of key issues. Topics such as Internet routing, Quality of Service, congestion control, ATM, compression and multimedia communications now delve deeper to reflect changes that have taken place over the past four years.
* Effective pedagogical components. Alongside the authors' clear explanations and insights, you'll find pedagogical components that significantly enhance students' understanding:
* Problem statements-the practical design challenges met by the techniques covered in each chapter
* Shaded sidebars- explorations of advanced topics
* Highlighted summary paragraphs- distillations of key network design principles
* Open Issues-guided discussions of controversial networking issues
* Further reading-pointers to definitive papers related to each chapter's coverage
* Completely revamped end-of-chapter exercises The second edition offers over 100 new end-of-chapter exercises, the result of a substantial editing and development effort by a seasoned networking instructor, Peter Dordal of Loyola University.
* The optimal pedagogical approach. Encyclopedic and "layered" approaches cover required material but leave critical questions unanswered. Peterson and Davie focus on systems-how they interweave technology and technique to meet practical needs. Adding layer-focused considerations where necessary, the authors teach students why networks are designed as they are and cultivate the skills needed to build the networks of the future.
* Real-world implementation examples. New to this edition, operating system-independent C code is used with pseudocode to illustrate protocol implementation throughout. The first edition's x-kernel examples continue to be available online.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I am pleased to report that this great book has gotten better. ...if you want to understand how networks work, not just how the packet headers are formatted, this is the book to read."
—from the foreword by David Clark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Peterson and Davie have brilliantly distilled the vast body of seemingly ad hoc knowledge that underlies the Internet architecture into a cohesive and easy-to-understand textbook. The topics are keenly relevant and are covered not just by describing how things work, but more importantly, by providing the rationale for why things were designed as they were. An excellent choice for an introductory course in computer networks that also serves as a valuable reference for the networking professional."
—Steve McCanne, FastForward Networks

"This book is the best resource available to appreciate the numerous and detailed design issues underlying modern networks like the Internet. It is thorough yet concise, and many subtle and difficult issues are explained well. The second edition continues this tradition by adding and expanding on issues of intense recent interest, such as wireless access, multimedia, quality-of-service, and security."
—David G. Messerschmitt, University of California, Berkeley

"...into a book that one can actually lift, Peterson and Davie have crammed a remarkable breadth and depth of detail, written with a clarity often missing from the primary source material."
—Jeffrey C. Mogul, Compaq Western Research Laboratory

From the Back Cover

"I am pleased to report that this great book has gotten better. ...if you want to understand how networks work, not just how the packet headers are formatted, this is the book to read."

from the foreword by David Clark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Peterson and Davie have brilliantly distilled the vast body of seemingly ad hoc knowledge that underlies the Internet architecture into a cohesive and easy-to-understand textbook. The topics are keenly relevant and are covered not just by describing how things work, but more importantly, by providing the rationale for why things were designed as they were. An excellent choice for an introductory course in computer networks that also serves as a valuable reference for the networking professional."

Steve McCanne, FastForward Networks

"This book is the best resource available to appreciate the numerous and detailed design issues underlying modern networks like the Internet. It is thorough yet concise, and many subtle and difficult issues are explained well. The second edition continues this tradition by adding and expanding on issues of intense recent interest, such as wireless access, multimedia, quality-of-service, and security."

David G. Messerschmitt, University of California, Berkeley

"...into a book that one can actually lift, Peterson and Davie have crammed a remarkable breadth and depth of detail, written with a clarity often missing from the primary source material."

Jeffrey C.Equip your students with an understanding that helps them keep pace with Internet time.

In this carefully focused revision of the best-selling first edition, authors Peterson and Davie reiterate their commitment to a systems-oriented approach to networking instruction. Focusing on the why of network design—not just the specifications comprising today's systems but how key technologies and protocols actually work in the real world to solve specific problems—they promote an enduring, practical understanding of networks and their building blocks.

The second edition incorporates coverage of Quality of Service issues, mobile and wireless networks, VPNs, and much more. Over 100 new exercises help users consolidate and expand their knowledge.

No other textbook offers a more solid grounding for aspiring network professionals. Computer Networks: A Systems Approach gives your students the knowledge and perspective they need and gives you the tools you need to maximize their learning experience:

• Unparalleled instruction from an expert team of authors. The authors bring over 30 years of experience in networking research, development and teaching to the task of describing the principles and practical implementation of computer networks. Both have played key roles in defining and implementing many of the protocols discussed inside.
  
• Cutting-edge coverage. The second edition has been thoroughly updated to cover the most recent advances in networking, including:
  
  
  
  • a new chapter on security techniques - PGP, IPSEC, secure sockets and firewalls
    
  • a new chapter on application layer protocols - SMTP, HTTP, SNMP, DNS and RTP
    
  • new material on wireless and mobile technology- spread spectrum techniques and 802.11
    
  • new section on building VPN's on top of the public Internet
    
  
  
• Expanded treatment of key issues. Topics such as Internet routing, Quality of Service, congestion control, ATM, compression and multimedia communications now delve deeper to reflect changes that have taken place over the past four years.
  
• Effective pedagogical components. Alongside the authors' clear explanations and insights, you'll find pedagogical components that significantly enhance students' understanding:
  
  • Problem statements—the practical design challenges met by the techniques covered in each chapter
    
  • Shaded sidebars— explorations of advanced topics
    
  • Highlighted summary paragraphs— distillations of key network design principles
    
  • Open Issues—guided discussions of controversial networking issues
    
  • Further reading—pointers to definitive papers related to each chapter's coverage
  
  
• Completely revamped end-of-chapter exercises The second edition offers over 100 new end-of-chapter exercises, the result of a substantial editing and development effort by a seasoned networking instructor, Peter Dordal of Loyola University.
  
• The optimal pedagogical approach. Encyclopedic and "layered" approaches cover required material but leave critical questions unanswered. Peterson and Davie focus on systems—how they interweave technology and technique to meet practical needs. Adding layer-focused considerations where necessary, the authors teach students why networks are designed as they are and cultivate the skills needed to build the networks of the future.
  
• Real-world implementation examples. New to this edition, operating system-independent C code is used with pseudocode to illustrate protocol implementation throughout. The first edition's x-kernel examples continue to be available online.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 749 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 2 Sub edition (October 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558605142
• ISBN-13: 978-1558605145
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,579,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A welcome revision of an already fine book, January 31, 2000

By 

Jeffrey Mogul (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, Second Edition (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Networking) (Hardcover)

A few months ago, I needed to quickly re-educate myself about Weighted Fair Queueing (WFQ). I have a bunch of networking texts on my bookshelf, but I automatically reached for the first edition of Peterson & Davie. I got what I needed: a clear, thorough, yet self-contained discussion. I even got a little extra from the text, which pointed me at other related topics and raised some open problems.

It's true that several of those other books cover WFQ, but I've learned over the last few years that I might as well start with Peterson & Davie, because I usually end up there. They cover almost all of the interesting topics in computer networks, and at just the right level of depth for a quick introduction or refresher. (The authors wrote this as a textbook, and I don't doubt that it would also be an excellent foundation for a graduate level course.) I'm glad to see the second edition, because they've included new material, as well as expanding some of the existing coverage.

This is not the book for exhaustive and definitive coverage of every network protocol; to get a fuller story, readers should turn to the concise list of references cited at the end of each chapter. (In fact, I found at least one mistake in their coverage of HTTP, an example that simply won't work, which is repeated in exercise 24 of chapter 9 -- some students might find this confusing.) But into a book that one can actually lift, Peterson and Davie have crammed a remarkable breadth and depth of detail, written with a clarity often missing from the primary source material.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The way to write books!, April 20, 2001

By 

M. Vishnu (Petaluma, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, Second Edition (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Networking) (Hardcover)

I used this book for two courses that I taught: One was for a graduate course at Carnegie-Mellon University and the other was for a group of Software Engineers in a startup company. The students in both setting overwhelmingly liked this book. I carefully considered about dozen books before selecting this book. The organization of the book is very logical and makes even the difficult concept very simple for the students to understand. This is the way to write computer networks textbooks.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, January 31, 2000

By 

Jeff Gill (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, Second Edition (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Networking) (Hardcover)

I am a marketing professional and was asked to read this book by a client. Needless to say, the prospect of wading through a dry, historical summary of how computer networks arrived at their current state was less than appealing. I was pleasantly surprised, however, right from the beginning. The writing is clear and while it does cover certain topics in more detail than I required I wasn't penalized for glossing over them. This book is something rare, a great introduction to the topic for laypersons and a detailed examination of how networks have evolved and where they will likely go in the future. I read it a few months back and find myself still using it as a reference since almost every term catalogued in the index is explained at several levels in the text. Simply put, this book is well written and easily read, a rarity in this field.