Computer Networks & Internets [Hardcover]

Douglas E. Comer (Author), Ralph E. Droms (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130836176 | ISBN-13: 978-0130836175 | Publication Date: February 15, 1999 | Edition: 2nd Edition

Written by a leading computer networking authority, this widely used text provides a thorough, state-of-the-art overview of networking and Internet technology and is ideal for those with little or no background in the subject. Broad in coverage - and highly accessible - it provides a comprehensive, self-contained tour through all of networking - from the lowest levels of data transmission and wiring to the highest levels of application software. An accompanying multimedia CD-ROM and Web site provide opportunities for a variety of hands-on experiences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Here's what they're saying about Computer Networks and Internets by Douglas E. Comer: "Comer provides instructor assistance, exercises, and demonstrates the concepts in an easily understandable manner. It is an excellent book, with or without a class!" - CHOICE magazine. "Comer, a recognized expert at crafting this field's textbooks, writes in a very readable and comprehensible style." - Elizabeth Zinkann, SYS Admin magazine.

From the Publisher

Written by a leading computer networking authority, this text provides a thorough state-of-the-art overview of networking and Internet technology and is ideal for those with little or no background in the subject. Broad in coverage -- and highly accessible -- it provides a comprehensive, self-contained tour through all of networking -- from the lowest levels of data transmission and wiring to the highest levels of application software. An accompanying multimedia CD-ROM and Web site provide opportunities for a variety of hands-on experiences. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 583 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2nd Edition edition (February 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130836176
• ISBN-13: 978-0130836175
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,959,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best intro to networking book I've seen..., September 20, 2000

By 

A. Enriquez "altanic" (Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Computer Networks & Internets (Hardcover)

This is the best book to read for people who want to start into the world of computer networks, but may not come from a computer science background. If you've got a good background in CS, or are already familiar with computer/math theory, go get Andrew Tanenbaum's 'Computer Networks', as Comers book will probably not hold enough technical details for you.

This book does not require much rigorous/mathematical thinking to read through and gives a great introduction to many networking topics. (a quick example of this is how Comer mentions the CRC computing techniques only to a certain, friendly level while Tanenbaum's book jumps right into the explicit details of doing the computations by hand!!!)

In his over-all progression from the physical, data transmitting wires of a network to software application's that use networks, Comer covers a good chunk of what networks are and how they work without losing you in detail's involving lot's of 0's and 1's. :) And if after reading this book you're still hungry for more knowledge on what you'll then know to be Computer Networks, then go read Tanenbaum's book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top 4 Computer Network Books Compared, May 24, 2009

By 

Michael Yasumoto - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Computer Networks and Internets (5th Edition) (Hardcover)

This review compares the following four books:
Computer Networks by Peterson and Davie (P & D)
Computer Networks by Tanenbaum
Computer Networks by Comer / Internetworking with TCP/IP
Computer Networking by Kurose and Ross (K & R)

By far the best book in the list is "Computer Networking" by Kurose and Ross. This book covers all of the essential material that is in the other books but manages to do so in a relevant and entertaining way. This book is very up to date as seen by the release of the 5th Ed when the 4th Ed is barely two years old. There are lots of practical exercises using wireshark and the companion website is actually useful and relevant. The attitude of this book with regard to teaching networking concepts could be summed up as "try it out and see for yourself". One interesting thing to note is that the socket programming example are all in Java.

Next up is the Peterson and Davie book which covers everything that Kurose and Ross discuss but is slightly more mathematical in how it goes about things. There are a lot more numerical examples and defining of formulas in this book which is fine by me and in no way detracts from the book. Also the socket programming examples are in C which is a little more traditional. The points where this text loses ground to K & R is that it doesn't have the practical application exercises that K & R has and it also doesn't extend the basic networking theory that is covered to modern protocols like K & R.

The two Comer books come next. Comer's "Computer Networks" book is probably the most introductory book out of this whole list and is more of a survey of networking topics that doesn't cover anything in any real depth. Still, this is an excellent book in that it is a quick clear read that is very lucid in its explanations and you can't help feeling that you understand everything that is covered in the book. Comer's TCP/IP book is the equivalent of the other authors' computer network books and in that respect it is pretty average. It covers all of the relevant material and in a manner which is more than readable but that is all. There is nothing exceptional about the book which stands out from the rest.

Last comes Tanenbaum's book from the author who is probably most famous for his OS books. This is probably the most technical and detailed of the books with lots of sample C code belying is experience with operating systems and their network stack code. The weak point of this book is that all of the code and technical minutia might prevent the reader from seeing the forest for the trees. Unless you are trying to learn how to program your own network stack for a Unix/Linux system, then I would get either the K & R book or the P & D book to learn networking for the first time. This book would best be served as a reference in which case the technical nature of the book becomes a benefit rather than detracting from the text.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb beginning for basic network theory!, April 18, 2000

By 

Bibb - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computer Networks & Internets (Hardcover)

This is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about the internet, networking and some of the underlying hardware architecture and software theories. A non-technical book, designed to give readers a general understanding. If you're new, unexperienced and feel a little intimidated, don't worry. Mr. Comer will guide you step by step and soon you will become familiar with some of the technologies used today. LAN/WAN? ATM? DNS? Switches? Routers? OC? TCP/IP? ICMP? FTP? SNMP? You will be able to define all of these and know what they are used for. Although remember, theory only! Mid-level networking professionals may gain a little knowledge by skimming through the book, but experience users will probably find this book a bore. This book is catered toward the novice, and it's a good one at that. A nice piece of work.