Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, 4th Edition

Computer Networks, 4E is the only introductory computer networking book written by authors who have had first-hand experience with many of the protocols discussed in the book, who have actually designed some of them as well, and who are still actively designing the computer networks today.

This newly revised edition continues to provide an enduring, practical understanding of networks and their building blocks through rich, example-based instruction. The authors' focus is 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. The new edition makes less use of computer code to explain protocols than earlier editions. Moreover, this new edition shifts the focus somewhat higher in the protocol stack where there is generally more innovative and exciting work going on at the application and session layers than at the link and physical layers.

• Completely updated with NEW sidebars discussing successes/failures of previously deployed networks
• Expanded coverage of topics of utmost importance to today's networking professionals, e.g., security, wireless, multimedia applications

About the Authors

Larry L. Peterson is a Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. He has been involved in the design and evaluation of several network protocols, as well as the x-kernel and Scout operating systems. He is Editor-in-Chief of ACM Transactions on Computer Systems, has served on program committees for SOSP, SIGCOMM, OSDI, and ASPLOS, and is a member of the Internet's End-to-End Research Group.

Bruce Davie joined Cisco Systems in 1995, and was awarded recognition as a Cisco Fellow in 1998. He leads an architecture group with responsibility for the development of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities for IP networks. He has more than 15 years of networking and communications industry experience. Some of his most prominent contributions to the industry include authoring numerous books, RFCs, journal articles, and conference papers on IP networking. He is also an active participant in both the Internet Engineering Task Force and the Internet Research Task Force, and is a senior member of the IEEE. Prior to joining Cisco, Bruce worked at Bell Communications Research (Bellcore) and led a number of networking research projects as director of internetworking research and chief scientist. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Edinburgh University and a B.E. from the University of Melbourne.