Computer Networks ISE: A Systems Approach

Book Preface

When the first edition of this book was published in 1996, it was a novelty to Wbe able to order merchandise on the Internet, and a company that advertised its domain name was considered cutting edge. Today, Internet commerce is a fact of life, and “.com” stocks have gone through an entire boom and bust cycle. A host of new technologies ranging from optical switches to wireless networks are now becoming mainstream. It seems the only predictable thing about the Internet is constant change.

Despite these changes the question we asked in the first edition is just as valid today: What are the underlying concepts and technologies that make the Internet work? The answer is that much of the TCP/IP architecture continues to function just as was envisioned by its creators more than 30 years ago. This isn’t to say that the Internet architecture is uninteresting; quite the contrary. Understanding the design principles that underly an architecture that has not only survived but fostered the kind of growth and change that the Internet has seen over the past three decades is precisely the right place to start. Like the previous editions, the third edition makes the “why” of the Internet architecture its cornerstone.