What you always wanted to know about networking but were afraid to ask!
* How the Internet works
* How e-mail, e-learning, and telephony work on the Internet
* What makes a network safe
* How traffic gets from here to there
* Disaster recovery and other ways to keep a network running
* How businesses share data
* See the world of Cisco networking with this illustrated guide s visual approach to learning
* Useful for both novices and networking professionals
* Covers a broad variety of internetworking topics-from e-mail to VPNs
At last-an illustrated guide to the world of Cisco networking. Cisco Networking Simplified breaks down the complicated world of internetworking into easy-to-understand parts. Learn quickly and easily the fundamentals of a variety of topics, such as security, IP telephony, and quality of service, from the full-color diagrams and clear explanations found in Cisco Networking Simplified.
The field of digital communication has evolved rapidly in the past few
decades, with commercial applications proliferating in wireline communi-
cation networks (e.g., digital subscriber loop, cable, fiber optics), wireless
communication (e.g., cell phones and wireless local area networks), and stor-
age media (e.g., compact discs, hard drives). The typical undergraduate and
graduate student is drawn to the field because of these applications, but is
often intimidated by the mathematical background necessary to understand
communication theory.
This book is an entry-level text on the technology of telecommunications. It has been
crafted with the newcomer in mind. The eighteen chapters of text have been prepared
for high-school graduates who understand algebra, logarithms, and basic electrical prin-
ciples such as Ohm’s law. However, many users require support in these areas so Appen-
dices A and B review the essentials of electricity and mathematics through logarithms.
This book is an entry-level text on the technology of telecommunications. It has been
crafted with the newcomer in mind. The twenty-one chapters of text have been prepared
for high-school graduates who understand algebra, logarithms, and the basic principles of
electricity such as Ohm’s law. However, it is appreciated that many readers require support
in these areas. Appendices A and B review the essentials of electricity and mathematics
up through logarithms. This material was placed in the appendices so as not to distract
from the main theme, the technology of telecommunication systems. Another topic that
many in the industry find difficult is the use of decibels and derived units. Appendix C
provides the reader a basic understanding of decibels and their applications. The only
mathematics necessary is an understanding of the powers of ten
The writing of this book was prompted by two main developments in wireless
communications in the past decade. First is the huge surge of research activities in
physical-layer wireless communication theory. While this has been a subject of study
since the 60’s, recent developments in the field, such as opportunistic and multi-input
multi-output (MIMO) communication techniques, have brought completely new per-
spectives on how to communicate over wireless channels.
With the rapid expansion of wireless consumer products,there has been a con-
siderable increase in the need for radio-frequency (RF) planning, link plan-
ning, and propagation modeling.A network designer with no RF background
may find himself/herself designing a wireless network. A wide array of RF
planning software packages can provide some support, but there is no substi-
tute for a fundamental understanding of the propagation process and the lim-
itations of the models employed. Blind use of computer-aided design (CAD)
programs with no understanding of the physical fundamentals underlying the
process can be a recipe for disaster. Having witnessed the results of this
approach, I hope to spare others this frustration.
