A systems analysis approach to enterprise network design

• Master techniques for checking the health of an existing network to develop a baseline for measuring performance of a new network design
• Explore solutions for meeting QoS requirements, including ATM traffic management, IETF controlled-load and guaranteed services, IP multicast, and advanced switching, queuing, and routing algorithms
• Develop network designs that provide the high bandwidth and low delay required for real-time applications such as multimedia, distance learning, and videoconferencing
• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of various switching and routing protocols, including transparent bridging, Inter-Switch Link (ISL), IEEE 802.1Q, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF, and BGP4
• Effectively incorporate new technologies into enterprise network designs, including VPNs, wireless networking, and IP Telephony

Top-Down Network Design,Second Edition, is a practical and comprehensive guide to designingenterprise networks that are reliable, secure, and manageable. Using illustrations and real-world examples, it teaches a systematic method for network design that can be applied to campus LANs, remote-access networks, WAN links, and large-scale internetworks.You will learn to analyze business and technical requirements, examine traffic flow and QoS requirements, and select protocols and technologies based on performance goals. You will also develop an understanding of network performance factors such as network utilization, throughput, accuracy, efficiency, delay, and jitter. Several charts and job aids will help
you apply a top-down approach to network design.

“Professor Nassar has an uncanny ability to demystify the complexities
of telecommunications systems engineering.” Dale N. Hatfield, former
chief, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications
Commission

Book Provides a Worthy Telecomm Course:
Continuing
its Demystifying Technology series, LLH Technology Publishing’s
Telecommunications Demystified by Carl R. Nassar provides a
wide-ranging tutorial on theory and practical issues using the
requisite math and equations. This book does not provide primarily a
circuit-design or even a system-level, block-diagram treatment;
instead, it seeks to explain the underlying principles, problems,
techniques, and constraints of standard telecommunication functions.
The book covers networks, source coding/decoding, modulators and
demodulators, channel coding and decoding, trellis-coded modulation,
filtering and equalizers, signal detection and estimation, and error
detection and correction, among other topics.

I won’t mislead
you and say this book is an easy read or a quick read. If you plan to
get the most out of it, you need to pay attention and follow the
equations and derivations, which include integrals, differentials,
matrices, and more. Fortunately, the author clearly explains the
transitions from one equation to the next without those fear-inducing
phrases, such as “we can see,” “the derivation is left as an exercise
to the reader,” and “it can be shown.” If you want to increase your
understanding of the issues and answers in digital-communications
systems and some analog systems, this book should help. It also
includes a CD-ROM with a searchable version of the book and tutorials
that support topics in the text.
–EDN Magazine

Gain hands-on experience of CCNP Remote Access topics with lab scenarios for the new 642-821 BCRAN exam

• Prepare for the CCNP 642-821 BCRAN exam and gain a better, practical understanding of exam concepts
• Experience how remote access concepts work in a real network with practice labs that walk you through their implementation
• Review set-up guides that show you how to prepare a lab for study
• Ready yourself for the new simulation-based questions on the CCNP exams

CCNP Practical Studies: Remote Access
(CCNP Self-Study) prepares readers for the CCNP 642-821 BCRAN exam and
for workplace challenges in implementing remote access network
applications. Designed as a topic-by-topic guide of how to apply remote
access concepts in a real network setting, this book is useful in
preparing a CCNP candidate for the general exam questions by providing
a better understanding of how remote access really works. It is also
essential in preparing candidates for the new simulation-based
questions that are on the Cisco certification exams. Finally, it serves
anyone wanting a guide to real-world application of these concepts,
regardless of certification interest.

Each chapter includes a
review of the applicable technology, and guides the reader through
implementation of the technology. This step-by-step process can be
executed on a home- or office-based lab, a remote-accessible lab, some
networking simulation software programs, or even as a stand-alone guide.

All of the topics on the new 642-821 BCRAN exam are covered, providing comprehensive exam preparation.

Understand the total cost of ownership and return on investment for network security solutions

• Understand what motivates hackers and how to classify threats
• Learn how to recognize common vulnerabilities and common types of attacks
• Examine modern day security systems, devices, and mitigation techniques
• Integrate policies and personnel with security equipment to effectively lessen security risks
• Analyze the greater implications of security breaches facing corporations and executives today
• Understand the governance aspects of network security to help implement a climate of change throughout your organization
• Learn how to qualify your organization�s aversion to risk
• Quantify the hard costs of attacks versus the cost of security technology investment to determine ROI
• Learn the essential elements of security policy development and how to continually assess security needs and vulnerabilities

The Business Case for Network Security: Advocacy, Governance, and ROI addresses the needs of networking professionals and business executives who seek to assess their organization�s risks and objectively quantify both costs and cost savings related to network security technology investments. This book covers the latest topics in network attacks and security. It includes a detailed security-minded examination of return on investment (ROI) and associated financial methodologies that yield both objective and subjective data. The book also introduces and explores the concept of return on prevention (ROP) and discusses the greater implications currently facing corporations, including governance and the fundamental importance of security, for senior executives and the board.

With the popularity of the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standard 802.11 WiFi� and the growing interest in the next generation Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) standard 802.16 WiMax�, the need for effective solutions to the inherent security weaknesses of these networking technologies has become of critical importance. Thoroughly explaining the risks associated with deploying WLAN and WMAN networks,
this groundbreaking book offers you practical insight into identifying and overcoming these security issues. Including detailed descriptions of possible solutions to a number of specific security problems, the book gives you the hands-on techniques that you
need to secure wireless networks in the enterprise and the home. This handy reference also defines key security terms to help you fully understand concepts and evaluate security products on the market today.Moreover, the book discusses the future direction of the WLAN and WMAN industry, allowing you to plan ahead for emerging technologies in the field.

IP
Addressing Fundamentals explains simply and clearly how the IP address
space works and how it is used. This is a reader-friendly book that details
the fundamentals of the IP address space from the ground up. IP
Addressing Fundamentals unravels the mysteries of subnetting,
supernetting, and CIDR; thoroughly explains the binary mathematics
of IPv4’s addressing space; and demonstrates how an IP address becomes
an active component in both networks and internetworks. Author
Mark Sportack prepares you for real-world success by walking you
through some of the issues and traps that lie in wait for anyone
who needs to plan or manage the use of an IP address space. Most
importantly, this book doesn’t presume you already know what the entire IP addressing puzzle looks like. IP
Addressing Fundamentals imparts a profound command of IP addressing
through a clear and concise writing style. Basics are reinforced with detailed
information and numerous examples of how the concepts work. This book
builds upon concepts presented in earlier chapters and concludes with fairly advanced topics that will become increasingly useful to midlevel network engineers. After
reading IP Addressing Fundamentals, you’ll finally understand IP
addressing and appreciate both its mechanics and relevance, and you’ll know how to efficiently apply your new knowledge.

Wireless sensor networks promise an unprecedented fine-grained
interface between the virtual and physical worlds. They are one of the
most rapidly developing new information technologies, with applications
in a wide range of fields including industrial process control,
security and surveillance, environmental sensing, and structural health
monitoring. This book is motivated by the urgent need to provide a
comprehensive and organized survey of the field.Ideal for researchers
and designers seeking to create new algorithms and protocols, and
engineers implementing integrated solutions, it also contains many
exercises and can be used by graduate students taking courses in
Networks.

Millions of computers around the world today are connected by the
Internet, so why is it still so hard to hook up a few PCs in you own
home? Whether you want to share an Internet connection, install WiFi,
or maybe just cut down on the number of printers you own, home
networks are supposed to help make your life easier. Instead, most
aspiring home networkers get lost in a confusing maze of terms and
technologies: 802.11g, Fast Ethernet, Cat 5 cable (or was it Cat 5e?),
Powerline, and on and confusingly on. That’s where Home
Networking: The Missing Manual comes in. Using clear language,
straightforward explanations, and a dash of humor, this book shows you
how to do everything you need to set up a home network. Coverage
includes: WiFi, Ethernet, or Powerline? There are several kinds of
digital pipes that you can use to create your network, and none of them
have friendly names. This book tells you what they are, explains
the pros and cons of each, and helps you figure out what you need to
buy, and how to install it. Windows and Mac info included. Half
the battle in home networking takes place after you’ve bought your gear
and plugged it in. That’s because the routers, network
adapters,
and cables that you need get you only part way towards networking
nirvana. Whether you’ve got PCs or Macs or both, you’ll need help
tweaking your computers’ settings if you want to get all your machines
talking to each other. This book covers most known operating
system flavors, including Windows XP, 2000, Me, and 98, and Mac OS X
and OS 9. Fun things to do with your network. The real fun starts
once your network is up and running. This book shows you how to do much
more than simply share an Internet connection and a printer.
You’ll learn how to stream music from your PCs to your stereo, how to
display pictures on your TV, how to hook up game consoles to your
network, and more! Most important, this book helps you understand the
difference between what you need to know to create and use your
home network and what’s best left to those looking for a career as a
system administrator. In Home Networking: The Missing Manual you’ll find everything you need to get your network running-and nothing more.

Based on extensive interviews with industry leaders, The Holy Grail of Data Storage Management provides a concise glimpse of the present state and future direction of enterprise databases. This authoritative and enthusiastically written text can benefit any IT professional working with databases at the department or enterprise level.

Best at displaying the current state of enterprise database implementation, including a diagnosis of the trend toward centrally managed data stores, this book focuses specifically on dedicated database networks (SANs) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) appliances. Additionally, this title is a veritable primer for virtually every database standard (old and new), including SCSI-2, Fibre Channel, new storage options, optical-magneto (including DVD) standards, and even tape backups.

A section on RAID offered here is truly an excellent introduction to the strengths (and limitations) of different RAID architectures. It also surveys new options for enterprise storage (both SANs and NAS’s) and defines a management process for getting control of central data stores on the enterprise. The book is particularly good at pointing out the problem of sharing databases on heterogeneous environments that use both Unix and Windows NT. It closes with emerging vendor-specific standards for universal data storage (such as Sun’s StoreX) that might solve the problem once and for all (though the author tends to see universal initiatives as a sort of holy grail).

Both a guide to the state of the art in enterprise databases and a roadmap for the future, The Holy Grail of Data Storage Management serves an invaluable need for any manager or administrator who works with enterprise databases. This book’s intelligent presentation of old and new technologies, along with many valuable product listings, can be a useful asset as your organization brings its databases into the next century.