Recommended Course Books

There are a wide variety of textbooks. No single book is recommended, find one that you like and can easily read!

Here are some books:

 

• Interconnections: Bridges and Routers
  Radia Perlmann
  Addison Wesley Professional Computing Series I
  

  This book is an excellent tutorial and reference book for the subject of bridges and switches - the core topics of this course. I recommend this book because it is very comfortable to read, while being really insightful, a great compisnion to the course.

• Data and Computer Communications
  William Stallings
  6th Edition Publisher: Paramount Publishing International ISBN 0130843709
  Price £35.00

  This book is a good reference book for the subject of data communications. I recommend this book because it covers nearly all the subject areas of the course and is well written and with much detail. The book is a classic student textbook on the subject of data communications. It contains much of the information you will need in the course, and also provides a useful text to continue study of networking beyond the course.

• The Eternal Ethernet
  Alexis Ferrero
  Publisher: Adison Wesley; ISBN: 0-201-36056-X

  Retail price £? (Hardback - 437 pages (1999)).

  It is one of the best books on Ethernet. It provides detailed descriptions of the various component parts of Ethernet, the design decisions and a clear description of the operation of Ethernet networks. It describes the full Ethernet specifications, including 10,100, and 1000 Mbps. This is a recommended book for the design and practice laboratory associated with this course, but also provides a good textbook for the Ethernet, LAN and Physical Layer components of the course.

Other Books

Some recommended books which provide a simple introduction to the course are:

• Data Communications and Transmission Principles - An Introduction
  Andrew Simmonds
  Publisher: MaxMillan Press, ISBN 0-333-64689-4, 1997, 308 pages.
  Price £22
  This introductory engineering text is in three parts, the first of which deals with definitions and basic signal characteristics involved in data communications. Practical modem links are covered, enabling interfaces, protocols and standards to be introduced. Part 2 covers transmission lines, free space links and fibre optics. Fuller discussion of protocols and networks is presented in the four chapters of Part 3. There are examples and problems throughout to facilitate self-study (answers are included); there are several appendices and a glossary of terms.

• Communications Networks: A First Course
  Jean Walrand
  Series: Aksen Associates Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering Editor
  Publisher: Irwin &Aksen Associates, ISBN 0-256-08864-0, 1991. 460 pages.

  An excellent, although old, introductory book to the subject of digital communications. This book is very readable and covers most of the important concepts of data communications with minimal use of jargon.

• Data communications - From Basics to Broadband
  William J Breyda
  Series: Prentice Hall International Editions
  Publisher: Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-241571-2, 1996, 311 pages.

  A good introductory book covering most areas, including new developments in the subject. The style is very clear. This book gives a basic understanding of the concepts involved with data communications.

• Data Communication: Fundamentals and Applications
  Lynn A DeNoia
  Publisher: Merrill Publishing Co, ISBN 0-675-20368-6, 1987. 248 pages.
  Price: 19.95

  A good simple elementary book which is written in a style which is easy to read. The book is remarkably free of jargon. Some of the examples describe protocols which are now obsolete, but the general principles do remain the same. This is a book to read to gain basic understanding of the concepts involved with data communications.

• Understanding and Designing Computer Networks
  Graham King
  Publisher: Edward Arnold, ISBN 0-340-61419-6, 1995. 208 pages.

  A simply written book that covers many of the fundamental concepts handled by the course. This book is up to date with many examples from current networking practice.

Books Providing More Detail:

Some books providing additional detail about parts of the course are:

• TCP/IP Illustrated: Volume 1
  Richard Stevens
  Publisher: Addisson Wesley, ISBN 0-201-63346-9, 1994. 576 pages.

  This book has become the reference book for TCP/IP. It is well written and provides many diagrams to support the text. The book adopts a practical approach, with examples taken from using an actual IP network.

  It is a good book for anyone wishing to find out the details of the protocols in the TCP/IP protocol suite. Internet Resources

The Internet is also a potential source of much information about many matters and there is considerable valuable information about the subject of packet data communications. There is also a lot of useless and distracting information!

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