larger cover

Add To My Wish List

Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.

Computer Networking First-Step

eBook (Watermarked)

  • Your Price: $19.03
  • List Price: $23.79
  • About Watermarked eBooks
  • This PDF will be accessible from your Account page after purchase and requires PDF reading software, such as Acrobat® Reader®.

    The eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

    Watermarked eBook FAQ

Also available in other formats.

  • Description
  • Sample Content
  • Updates
  • Copyright 2004
  • Dimensions: 7-3/8" x 9-1/8"
  • Edition: 1st
  • eBook (Watermarked)
  • ISBN-10: 1-58705-420-5
  • ISBN-13: 978-1-58705-420-4

Your first step into the world of computer networking

  • No experience required
  • Includes clear and easily understood explanations
  • Makes learning easy

Your first step to computer networking begins here!

  • Learn basic networking terminology
  • Understand how information is routed from place to place
  • Explore Internet connectivity secrets
  • Protect your computer from intrusion
  • Build local-area networks (LANs)

Welcome to the world of networking!


Networking and the Internet touch our lives in untold ways every day. From connecting our computers together at home and surfing the net at high speeds to editing and sharing digital music and video, computer networking has become both ubiquitous and indispensable.

No experience needed!


Computer Networking First-Step explains the basics of computer networking in easy-to-grasp language that all of us can understand. This book takes you on a guided tour of the core technologies that make up network and Internet traffic. Whether you are looking to take your first step into a career in networking or are interested in just gaining a conversational knowledge of the technology, this book is for you!

Table of Contents

I. NETWORKING BASICS.

1. What Is a Network?

No, Really, What Is a Network? What an Elephant-err, a Network-Looks Like. Three Blind Men-The Server Guy, the Cabling Guy, and the Network Guy. Different Types of Traditional Computer Networks. Big Company, Multiple Sites: An Enterprise WAN. Just You and Me and the Whole World-The Internet. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

2. A Network's Reason for Existence.

Using the Network by Accident. Using the Network on Purpose. Web Browsing. Electronic Mail (E-Mail). Downloading and Transferring Files. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

3. Building a Network: It All Starts with a Plan.

Conforming to the Rules. Rules, Schmools for Networking. Examples of Good Rules for Networking. The Book(s) of Rules. Proprietary Network Models Prevent Pervasive Population of Networking Devices. Public Network Models Provide Pervasively Popular Networks. How TCP/IP Standards Grow. Some Pretty Popular TCP/IP Protocols. TCP/IP Standards That Aren't TCP/IP Standards. How to Eat an Elephant, TCP/IP Style. How to Eat a T-Rex, OSI Style. T-Rex Versus the Elephant. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

II. RUNNING THE LOCAL DEPARTMENT OF (NETWORK) TRANSPORTATION.

4. How to Build a Local (Network) Roadway.

Driving Bits Across the Network Roadway. What's a Local-Area Network? Transmitting Bits Across the Local Network Roadway. Sharing the Local Roadway: Ethernet Hubs. Dirt Roads Versus the DOT. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

5. Rules of the Road: How to Use the Local (Network) Roadway.

Preparing for a Trip: How to Make Your Car (Data) "Street Legal". LAN-Legal Data: An Ethernet Frame. Driving Where I Want and When I Want Is Pretty Cool. Why Wrecks (Collisions) Happen on Ethernet. How to Avoid Most Wrecks. What to Do When a Wreck Happens. Stopping at the Destination: What Happens When Someone Comes to See You. Are They Coming to Our House or the Neighbor's House? Who Is It, Honey? I Don't Understand a Thing You're Saying. Two Standards for Ethernet. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

6. Reducing Congestion and Driving Faster on the Local (Network) Roadway.

Reducing Congestion by Opening Up More Lanes on Each LAN. Hubs: A One-Lane Road. Switches: How to Create Dozens of Lanes on the LAN. The Perfect Roadway: No Wrecks Allowed! Using Full Duplex: Making the Streets Two Way. Switches: The Rest of the Story. Painting the Road Signs: Learning MAC Addresses. The Forward Versus Filter Decision. What to Do When the Road Sign (Address Table) Doesn't List Your Destination. How to Go Everywhere at the Same Time. Summary of Switch Logic. I Feel the Need, the Need for Speed. A New, Improved, and Faster Ethernet-Let's Call It Fast Ethernet. If Fast Ethernet Is Good, Even Faster Is Better: Gigabit Ethernet. Ultra Super-Fast Fast Ethernet: 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Summary of Ethernet Speeds. A Switch for All Speeds. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

7. Adding Local (Network) Roadways for No Extra Money.

The Physical Reality Precedes the Virtual Reality. Physical LANs: It's All About Broadcasts. Master of Your Own (Broadcast) Domain. Multiple Physical LANs Require Multiple Switches. Virtual (LAN) Reality: One Switch, but Multiple LANs. How to Create a Virtual LAN. Why You Need More Than One LAN. Packing Your VLAN's Frames in a Trunk When Leaving the Switch. How to Pack Your Trunk for the Trip to the Other Switch. Tale of Two Trunking Protocols. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

III. SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS: COMMERCE USING THE (NETWORK) ROADWAYS.

8. Shipping Goods over a (Network) Roadway.

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Dark of Night: E-Mail. Dropping Off and Getting Your (e)Mail. Postal Address Versus E-Mail Address. Rules, Schmools: Even More Rules? Building a Centralized Warehouse: File Transfer. Warehouse Lingo and Procedures. Rules, Schmools for FTP. Browsing Around the Internet Shopping Mall: The World Wide Web. Rules, Schmools for Web Retailing. Buy One, Get a Bunch for Free. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

9. Choosing Shipping Options When Transporting the Goods over the (Network) Roadway.

"Hello, I'm at Your Service". Full-Service Shipping. Shipping Basics: Controlling Shipments Using Shipping Labels. Purchasing Insurance for Your (Network) Shipment. Big Box, Small Truck-What Do You Do? Why Three Smaller Segments Is Better Than One Big Segment. My Little White Lie About Acknowledgments. Delivering the Package to the Right Person, Not Just the Right Address. The Chicken, the Egg, and the Destination Port of the First Segment. Starting Off on the Right Foot Using a TCP Connection. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

IV. NAVIGATING THE ROADWAYS TO FIND THE RIGHT STREET ADDRESS.

10. Delivering the Goods to the Right Street (IP) Address.

Navigation Basics: Driving to the Right Destination. IP as the Postmaster General of the Network. Knowing the Address Before Driving to the Destination. Putting a Name on the Shipping Label. How to Run a (Network) Postal Service. One Location, One Zip Code, One Network Number. Three Sizes Fit All. The Actual Class A, B, and C Network Numbers. Subdividing a Network into Subnets. The Problem: Wasting IP Host Addresses. The Solution: Subnetting Saves IP Host Addresses. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

11. Knowing Where to Turn at Each Intersection (Router).

A Short Trip from Your House (PC) to the Local Store (Server). Overview of the End-to-End Routing Process. Step 1: Leaving Your Neighborhood the Same Way, Every Time. Step 2: Choosing Which Road to Take at the First Intersection. Step 3: Choosing Which Road to Take at the Final Intersection. The Still Useful, but Still Short Life of an Ethernet Frame. The Routing Table at R2: Same Destination, Different Forwarding Instructions. Yet Another Short-Lived Ethernet Frame. Other Rules of the Road. Routing with Subnets. How to Drive When You Aren't Leaving the Neighborhood (Subnet). Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

12. Painting the Road Signs on Your Interstate (Internetwork).

Routing to Nearby Places. Painting Road Signs and Other Long-Lasting Directions. Dynamically Learning and Changing Routing Tables. Picking the Best Road (Route). Introducing the Long List of Routing Protocols. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

13. People Like Names, but Computers Like Numbers.

Looking Up the Name and Number in the Phone Book (Host Table). Asking Someone Else to Look Up the Phone Number (IP Address) for You. Asking for Name Resolution Help Inside the Company. Asking for Name Resolution Help Outside the Company. How Names Should Be Formatted. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

V. BUILDING AN INTERSTATE (INTER-LAN) HIGHWAY SYSTEM.

14. Leasing a (Network) Roadway Between Two Points.

Leasing the Cable When You Can't Run the Cable. You Can't Lease the Cross-Over Cable, So Lease Something Almost Just Like It. Differences Between a Cross-Over Cable and a Leased Circuit. A WAN Link Installation Plan. Routers and WANs: A Match Made in Heaven. You Can't Just Send Data; You Have to Send a Frame. Addressing on WAN Serial Links. The Choice of Two Data Link Protocols. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

15. Leasing a (Network) Roadway Between Lots of Places.

Making the Telco Look Like One Big Whopping Switch. Cabling a Router to the Big Frame Relay Switch. Basic Logic Used by the Big Whopping Frame Relay Switch. If Two Sites Are Good, Three (or More) Must Be Better. It's Virtually Like a Leased Circuit, So Let's Call It a Virtual Circuit. Faster, Cheaper, Better-You Can't Go Wrong with Frame Relay. You Can Still Use Serial Links, but It Will Cost You Up Front. Get Your Free Bandwidth Here!Free Bits! Routers and WANs: Still a Match Made in Heaven. You Can't Just Send Data-You Have to Send a Frame Relay Frame. Addressing Is Much More Interesting on Frame Relay Than on Serial Links. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

16. Driving from Home onto the Globally Interconnected(Internet) Roadway.

Once on the Interstate (Internet), You Can Go Anywhere. Using a Phone Line for Data. Making Data Sound Like Voice. What Phones Do for Voice, Modems Do for Data. How Fast Can You Talk? Calling the Internet!Calling the Internet! Now That I Know How to Talk, Whom Should I Call? Now That I Know Whom to Call, What Do I Say? Using the Phone Line for Data-the DSL Way. Dr Analog Voice and Mr Hiding Digital. Faster Is Better. Sending Data from Home Without Using a Phone Line. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

VI. SECURING THE NETWORK.

17. Accepting the Right People and Rejecting the Wrong People.

Safe Driving by Using AAA. Checking for Fake Drivers' (Users') Licenses. Hey! How Did You Get in Here? Checking the License to Find Out if He Can Drive That Kind of Vehicle. Tracking Drivers' (Users') Violations. Making Sure (Internet) Drivers Have Valid Drivers' Licenses. No Appls Yet? Be a Good CHAP and Ask PAP. Stopping Someone from Using Your License (Password). You're Wearing Your Credit Card Number on Your T-Shirt. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

18. Keeping a Watchful Eye Over Who Drives into Your (Network) Neighborhood.

Setting the Ground Rules. Enforcing the Ground Rules. Ways to Watch Your (Network) Neighborhood. Deciding When to Stop the Traffic. Safe Places Outside of Your Neighborhood (Network). Using the Police to Watch for Bad Guys. Watching for Wolves in Sheep's Clothing. Avoiding Catching Cold. Profiling What the Bad Guys Want to Do. Chapter Summary. Chapter Review Questions.

VII. APPENDIXES.

Appendix A: Answers to Chapter Review Questions.
Appendix B: Converting IP Addresses Between Decimal and Binary.
Glossary.

Cisco Press Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from Cisco Press and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview

Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about Cisco Press products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information

To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites; develop new products and services; conduct educational research; and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@ciscopress.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information

Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security

Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children

This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing

Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information

If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out

Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by Cisco Press. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.ciscopress.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information

Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents

California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure

Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links

This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact

Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020