Includes index

The modern signal carriers : electricity, light, media, and impairments -- Signal fundamentals -- Encoding : representing information -- Error control -- Communications connections -- Digital communication techniques -- Comprehending networks -- Local area networks -- Circuit switching, the telcos, and alternatives -- Packet switched wide area networks -- Internetworking and the Internet -- TCP/IP, associated Internet protocols, and routing -- Wireless networks -- Network security -- Network management -- Planning, designing, and implementing a network -- The future of network communications