Understanding Data Communications and Networks

It covers standard topics found in a typical introductory course in data communications and computer networks. The goals of this book are to help the reader understand the following: • The differences, advantages, and disadvantages of various transmission media • Analog and digital signals, modulation and demodulation techniques, and how modulation devices such as modems, cable modems, and DSL modems work • The effect of noise on transmissions and how protocols detect when information has been damaged • How protocols respond to cases where noise causes information to be damaged or even lost • Standards such as AES, ATM, DES, EIA-232, HDLC, IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.5, IEEE 802.11, IPv6, JPEG, MP3, MPEG, OSI, SONET, TCP/IP, X.25, standards organizations, and why standards are needed. • Worms, viruses, and other threats to networked computers • The need for security and the effectiveness of various encryption methods • Differences between public and private key encryption methods • How to establish secure connections to remote sites • The need for flow control and various ways of implementing it • Local area network protocols and contention strategies for shared transmission media • How to design and set up a variety of working client/server applications Contents 1. Introduction to Communications Standards and Protocols 2. Transmission Media and Codes 3. Analog and Digital Signals 4. Making Connections 5. Data Compression 6. Data Integrity 7. Data Security 8. Flow Control 9. Local Area Networks 10. Connecting Networks 11. Internet Protocols and Applications 12. Internet Programming 13. Circuit Technologies About the Author William Shay is Professor and Chair of Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.