Radia Perlman's Interconnections is recognized as a leading text on networking theory and practice. It provides authoritative and comprehensive information on general networking concepts, routing algorithms and protocols, addressing, and the mechanics of bridges, routers, switches, and hubs. This Second Edition is expanded and updated to cover the newest developments in the field, including advances in switching and bridge technology, VLANs, Fast Ethernet, DHCP, ATM, and IPv6. Additional new topics include IPX, AppleTalk, and DECnet. You will gain a deeper understanding of the range of solutions possible and find valuable information on protocols for which documentation is not readily available elsewhere.

Written by the inventor of many of the algorithms that make switching and routing robust and efficient, Interconnections, Second Edition offers an expert's insight into how and why networks operate as they do. Perlman describes all of the major networking algorithms and protocols in use today in clear and concise terms, while exploring the engineering trade-offs that the different approaches represent.

The book contains extensive coverage of such topics as:

• The spanning tree algorithm

• The differences between bridges, routers, and switches

• Virtual LANs (VLANs) and Fast Ethernet

• Addressing and packet formats for IP, IPv6, IPX, CLNP, AppleTalk, and DECnet

• Autoconfiguration of addresses; strategies in various protocol suites

• Routing protocols, including RIP, IS-IS, OSPF, PNNI, NLSP, and BGP

• Layer 3 multicast protocols, including IGMP, DVMRP, MOSPF, CBT, PIM, BGMP, Simple Multicast, and Express

• Sabotage-proof routing

• Protocol design folklore

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Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 28 Ratings

Welcome to Layer 2 and Layer 3 - need search no longer - 2006-02-03
Reviewer Rating:
"Interconnections 2nd Edition - Bridges, Routers Switches and Internetworking Protocols" by Radia Perlman is simply a magnificent book. This book is a one-stop introduction to both Layer 2 and Layer 3 of the OSI model. This book will not teach you how to configure equipment - but what this book will teach you is how different protocols interact with each other. Most books only focus on either layer 2 or layer 3, but this is the one book that discusses both layers better than most books discuss each layer individually!

Some typos that I noticed in the 2nd edition:

Page 186 - concerning the 4th bullet - a router would fragment a 1,200 byte packet to a 1,000 byte packet and a 200 byte packet - not a 1,000 byte packet and 2,000 byte packet.

Page 209 - The IPv6 address that starts as FEA0::/10 should really be FEC0::/10

It is obvious when reading this book that Perlman is writing about a subject that she both has mastered and cares deeply about. She holds over 50 patents and has earned her Ph.D. from M.I.T. Simply a great book.

I give this book 5 pings out of 5:
!!!!!

Excellent Book for Beginners and Experts - 2005-09-24
Reviewer Rating:
This book is a fantastic voyage through the world of networking. For newbies, it presents complex ideas in an easy-to-understand and entertaining way, keeping you away from an alphabet soup of acronyms. But, it also appeals to experts as well, with its insider's view of the design of various network protocols. Even with many years of networking under my belt, I found myself reading this book constantly saying, "So, that's why they did it that way!" The wealth of information in this book should not be overlooked. The writing style is also crisp, clear, and highly engaging.

interesting read - 2005-09-12
Reviewer Rating:
I've never read a technical book by someone with such an enormous ego.

a must have book - 2004-04-26
Reviewer Rating:
This cover and explain the details about Network

One of the few best books on this subject - 2008-08-04
Reviewer Rating:
Radia Perlman, author of this book, is one of these great people who pioneered the technology which we today know as the Internet. Her book no doubt should be one of the best in the industry to understand this technology, and so it is. She is also famous for inventing the spanning tree protocol, on which today switches work in almost all major networks. She is an authority on the Internet technology and this makes her book an all time best book, both for reference purposes and for learning purposes.

Anybody who wants to learn more about how the Internet works or networks work, this book is a must have.

This is one of these books which never get old. As a professional in the TCP/IP industry, I know that best material on this subject was published in 90s and is still used for reference. And this book is still newer.

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