About the Authors

Scott Empson is the associate chair of the Bachelor of Applied Information Systems Technology degree program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he teaches Cisco routing, switching, and network design courses in a variety of different programs—certificate, diploma, and applied degree—at the postsecondary level. Scott also is the program coordinator of the Cisco Networking Academy Program at NAIT, a Regional Academy covering central and northern Alberta. He has earned three undergraduate degrees: a bachelor of arts, with a major in English; a bachelor of education, again with a major in English/language arts; and a bachelor of applied information systems technology, with a major in network management. Scott currently is completing his master of education from the University of Portland. He holds several industry certifications, including CCNP, CCAI, Network+, and C|EH. Prior to instructing at NAIT, he was a junior/senior high school English/language arts/computer science teacher at different schools throughout Northern Alberta. Scott lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife, Trina, and two children, Zachariah and Shaelyn.

Hans Roth is an instructor in the Electrical Engineering Technology department at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Hans has been with the college for 13 years and teaches in both the engineering technology and IT areas. He has been with the Cisco Networking Academy since 2000, teaching CCNP curricula. Previous to teaching, Hans spent 15 years in R&D/product development designing microcontroller-based control systems for consumer products as well as for the automotive and agricultural industries.

About the Technical Reviewer

Rick Graziani teaches computer science and computer networking courses at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. Rick has worked and taught in the computer networking and information technology field for almost 30 years. Prior to teaching, Rick worked in IT for various companies, including Santa Cruz Operation, Tandem Computers, and Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation. He holds an M.A. in computer science and systems theory from California State University Monterey Bay. Rick also does consulting work for Cisco Systems and other companies. When Rick is not working, he is most likely surfing. Rick is an avid surfer who enjoys surfing at his favorite Santa Cruz breaks.