Technical Editor and Foreword Contributor

Charles Riley, along with Methuselah, has spent some time specializing in networking and security. He remembers reverse engineering Basic code to enlarge the ship in Canyon Cruiser on the Commodore 64, causing its wings to scrape the pixilated walls. Shortly afterward, he was forced to resign from the middle school computer club. Had there been appropriate security in place at the time, life might have taken a different turn.

The career of Charles spans decades, starting as a young cowherd at the tender age of 6. At less than 4 feet tall, and while other children were watching Captain Kangaroo, Charles was herding several tons of walking, unpredictable beef into a large barn. From there, it was a logical transition to herding packets through a network, and sheltering them behind a firewall.

Charles has coauthored and edited several books, including Routing and Configuring Cisco Voice over IP, Second Edition, and The Best Damn Cisco Internetworking Book Period (Syngress Publishing, ISBN: 1-931836-91-4). He has designed and implemented robust networking solutions for large Fortune 500 and privately held companies. Charles started as an U.S. Army telecommunications specialist at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, eventually finishing his Army career as the network manager of the 7th Army Training Command in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Charles graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1989.

He’d like express his gratitude and love to his beloved wife, Rene’. Her belief and love lifted him to greater heights than he ever thought possible. Rene’ first saw the writer in the cowherd, and then proceeded to make everything wonderful. To his daughter, Tess, who has the potential to soar so high; he is eagerly looking forward to seeing you do so. He wishes to thank you both for the time and support.