| Computer networks are a crucial part of
many organisations and many users now even have a network
connection in their own home. Without networks there would
be no Electronic Mail, no Internet access and no Networked
Applications. It is one of the fastest moving technologies
areas and brings benefits to virtually every country in
the world. With the interconnection of networks to the Internet,
the world has truly become a Global Village. For many people,
especially children, the first place to search for a given
topic is the World Wide Web (WWW). Who would believe the
pace of technology over ten short years, such as:
| 
Author:
Dr
W.Buchanan,
Napier University,
Edinburgh.
Downloads:
 None yet
Coding:
WinSock
Subnet
RSA
Program
FTP
Client
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From networks of tens of computers
operating at speeds of a thousands of bits per second
to networks with thousands of computers operating
at billions of bits per second. |
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From organisations which passed paper
documents back and forward, to totally paperless organisations. |
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From people who sent one letter each
month to people who send tens of electronic mails
every day? |
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From sending letters around the world
which would take days or weeks to be arrive to the
transmission of information around the world within
a second |
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From businesses who relied on central
operations to ones that can be distributed around
the world, but can communicate as if they were next
door. |
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From the transmission of message which
could be viewed by people and organisation which were
not meant to the read the message, to the transmission
of messages can only be read by the intended destination
(and maybe, space aliens). |
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From written signatures
that can be easily forged, to digital signatures which
are almost impossible to forge, and not only authenticate
the sender but also all of the contents of a message.
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The number of applications of networks increases by the
day, they include:
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Electronic Mail. |
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Video Conferencing. |
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Downloading Hardware Drivers. |
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Distributing Information. |
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Multimedia Education. |
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Remote Access. |
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Application Software Downloads. |
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Client/server Processing. |
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News Groups. |
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Product Information. |
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Remote Control/Transmission of Data. |
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Chat Programs. |
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Daily News Events. |
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Information Archives. |
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On-line Libraries. |
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Electronic Commerce. |
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Search Facilities. |
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WWW Surfing. |
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Sampling Material. |
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Centralised Configuration. |
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Centralised Software Licence Control. |
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Distributed/Centralised Printer/File
Facilities. |
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Networked Peripherals. |
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Source Code Download. |
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Direct Access to Experts. |
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Special Interest Groups. |
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On-line Help. |
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Software Registration. |
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Distributed Databases. |
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Bulletin Boards. |
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Internet Telephone. |
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Archived/Off-line Conferencing. |
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Distributed Databases. |
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Digital TV/Hi-fi. |
The amount of transmitted information over networks increases
by a large factor every year (over the Internet, traffic
doubles every 100 days), and the demand for bandwidth seems
unlimited. Unfortunately there are many different types
of networks, from low-speed single computer connections,
to high-speed multiple computer networks. There are also
many different types of computer systems, there are different
protocols, and so on. It is an exciting area, but also a
difficult area to keep up-to-date with. Thus, the main aim
of this book is to cover many of the important networking
areas, from net-working technologies to data encryption.
It splits into ten main areas, these are:
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Networking Technologies.
Network Topologies, Ethernet (including Fast and Gi-gabit
Ethernet), Token Ring, FDDI, ATM, ISDN and Example
MANs. |
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Networking Protocols.
TCP/IP, ICMP, DNS, ARP, Bootp, IP multicasting, UDP,
WinSock, IP Version 6, SPX/IPX and HTTP. |
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Sockets.
C++/Java/Visual Basic implementation. |
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World Wide Web.
HTTP, Client/server architecture, Web browsers, Internet
re-sources, URLs, URI, Web browser design, SSL, S-HTTP,
Content advisor, Secu-rity zones, Microsoft Wallet
and Profile assistant. |
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Network Security/Intranets.
Proxy servers, Firewalls, Filtering routers, Passwords,
Extranets, Hacking methods, Hacker problems and Hardware
security. |
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Data Encryption Principles.
Cryptography, Legal issues, Cracking the code, Message
hash, Private-Key Encryption, Public-key Encryption,
RSA, PGP, Sample PGP encryption. |
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Authentication.
Shared secret-key authentication, Diffie-Hellman key
exchange, Key distribution centre, Digital signatures
and PGP authentication. |
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Electronic Mail.
Architecture, Email addresses, SMTP, X.400 and MIME.
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Viruses.
Virus types, Anti-virus programs, Trojan horses, Polymorphic
viruses, Stealth viruses, Slow viruses, Retro viruses,
Worms and Macro viruses. |
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Appendices.
Extensive Glossary and Abbreviations, HDLC and RFC
listings. |
Source code
Client-server code for Visual
Basic.
Errata
| Page |
Description |
| 11 |
'If data packets required to go out
of a network then the transport layer routes them
through interconnected networks' should be:
'If data packets required to go out of a network
then the network layer routes them through
interconnected networks' |
|
