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Free Introduction to Networking Book

Posted by michael on from the layers-upon-layers dept.

prostoalex writes "Eugene Blanchard made his Introduction to Data Communications (also known as Introduction to Networking) available for free. The book covers a broad variety of topics such as RS-232, Ethernet, RF, TCP/IP and many other topics in its 63 chapters. This is a valuable reference and read for those just starting to understand networking and data communications as well as seasoned professionals in the field."

5 of 18 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Damn..... by kaens · · Score: 3, Informative

    Should've previewed. http://www.techbooksforfree.com/

    --
    kaens.blogspot.com
  2. Irrelevant by brunes69 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That has nothing at all to do with the subject matter the book is about. The basic concepts that these intro to data comm. textbooks cover have not changed since the 60's.

    I wish this had been availlable 4 years ago while I was still in University, it would have saved me $70.

  3. Is this a joke? by wonkamaster · · Score: 3, Informative
    I *quickly* flipped through the contents and found the content to be way off. My favorite part is 42g (EGRP):
    "EGRP was created to solve many of the problems with RIP and has become the default routing protocol across the Internet."
    First of all, there is no protocol EGRP. If there were such a thing as a default Internet routing protocol I'd say it was BGP. Not to mention that there is no routing protocol called EGRP.
    ...it uses up to 5 metrics (conditions) to determine the best route:

    * Bandwidth
    * Hop Count (Delay) - maximum of 255
    * Maximum Packet size
    * Reliability
    * Traffic (Load)
    Oh he means EIGRP, the Cisco proprietary protocol. Not only is it not an exterior routing protocol (a requirement to handle Internet routing) it's not supported by anything other than Cisco routers! And most Cisco-only shops don't use it because it's distance vector (even if enhanced)!!!

    And for what it's worth, EIGRP doesn't use hop count or max packet size in its metric calculation to determine the best route. Per Cisco, It uses bandwidth, load, delay and reliability in its calculation.

    My advice, you're better off staying away from this book. You can learn accurate information elsewhere, even if you have to pay for it.
    1. Re:Is this a joke? by topham · · Score: 2, Informative

      It -used- to be a requirement to use Cisco equipment, and a cursory look around the net turns up usage of ERP/EIRP/EIGRP as meaning the same thing. As well as the fact it seems to be a reference to the protocol BGP/BGRP replaced.

  4. Other free network book by Oscaro · · Score: 3, Informative

    This one is also very very good, and free.