Description:
Step Up to Networking is a comprehensive, technically accurate, platform-neutral, and readable primer on the concepts related to connecting computers to one another. While not specifically designed as a test-preparation aid, Step Up to Networking would be an excellent guide for those planning to take any certification test on the basics of computer networks, such as the Microsoft Networking Essentials exam or similar exams from Novell or Cisco. This is a book about networking technologies in the broad sense--what networks do and how, generally, they do it. Look elsewhere for specific information on implementing networks under specific operating systems. With clear prose and lots of conceptual diagrams, author JoAnne Woodcock explains what topologies are and how they compare to one another, the whole concept of packet switching, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model, various local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) implementations, network operating systems, and tons more. You learn how various protocols compare to one another and get the goods on what kind of cabling, hubs, and other hardware you need to wire an organization. Woodcock deserves kudos for not focusing exclusively on Microsoft technologies, the way Microsoft Press authors sometimes do. She covers open standards accurately and fairly and uses popular Novell protocols in examples regularly. --David Wall
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