Communication Networks Fundamental Concepts and Key Architectures

Communication networks are in a period of transition from networks that are based on telephone architecture and standards to networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP) architecture. The main reason for this change is that new services and applications can be deployed with unprecedented speed over an Internet that has attained the global reach of the telephone network. Many of these new applications and services are quite visible to the student. For example, in addition to e-mail and web surfing, there is buying/selling over the Internet (eBay), MP3 and other file exchanges (Napster, KaZaA), interactive games (Counterstrike), video streaming (CNN), and voice-over-IP (NetMeeting, ICQ). Many other applications and services are having profound impact on business, manufacturing, international commerce, medicine, and government.