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Introduction to computer networks and cybersecurity
Wu C., Irwin J., CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 2013. 1382 pp. Type: Book (978-1-466572-13-3)
Date Reviewed: Oct 27 2014

Networks. With them, we have the web, Netflix, and lots of other useful, informative, and fun things; however, we also get viruses, Trojans, botnets, and more (though we can certainly have security problems without networks, naturally, such as Stuxnet).

This book, at 1,300 pages, provides encyclopedic and thorough coverage of both networking and network security fundamentals. While a work of this length is often composed of contributions by multiple authors, the two authors have done it (heroically) themselves.

The first half of the book covers networking, including the basic layered structure of most network protocols and occasional in-depth coverage of specific topics (for instance, one chapter covers the domain name system (DNS) and active directory, and another covers border gateway routing).

The second half covers cybersecurity. Again, there is basic coverage of the major topics, and specific detailed coverage of some specific topics such as hash functions and authentication.

Coverage of all topics is uneven. Some (especially in the networking half) are covered in great detail, while others (such as elliptic curve cryptography) are lacking, often seriously so.

There are many illustrations. These are large, usually very clear, and well done. Perhaps there are too many screen dumps. Devoting a page to a screen dump or two to show how to configure some Windows networking seems a bit much, especially when the amount of information presented is quite small (see, for example, pages 820 to 827, among others). Some of the illustrations also seem to be repeated. The illustration on page 816 is almost identical to the one on page 817, and the traditional internal/external/DMZ network diagram shows up rather too often, albeit in slightly different guises.

Each chapter has practice problems and usually several pages of multiple-choice questions, which can certainly be useful for students reviewing the topics covered.

There is an index, but it needs to be filled out a bit more. When I turned to the index to find something that I knew I’d read about, it often proved unhelpful. There is a list of acronyms/abbreviations with the names spelled out, which is also helpful. There is a decent (not too short, not hugely long) list of references for every chapter. The writing is generally very good and, combined with the illustrations, this provides an excellent introduction to many topics in a single volume.

Selected chapters would work very well for a college class (and there is a set of suggestions for building a course around some set of chapters). The length and extensive coverage of a large number of topics make the book as a whole too much (by far) to be covered in a single course. It can serve well as the kind of volume that a student interested in networking or security could use as a reference for a number of years, both in classes (perhaps with other sources being used as primary texts) and in professional work, where quick and readable descriptions of unfamiliar topics can be handy. The relatively modest price should make it all the more attractive for such users. Sadly, many students do not see texts as possible references for future use, and such students are likely to be bothered that they had to pay for a book from which they only used a few chapters.

For a professional interested in exploring networking in more depth, this is an excellent choice containing lots of good material. It is a solid work from which to start learning about new topics. It contains a few weak spots, but these appear mostly in areas (such as elliptic curves) where complete coverage would take much more space than is available. I will keep this on my shelf, both to be able to quickly look things up and so I might review things in greater depth when required or just for general interest.

I admit to wondering if tying basic network protocols and structure with security is that wise of an idea. Since security problems and solutions seem to be changing much more quickly than network structure, half of the book would need to be revised with (much?) greater frequency than the other half.

More reviews about this item: Amazon

Reviewer:  Jeffrey Putnam Review #: CR142855 (1501-0002)
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