Interconnections: Bridges and Routers

by Radia Perlman

Computer networks, once devoted primarily to research, are now an integral part of modern life. People rely on them to do real work, such as handling bank transactions or making airline reservations.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201563320
• ISBN13: 9780201563320
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Addison Wesley Publishing Company
• Length: 389 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.6" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A definite "must have" in any Network Specialist's library

This review applies to the Second Edition published in September 1999:Following the tradition of Radia Perlman's first edition, this update covers just about all of the current and most pertinent aspects of data communications protocols. I view it as an indispensable resource, and is highly authoritative within the discipline and topics covered.

Best intro to internetworking protocols.

Radia Perlman is a well known authority in the fields of networking and internetworking protocols. This book published in 1992 is the one-stop introduction to the field. It explains (in quite some details) the transparent and source routing bridges, the spanning tree protocol, and the various IP/OSI routing protocols: RIP, OSPF, BGP, ISIS. It also has little introductory sections on multicast routing, on lookup algorithm, and finally a chapter that deals with "whether to bridge or route?" I am sure this topic might be of interest to network adiministrators. But, as a protocols engineer, I find myself going back to this book for a quick intro to a topic before I actually delve into the code and the standards/RFCs.This is a must read for anyone interested in gaining a good grounding in internetworking protocols.

When you really need to understand how traffic is moved!

This book is clearly written and well illustrated. It is an essential building block for achieving the kind of understanding of network infrastructure that is necessary to architect and troubleshoot well.

The authority on routing protocol theory and practice.

This is not a book about how to configure and run OSPF networks or set up BGP4 peering with ISPs. People who complain about a lack of "practical" information in the book miss the point. This is one of the best sources of information on the design of network routing protocols that exists.This book is indispensable if you are involved in a software development project that benefits from routing, at any level. The book describes a tool (network routing) and gives modern best-practice advice for how to implement that tool. Even the OSI content is useful in this context; you're never going to "use" OSI, but many people could definitely "use" an understanding of the design process that went into IS-IS.

Excellent reference on bridging and routing

An excellent treatise on bridging/switching and routing. The book begins with thorough background theory, progresses through current implementations and concludes with a discussion of when one should be used over the other. It also describes token ring source route bridging for those that are new to it. The only networking book I've gotten more mileage out of is Douglas Comer's revered Internetworking with TCP/IP, which sits right next to it on the shelf. I would class it as an intermediate to advanced level networking text. Some familiarity with layered networking models is essential to understand the differences between bridging and routing and appreciate the sometimes subtle but profound differences between implementations. A must read for the serious network engineer - you'll discover something new every time you pick it up.