Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works

Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works

  • Downloads:1049
  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2021-08-31 09:56:28
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Charles Severance
  • ISBN:1511654945
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

This book demystifies the amazing architecture and protocols of computers as they communicate over the Internet。 While very complex, the Internet operates on a few relatively simple concepts that anyone can understand。 Networks and networked applications are embedded in our lives。 Understanding how these technologies work is invaluable。 This book was written for everyone - no technical knowledge is required! While this book is not specifically about the Network+ or CCNA certifications, it as a way to give students interested in these certifications a starting point。"

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Reviews

Pedro Duarte Medeiros

Very good introduction of how networks and Internet workThis is a very useful book for anyone who wants a concise and sound introduction to computer networks and the Internet。 The author is very good at explaining the main ideas behind the operation of Internet without introducing details that could obscure the big picture。

Jose Maria landa

Great overview on networksEasy read。 Very nice。The author communicates complex ideas in a simple way。 Overall, a great book everyone should read。

Aaron

Excellent introduction to computer networking。 It's everything you'd want in an introduction, covering the key ideas and terms without going into too much detail。 For myself, I don't do networking professionally, but I have worked in IT for about a decade now。 Even with a tech background there's a lot I don't know about networking or only know at an abstract level。 So even with that background there were some new things I learned in this book, mostly just by simple, clear illustrations。For examp Excellent introduction to computer networking。 It's everything you'd want in an introduction, covering the key ideas and terms without going into too much detail。 For myself, I don't do networking professionally, but I have worked in IT for about a decade now。 Even with a tech background there's a lot I don't know about networking or only know at an abstract level。 So even with that background there were some new things I learned in this book, mostly just by simple, clear illustrations。For example, if you asked me how does your phone connect the local WiFi, I'd say, "Oh yeah, that's all defined in the IEEE 802。11 standards"。 And how exactly does that work here? "Magic。" Honestly I had no idea how new devices automatically, but it's actually fairly straightforward (at least in principle)。 Stuff like that。 Another is how two computers connecting over the Internet know how much data to send at a time (the window size)。 Basically they start out sending a small amount of data to see how that goes, then they increase the amount up to the limit they can send reliably。 Even email。 It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I'd never really thought about how emails works, considering that the person sending the email may not be online at the same time as the recipient。 Where does it live in the meantime? How do you know it's sent? How do you retrieve it? All these years it was just magic。So this book gives you explanations for so much of that magic。 And all of it written comfortably for a high school audience (or a tech-savvy middle school reader)。 Anything you don't understand can safely be skipped over, so don't think you need to read it end to end。 The whole idea of the network stack is that each layer is essentially independent of all the others, so it helps to ready chapter 3 before chapter 4, but they're really about different things。 Each chapter also has a glossary and short quiz to test yourself on terms and ideas。It's a five-star gem and I recommend to anyone interested in how the Internet works。 。。。more

Santi

# 🚀 The book in 3 Sentences:1。 The book discusses the TCP/IP layer model to explain the network, it's an implementation model, provides guidance for those who would build compatible hard/soft, in contraposition to the OSI model which is an abstract model that can be used to understand a wide range of network implementations。2。 The model is broken down into a Link Layer, all of the engineering to move data to the first router; the Internetwork Protocol Layer, how data is routed across a series of # 🚀 The book in 3 Sentences:1。 The book discusses the TCP/IP layer model to explain the network, it's an implementation model, provides guidance for those who would build compatible hard/soft, in contraposition to the OSI model which is an abstract model that can be used to understand a wide range of network implementations。2。 The model is broken down into a Link Layer, all of the engineering to move data to the first router; the Internetwork Protocol Layer, how data is routed across a series of hops to get to any destination, packets might get lost here; the Transport Layer, that compensates for any losses in the previous layers and retransmits data if necessary, also rearranges packets that arrive out of order, also controls the flow with the 'window size'; an optional Secure Transport Layer, which handles encryption/decryption of data and validation of certificates; and the Application Layer that can make use of the network connection with just a few lines of code, focusing only on the problems user want to solve and not worrying about the connection itself。3。 I think that those looong two sentences sum it up well enough! 😆# 🎨 ImpressionsAmazing book to get started into networking and understand how the internet works。 I know some of the technical details of networking but this book helped me tie up all of the concepts together and know how they form the big picture。 This book requires none to little previous knowledge and it helps the reader feel much more comfortable with networking logic and terms。## 🕵🏼‍♂️ How I Discovered ItLast year I took the Python for Everybody course by Charles Severance as well where he mentioned this free book he wrote。 I'm very happy I followed his recommendations and read this book。## ❓ Who Should Read It?Someone curious about how the internet works (I feel like everyone thinks they know, at least I felt like this before, but after reading this book you might feel way more comfortable talking about networking and the internet)。 Or, also someone who is planning to dive deep into these concepts, as it's my case, and wants an easy-to-understand big picture before getting into the nitty-gritty details。 # ☘️ How the Book Changed MeHow my life/behavior/thoughts/ideas have changed as a result of reading the book。It got me really interested in networking because this book is simple enough to understand every topic covered, before I always felt frustrated at some point。 I'll definitely dive deeper into the subject。 。。。more

Valentin

A good introduction in understanding of the technical design and architecture of the Internet

Md。 Jamal Uddin

Well organized and description book about IT & Networking for beginners。

Kyle Zollo

Now I know how the internet works

Rohit Roy

This book can provide a great introduction to networking Anyone can get a proper concept of how the internet was built and is working。 I think the best feature of this book is its simple language。 The most recommended book if you are a beginner。

Maria A

A great book to start learning the ways in which networking happens。 Previous knowledge of the subject is not required, but it would be advisable as there are one or two complex chapters that are time-consuming for the knowledge to be comprehended。 To understand this book makes the journey through IT easier。 5 stars!

Yabir Canario

Really good bookWell explained for a beginner。 The kindle version doesn't have the pictures, but it can be found in the quiz website。 Really good bookWell explained for a beginner。 The kindle version doesn't have the pictures, but it can be found in the quiz website。 。。。more

Derrick Nedzel

A well written introduction to the engineering of the internet。 I found it detailed enough to give a good understanding without being so detailed that I get lost。 For me this was great review of networking and internet issues that I had forgotten about。 I wasn’t a network administrator, but I spent years working with networked and internet based software products, this refreshed my memory on the basics of how apps work over the internet。

Scotty Cameron

A good read for beginners or for brushing up。

Michael

How the Internet WorksExcellent summary of networking technology。 Gives just the right amount of detail to de-mystify internet technology without going to the level of detail that would lose the average person。 I loved it!

Piyush Arora

Great Intro but Kindle missing DiagramsEasy to read and quite informative for a beginner。 Packs knowledge in a friendly manner, ie, not dense。 Pictures are missing from Kindle version。 Ok since I got this book heavily discounted otherwise I would’ve been really upset!

Deno Vourderis

Great intro to networking basicsWhile a great introduction to networking basics, the picture links did not work。 Any charts that should have been a part of the book were missing。

Randy Wressell

Fantastic read。This book is a great introduction to modern computing and specifically networking。 I have recommended it to several people as an approachable text for them to further their knowledge。

Lloyd Thrall

Solid IntroductionVery glad I read this。 The images are missing, but you can find them on the author's website。 Very accessible for a beginner。 Solid IntroductionVery glad I read this。 The images are missing, but you can find them on the author's website。 Very accessible for a beginner。 。。。more

Leland William

A breezy introduction to Networking concepts。 Would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning how this big ol' system of tubes works。 A breezy introduction to Networking concepts。 Would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning how this big ol' system of tubes works。 。。。more

Muralidhar Kurakula

Nice introduction of network in a concise manner。Nice introduction of network in a concise manner。 Love the style of narration and step by step approach of each layer of networking。

Anthony Su

This is a great introduction to networking or a great refresher on networking if you've taken a networking course。 The book is written in a balanced technical yet understandable manner。 The book demonstrates this by introducing fundamental technical vocabulary and concepts (e。g。TCP/IP Model, OSI Model, NAT, DHCP, etc), so that you can reasonably dive into a more advanced networking textbook。 At the same time, the author holds off on overwhelming you with technical jargon and details if it's not This is a great introduction to networking or a great refresher on networking if you've taken a networking course。 The book is written in a balanced technical yet understandable manner。 The book demonstrates this by introducing fundamental technical vocabulary and concepts (e。g。TCP/IP Model, OSI Model, NAT, DHCP, etc), so that you can reasonably dive into a more advanced networking textbook。 At the same time, the author holds off on overwhelming you with technical jargon and details if it's not crucial to the understanding。 For example instead of saying that a sending computer is waiting for an "ACK", it's simply worded as the sending computer is waiting for an acknowledgement。 I also liked how the content was written in a relatable manner such as how it related routing / routing tables to traveling:"The further you are from your destination, the less you need toknow the exact details of how to get there。 When you are faraway, all you need to know is how to get “closer” to your destination"。 "If you were on the train between the two large cities and youasked the conductor the exact location of your hotel in the smallvillage, the conductor would not know。 The conductor only knowshow to get you closer to your destination, and while you are onthe long-distance train that is all that matters。" Another section that was very relatable was the section about security and how surfing the web via http at a coffee shop is insecure because a malignant person could easily intercept and read the plaintext messages。 It's a good reminder why the web is adopting https everywhere。 Finally, the book does a good job driving home certain ideas, by reiterating them in the end of chapter summaries and tying them back to concepts in other chapters。 In retrospect, some crucial things that I accidentally glossed over were that most of the complexity of the internet is at the edges of the network (i。e。 All four layers run in your computer where you run the client application(like a browser)) whereas components closer to the core like routers are less complex (i。e。 need to only implement link and network layers) and that packets from layers at the top of the TCP/IP model are encapsulated in the packets of the layers beneath them as they travel hop to hop。An area that the book can improve on is having higher quality diagrams / illustrations。 Additionally, the images weren't working on the kindle edition, so I had to cross reference the images on the pdf version of the book。 A particular diagram that I think can be improved is the packet header diagram。 Including things like MAC address and IP Address in the link and network header explicitly and visually showing how the packet changes as it travels up and down the tcp/ip model would really show how all the layers interconnected。Overall I thought this book was great。 It's really impressive how the author was able to distill important concepts of networking in only 100 or so pages and kept the technical content easily digestible。 。。。more

Peter Szabo

The illustrations are missingThe book is well written as usual done by Dr。 Chuck。 It would be easy to understand even for those who don't have any IT background。 However there is a big issue。 The digital book is wrongly edited and all the figures and illustrations are missing。 The illustrations are missingThe book is well written as usual done by Dr。 Chuck。 It would be easy to understand even for those who don't have any IT background。 However there is a big issue。 The digital book is wrongly edited and all the figures and illustrations are missing。 。。。more

Peter Perhac

The quizzes were a waste of paper and just fattened the thin book。 First half was really great。 Then it became very repetitive。 Yet overall I think this book deserves 4 stars for it was so very well done。 The first fifty pages I read like you would a real page turner。 Beautiful introduction to how the internet works

Erica |

Clear and easy to understand introduction to how the internet works。

Jakub Bodak

Nice and clear look into how the Internet works。 Informative and understandable, I definitely recommend it to anyone。

Anthony

Very good book which, explains how internet works in general。 It goes well with a book called "Code" which describes the inner workings of a computer。 From what I understood internet can be broken down to 4 elements:Link layer- the one which gets you to a routerInternetwork Layer- this will get you from your computer to a destination。 A nice explanation on what IP is and how it worksTransport Layer- this layer ensures that the message is received wholesome, as information is sent in parts (packe Very good book which, explains how internet works in general。 It goes well with a book called "Code" which describes the inner workings of a computer。 From what I understood internet can be broken down to 4 elements:Link layer- the one which gets you to a routerInternetwork Layer- this will get you from your computer to a destination。 A nice explanation on what IP is and how it worksTransport Layer- this layer ensures that the message is received wholesome, as information is sent in parts (packets)。 Application layers- the one which allows you to read information on your computer。 Intrinsic processes of the internet were completely foreign to me before reading this book。 I by no means know, how internet works now, but I can at least appreciate its complexity and understand a a macro view on the technology。 。。。more

Maxim

An easy to read introductionI recommend the book, main topics are covered。 It's really easy to read the book, everything is organized and simple。 An easy to read introductionI recommend the book, main topics are covered。 It's really easy to read the book, everything is organized and simple。 。。。more

Rui Sun

A wonderfully simple book for a student who wants to start learning about networking。

James Jones

Great Starting PlaceAn excellent starting place for those interested in learning anything in IT。 Little fore-knowledge is necessary to understand the subject as the information is presented in an easy to read manner。

Bishopriestorr

the simplest book you can ever read 。 take you to understand the basics of networking 。 So it is very important to any one wants to study about networking 。

Yashas

Very easy to understand。 Recommended book for understanding the basics of networking without going into too much details。