IP Switching: Protocols and Architectures

Explains new techniques for switching in computer networks that have been developed to cope with the increasing bottlenecks as traffic on the Internet and intranets grows. Covering both firmware and software, helps network designers and managers choose the best techniques to reduce latency, improve the quality of service, and increase bandwidth in such applications as videoconferencing, multicasting, and virtual reality. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Your complete, one-stop guide to the hottest area in networking: IP switching.

As the Internet and intranets sag under the weight of user demand, and accusatory finger point to routers as the bottleneck culprits, a host of new Internet Protocol (IP) switching technologies have appeared, promising rescue.

But what kind of switch can actually deliver the reduced latency, improved QoS (quality of service), and greater bandwidth demanded by services such as videoconferencing, multicasting, and virtual reality? Which switches meet the needs of your network? And, perhaps most importantly, which will keep up with technology that's always on the move?

This book, covering both the firmware and software of IP switching, and written by one of the field's foremost experts, has all the answers. It provides the best overview of the entire arena, giving you everything from a nuts-and-bolts explanation of switching technology to a detailed, all-inclusive analysis of vendor offerings.

Look for:

a top-to-bottom survey of switching technology developments clear contrasts with routing technology understandable descriptions of how different switches work detailed comparisons of brand-name switches from ARIS, Ipsilon, Cisco, Toshiba, and more a full discussion of multicasting readable explanations of Multiprotocol Over ATM (MPOA), layering Classical IP, I-PNNI, PAR, and much more

Network designers, network managers, Internet service providers, and anyone dealing with the technical aspects of fast data flow, all need IP Switching: Protocols and Architectures.