Frustrated with networking books so chock-full of acronyms that your brain goes into sleep mode? Head First Networking's unique, visually rich format provides a task-based approach to computer networking that makes it easy to get your brain engaged. You'll learn the concepts by tying them to on-the-job tasks, blending practice and theory in a way that only Head First can.

• With this book, you'll learn skills through a variety of genuine scenarios, from fixing a malfunctioning office network to planning a network for a high-technology haunted house. You'll learn exactly what you need to know, rather than a laundry list of acronyms and diagrams. This book will help you Master the functionality, protocols, and packets that make up real-world networking
• Learn networking concepts through examples in the field
• Tackle tasks such as planning and diagramming networks, running cables, and configuring network devices such as routers and switches
• Monitor networks for performance and problems, and learn troubleshooting techniques
• Practice what you've learned with nearly one hundred exercises, questions, sample problems, and projects

Head First's popular format is proven to stimulate learning and retention by engaging you with images, puzzles, stories, and more. Whether you're a network professional with a CCNA/CCNP or a student taking your first college networking course, Head First Networking will help you become a network guru.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Walking on Wires

Chapter 2. Networking in the Dark

Chapter 3. Into the Wire

Chapter 4. You've Been Framed

Chapter 5. How Smart is Your Network?

Chapter 6. Bringing Things Together

Chapter 7. It's a Matter of Protocol

Chapter 8. Names to Numbers

Chapter 9. Listen to Your Network's Troubles

Chapter 10. Working Without Wires

Chapter 11. Get Defensive

Chapter 12. You Gotta Have a Plan1

appendix i: leftovers

appendix ii: ascii tables

appendix iii: installing bind

About the Authors

Al Anderson is the Director of IT Support Services at Salish Kootenai College. He holds an Associates of Science in Computer Science and is near completing of Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering. He has 10+ years of college teaching experience in Programming, Networking, and Desktop Publishing, and 15+ years experience in creating, editing, and formatting various documents including pamphlets, catalogs, and manuals. Al has produced a 3-8 hour video series for the Virtual Training Company including Ruby on Rails, REALbasic, and Programming Ruby. In addition, he has built many production applications including a Learning ManagementSystem in use by Salish Kootenai College, a Ruby-on-Rails issue-tracking help desk application, and a Mac OS X Cocoa Airport Wireless Utility.

Ryan Benedetti holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Montana and teaches in the Liberal Arts Department at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

For seven years, Ryan served as Department Head for Information Technology and Computer Engineering at SKC. Prior to that, he worked as editor and information systems specialist for a river, stream, and wetland research program in the School of Forestry at the University of Montana.

Ryan's poems have been published in Cut Bank and Andrei Codrescu's Exquisite Corpse. He loves cartooning, playing blues harmonica, making Flash learning toys, and practicing zazen. He spends his best moments with his wife, daughter, and son in the Mission Mountain Valley of Montana.