Introduction to Data Communications
Copyleft Sept. 1999

Introduction

This book was written over a period of five years in my spare time while consulting at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) for various academic departments. Some of the material is reprints of articles that I have written for the Linux Gazette.

When I started consulting in 1994, there were very few books that explored data communications for network computing. The books that I read on data communications only gave a partial view of the "big picture" and tended to assume that the reader had previous knowledge of networking and data communications.

I've tried to sort out the confusing issues in this book and to focus on only the topics of the "moment". I've been successful in the classroom with this approach and hope that you find it meaningful too. I find that most books on the Linux operating system do not cover the data communications aspects of networking. The purpose of this book is to fill this void and introduce the concepts of data communication with a slight leaning towards the Linux operating system.

2. Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my wife, Susan, for putting up with my obsessive behaviour while I was writing the original course material. Without her in my life, this book would never had been started. I would especially like to thank Harold Sylven for the support and faith that he has had in me.

I would also like to thank Michael Wilson for his hard work and dedication to the first Area Network Technical Analyst program and who never received the credit that he deserved. I would like to thank Doug Spurgeon who has been my "partner in crime" at SAIT and who I have relied on extensively for his support in Windows NT and Novell Netware.

Lastly but not least, I would like to thank my parents for supporting and guiding me throughout my life.