As the world grows increasingly interconnected, data communications has become a critical aspect of business operations. Wireless and mobile technology allows us to seamlessly transition from work to play and back again, and the Internet of things has brought our appliances, vehicles, and homes into the network; as life increasingly takes place online, businesses recognize the opportunity for a competitive advantage. Today's networking professionals have become central to nearly every aspect of business, and this book provides the essential foundation needed to build and manage the scalable, mobile, secure networks these businesses require. Although the technologies evolve rapidly, the underlying concepts are more constant.

This book combines the foundational concepts with practical exercises to provide a well-grounded approach to networking in business today. Key management and technical issues are highlighted and discussed in the context of real-world applications, and hands-on exercises reinforce critical concepts while providing insight into day-to-day operations. Detailed technical descriptions reveal the tradeoffs not presented in product summaries, building the analytical capacity needed to understand, evaluate, and compare current and future technologies.