Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (5th Edition)

The authors, for the most part, shun the well-known seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocol stack in favor of their own five-layer (application, transport, network, link, and physical) model. It's an effective approach that helps clear away some of the hand waving traditionally associated with the more obtuse layers in the OSI model. The approach is definitely theoretical--don't look here for instructions on configuring Windows 2000 or a Cisco router--but it's relevant to reality, and should help anyone who needs to understand networking as a programmer, system architect, or even administration guru.

The treatment of the network layer, at which routing takes place, is typical of the overall style. In discussing routing, authors James Kurose and Keith Ross explain (by way of lots of clear, definition-packed text) what routing protocols need to do: find the best route to a destination. Then they present the mathematics that determine the best path, show some code that implements those algorithms, and illustrate the logic by using excellent conceptual diagrams. Real-life implementations of the algorithms--including Internet Protocol (both IPv4 and IPv6) and several popular IP routing protocols--help you to make the transition from pure theory to networking technologies. --David Wall

Topics covered: The theory behind data networks, with thorough discussion of the problems that are posed at each level (the application layer gets plenty of attention). For each layer, there's academic coverage of networking problems and solutions, followed by discussion of real technologies. Special sections deal with network security and transmission of digital multimedia.

Product Description
KEY BENEFIT: An emphasis on application-layer paradigms and application programming interfaces, encourages a lively, hands-on experience with protocols and networking concepts. KEY TOPICS: Computer Networks and the Internet; Application Layer; Transport Layer; Network Layer; Link Layer and LANs; Wireless and Mobile Networks; Multimedia Networking; Security in Computer Networks; Network Management; New discussions of VPN, IPsec, VLAN and updated technology treatment. MARKET: A useful reference for computer networking professionals.

The book is very well-written and extremely interesting to read. I was never bored in any chapter. Kurose and Ross are knowledgable experts in their field, and their exposition of the material is fantastic. Unlike Tanenbaum's book, they start at the application layer and move down. IMHO, this is a far better pedagogical strategy, because young students these days already have an excellent layer-5 understanding thanks to daily interaction with HTTP, IM, P2P file sharing, etc. If I remember correctly from my undergrad days, my own experience in a bottom-up approach, starting at the physical layer, really put me to sleep and put me off from networking. That's a shame, because networking is a really exciting field.

The best parts of the book are the breadth, thorough use of real-world topics, and the illustrations. In fact, the diagrams and illustrations are just plain great. Most technical writers often rely too much on the written word. Here, the authors augment almost every pair of pages with an illustration; this is simply remarkable. The explanations of fundamental topics (such as packet-switching, DNS, TCP congestion control, IP routing, and ethernet) are *extremely* clear. More advanced topics are very up-to-date, covering cutting-edge subjects such as P2P, CDNs, security, NATs, 802.11, RTP, etc. I have not found a better introductory explanation of CDNs anywhere else. Although networking does have a lot of math in various areas, this introductory book does not get too much in detail in mathematical discourse, making this book very readable. That's a fine approach in my opinion, as a deep mathematical analysis of various topics is best left for grad school or a professional job.

The authors' academic background really shows. Every topic is filled with citations/references to other work. This is great, because this book is just an introductory book with wide breadth but is otherwise lacking in significant depth. The interested reader (future grad student or network engineer?) can easily follow up on any topic he/she likes thanks to the exhaustive list of references.

As if all of that were not enough, there is an accompanying website that has interactive Java applets demonstrating various topics as well as a set of Powerpoint slides for download. Furthermore, I enjoyed the interchapter dialogues with various famous researchers in the field.

All in all, this is an outstanding book for the undergrad level, and I expect this would be a great book for professionals who want to have a firm grasp on networking fundamentals. I wish all my undergrad books were written as well as this one.


networking for chimpanzees ...   April 7, 2004
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

I never read a book that was more clear then this one. Also while the book is rather theoretical, it contains so much real case studies and interesting facts that the reader keeps his motivation from the start to the end of the book. Here is a comparison with Tannenbaum 's famous book on computer networking.

-Both books go deep and give fairly rigorous explantion without too much mathematics. Only some basic math and basic probablility is required like binomial distributions etc ...(remark however these books do not delve into the details of mathematical queueing models etc ...)
-This book is very up-to-date with the latest internet technologies like point-to-point file sharing, streaming and multimedia. Tannnenbaum does not contain the latest developments in these fields.
-The physical layer is explained in more details in Tannenbaum.
Other layers are explained with the same level of details in both books.
-This book reads better then Tannenbaum without sacrifying rigour. It contains also much more real-life case-studies.
-The concepts in this book are explained in a much clearer way then Tannenbaum. I perceived Tannenbaum as sometimes confusing. The authors of this book have so good didactic skills that they could explain complex networking topics to chimpansees....

Conclusion : this is the only book I know in computer networks that goes deep enough and explains the concepts in a clear way...If you are looking for the best book on computer networking, stop looking : here it is !!!.


One of the Best   April 4, 2008
Aaron Rutledge
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

"Computer Networking" by Kurose and Ross is an excellent introduction to the topic of computer networking as it relates to the largest and arguably most important network of them all: the internet. As stated in the title, the authors take a top-down approach that, in my opinion, is very well suited to CS or SE majors who are typically already familiar with aspects of the application and transport layers, but who often have had little or no training (or interest) at the physical layer. In this way Kurose's text distinguishes itself from other popular texts such as those by Stallings ("Data and Computer Communications") or Tanenbaum ("Computer Networks").

There are a total of nine chapters, the first of which paints the big picture and lays out the plan for the book. The book presents a analysis of each layer of the 5-layer TCP/IP model. The decision to use the TCP/IP model over the OSI model is appropriate considering the authors' intentions of focusing on the internet. To accomplish their goal the authors next provide chapters on the application, transport, network and data-link layers respectively. The coverage of the application and transport layers are where the book seperates itself from both Tanenbaum and (especially) Stallings. In addition to providing the theory Kurose and Ross also inject practical demonstrations such as introducing the reader to socket programming in Java. The coverage of the network and datalink layers is somewhat more standard, but still very good and complete. Following these are chapters on wireless and mobile networks, multi-media networking, network security, and a small chapter on network management. Coverage of the physical layer is spread throughout all of the chapters in the book and presented on a "need-to-know" basis. Each chapter presents ample details about the protocols, technologies, algorithms and standards that are used by each layer as it relates to the internet. All of these chapters are quite long (between 70-120 pages) which may give readers the impression that the text drags on. It would be wise for readers to treat the major sub-headings in each chapter as single entities, rather than attempting to plow through each chapter in a single sitting.

The style of the writing would be best described as clear and accessible. The authors make use of analogy and repetition to drive home the content, particularly in the first three chapters. Students who are new to the subject and have not had much experience thinking about things such as protocols and algorithms will likely appreciate this approach.

Like any book, this book will be useful only to a subset of people who want to study computer networks. I think this book provides the best introduction for CS/SE students who have not had much exposure to network theory and are looking for a practical introduction to the subject. For CS/SE students who feel they want a more formal, terse, and dense introduction to the subject, they should try Tanenbaum's "Computer Networks" instead. Be aware that while Tanenbaum does provide more complete coverage he also assumes more "maturity" from the reader. Kurose can thus be thought of as a "gentle" verion of Tanenbaum's book. For EE/CE majors I would recommend Stallings or Tanenbaum over Kurose. Although Kurose does cover topics such as physical media and signaling, his treatment is cursory and assumes that the reader is not particularly interested in the fine theoretical details. Stallings, in contradistinction to Kurose, assumes the reader is not particularly interested in the transport and application layers and spends many pages covering the fine details of the physical theory. Stallings coverage is also much more broad than Kurose's, as he does not give particular preference to the internet, an approach that will probably just bore CS/SE students. Tanenbaum provides the most balanced and uniform coverage of the three books, and can be used successfully and fruitfully by anyone who has a solid background in computer science or computer engineering.

A word needs to be said about the problem sets at the end of each chapter. Some of the problems can be difficult to solve unless you have really mastered the material in the chapter. There are not tons of examples given within the text itself. Thus, it is fair to say that the authors implicitly assume a certain amount of mathematical maturity. You must be fairly comfortable thinking algebraically, and with calculating values and solving basic equations. CS and SE students should not have any problems here. There is very little advanced algebra, no trigonometry, and no calculus. While the lack of examples may frustrate some readers, compared to both Tanenbaum and Stallings, Kurose's problem sets are very straight-forward and elementary.

In conclusion, Kurose and Ross provide an excellent introduction to networking and the internet for CS/SE majors or anyone who is at least somewhat computer saavy. Highly recommended overall.


The search is over   January 2, 2002
John Dean (Kansas City, MO)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

I've taught Park University's Computer Networking course four times now and I've used four different textbooks. I'm very happy with my most recent choice - Kurose/Ross's Computer Networking. The Kurose/Ross textbook is everything I've been looking for.

Our computer networking course is an overview of networking. Many of the textbooks on the market are overly mathematical or overly business-oriented. This one is just right. Personally, I love Tanenbaum's networking textbook, but I have to admit that this one is better suited for an introductory networking course.

I thought that the PowerPoint slides were pretty good, but I still didn't use them much because I'm ultra-picky about my lecture presentation and I thought that I needed to write my own slides for added clarity.

Positive attributes:
1. Emphasis on the Internet and the Internet protocol stack. As the authors point out, that makes for a more relevant model than the old OSI model. Students can more easily get a handle on the Internet protocol stack model.
2. Great website.
3. Well written.
4. Great content. Lots of detail when you need it, but it introduces difficult concepts in a manner that is not overwhelming.
5. Good homework problems. I haven't tried the programming excercises because my students didn't know Java, but next time I teach the course, the students will know Java and I plan to use the programming assignments.
6. Great response from the authors. I enquired about a typo and Keith Ross replied the same day with appropriate help.


Be aware of the so-called "paperback edition"!   October 1, 2003
Chinchih Lu
32 out of 42 found this review helpful

It's hard to believe that a "technical" book can be so captivating - I could hardly put it down once I start reading it. My only complaint is the price. However, look out for those who sell "Softcover Intl edition with exact same content". I made the mistake of trying to save some money and bought one, and the quality of the book was simply terrible - flimsy paper, ink shows through, and all the figures were in poor black-and-white copy (instead of the nice shades of gray with blue highlight). On the back of my book it says "For sale only in Indea...".