About the Author

Uyless Black has written 35 books on computer networks. He was one of the first writers to publish a book on Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and related Internet protocols. His book Voice over IP (VoIP) remains a best seller in the field of data communications texts. Uyless has many years of experience as a programmer and in creating and managing data communications networks.

His educational credentials include a B.S. from the University of New Mexico, an M.S. in computer systems from the American University, and a graduate degree from Rutgers’ Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Milli Second.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank Joe Habraken and Matt Hayden, who wrote and revised the first editions, for their contributions to this book. I was given an easier task of revising this Fourth Edition. I also want to thank my acquisitions editor, Trina MacDonald, for her guidance and support throughout this project. Holly Waters performed her usual great job of reading the manuscript, editing, and formatting it, as well as suggesting changes that made for a better book.

I have gone through the process of writing and producing a book more than 50 times. By producing, I mean the process of working with subject matter experts and editors to make certain the material is correct and readable. Before I sent the manuscript for this book to Sams, I proofread the material over and over, maybe as many as ten times. Did I find all my grammar errors and typos? Not by a long shot. But, I would wager that the Sams editing team found most of them. I can safely state that they are one of the best editing crews to have ever worked on one of my books.

Reviewing and editing someone’s book manuscript is not an easy task. It requires almost superhuman attention to detail and a great deal of tact. Writers are known to have big egos, and editors must often tread cautiously when infoming the author that a sentence or paragraph is gibberish.

I want to thank the Sams staff for how they handled the editing of this book. I know from experience that they are top-notch. First, Ravi Prakash reviewed the manuscript from the technical standpoint. He offered several ideas that I put into the book. He made suggestions for changes; most of which I included. And he did all this with grace. I want to single-out the editors who helped make the book so much better than the manuscript I sent them. They are Songlin Qiu, Jovana San Nicolas-Shirley, Karen A. Gill, and Sheri Cain. The art department, including Laura Robbins, did a terrific job of redoing my original submissions.

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