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Title: Voice and Data Communications Handbook by Regis J. "Bud" Bates, Donald W. Gregory ISBN: 0-07-213188-8 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media Pub. Date: July, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $65.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.86 (21 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Best introductory communications text I've seen.
Comment: This book is easily the best introduction to voice and data communications I've seen. I wish I had this when I first got into the business 10 years ago! Jargon isn't used until after it's introduced, text is plain and easy to read, and illustrations are clear and informative. My only quibbles are the index could be better, and a larger glossary would be very nice. Also, it's not quite as up to date as I had hoped it to be; for example, it talks about V.34 as a pending standard, and no mention is made at all of V.90. Nevertheless, at $65, this 900 page book is well worth the price.
Rating: 3
Summary: Keep looking for "the" one-stop, comprehensive telecom book
Comment: I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I bought "Voice and Data Communications Handbook, Fourth Edition" (VADCH:4E) to gain a general understanding of communications technologies beyond the LAN. Although the book mentions all of the systems which interested me, I was not satisfied with the manner in which they were covered. VADCH:4E is better than Ross' "Telecommunications Technologies" but inferior to Green's "Irwin Handbook of Telecommunications." Nevertheless, I'm still looking for an author who delivers the goods on voice and data communications essentials.
VADCH:4E's table of contents is sure to impress; it mentions T carriers, VPNs, X.25, Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, SMDS, Frame Relay, ISDN, ATM, DSL, SS7, LNP, Cellular/PCS, WAP, 3G Wireless, SONET/SDH, and other key telecom systems and concepts. Unfortunately, I rarely finished a chapter with a good grasp of the material. I desperately searched for clues to questions I felt were key to understanding each technology. Rather than launching into an extended discussion of each system, I would have preferred hearing exactly how each technology works, with comparison to other technologies. More is not better if the "more" isn't helpful!
VADCH:4E is advertised as being "straightforward and jargon-free." This approach supposedly appeals to management types. In reality, the book swings wildly from mind-numbing grade-school-level analogies to material only understood with outside references. A 1074 page book needs to pick a writing style and stay the course. Otherwise, it alienates both nontechnical and technical readers. (Incidentally, technical readers may wonder why the authors believe Windows screen savers contribute to LAN traffic; see page 674 to read this odd claim.)
On a positive note, VADCH:4E consistently offered useful information on the history and business rationale for many telecom systems. Many of the connectivity diagrams were excellent. (These were usually offset by cheesy "clip-art" type graphics elsewhere, unfortunately.) VADCH:4E also includes descriptions of the framing formats for most telecom transmission systems.
Overall, I don't recommend reading a book this large if it doesn't answer the key questions I expect readers to ask. While I'm more familiar with telecom basics after reading VADCH:4E, I still hope another book makes more sense of the telecommunications environment.
Rating: 2
Summary: Confusing and Incorrect
Comment: I puchased this book, in addition to many other telecom books and found this to be one of the worst ones. Not only is the information useless it is written in a diffucult to understand fashion. I recommend that you do not waste corporate money of this book.
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Title: The Essential Guide to Telecommunications (3rd Edition) by Annabel Z. Dodd ISBN: 0130649074 Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR Pub. Date: 12 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $34.99 |
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Title: Compete & WIN in Telecom Sales - A Step-by-Step Guide for Successful Selling by Philip Max Kay ISBN: 1578200628 Publisher: CMP Books Pub. Date: 15 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Newton's Telecom Dictionary, 19th Edition: Covering Telecommunications, Networking, Information Technology, Computing and the Internet by Harry Newton ISBN: 1578203074 Publisher: CMP Books Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Telecom Crash Course by Steven Shepard ISBN: 0071382135 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional Pub. Date: 25 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Desktop Encyclopedia of Telecommunications (Telecommunications) by Nathan J. Muller, Nathan Muller ISBN: 0071381481 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional Pub. Date: 26 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $59.95 |
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