a computer network is made up of a group of two or more connected machines. in a local area network (or lan), computers are connected together within a local area, such as an office or home. in a wide area network (or wan), computers are farther apart and connected via telephone/communication lines, radio waves, or other means of communication. computer networks makes plain the complex world of networking, adopting a consistent approach to both the theory of basic networking technologies as well as the practical solutions to networking problems. designed to give the reader a picture of the network as a whole, the book includes a web site with visualizations of networking problems and solutions.