Today's networks are required to support an increasing array of real-time communication methods. Video chat and live resources put demands on networks that were previously unimagined. Written to be accessible to all, Fundamentals of Communications and Networking, Third Edition helps readers better understand today's networks and the way they support the evolving requirements of different types of organizations. While displaying technical depth, this new edition presents an evolutionary perspective of data networking from the early years to the local area networking boom, to advanced IP data networks that support multimedia and real-time applications.