BKIMADSL.RVW   990917

"Implementing ADSL", David Ginsburg, 1999, 0-201-65760-0, U$44.95
%A   David Ginsburg
%C   P.O. Box 520, 26 Prince Andrew Place, Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T8
%D   1999
%G   0-201-65760-0
%I   Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
%O   U$44.95 416-447-5101 fax: 416-443-0948 bkexpress@aw.com
%P   323 p.
%T   "Implementing ADSL"

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), along with many other new
and desirable telecommunications technologies, is all too often
presented in one of two ways.  Either you get "this is new, and you
need it!" uninformative boosterism, or you get packet structure
specifications for those who need to program the core protocols into
switches.  It is, therefore, gratifying to find a book that gives you
the hard core, and hardware, realities of the system.

Chapter one presents the business case for ADSL, based on the usual
"Internet users want more bandwidth" model, plus a budget relying on a
number of relatively unsupported suppositions and the American
telephone network business.  Ginsburg does make a very important point
all too often lost in other works: ADSL is not a networking protocol
as such, but is more akin to a modem specification.  Therefore the
discussion of encoding methods that begins chapter two is very welcome
for those who need to use and understand the technology, rather than
merely programming packets.  The further material on ATM (Asynchronous
Transfer Mode) and alternate options (such as frame relay and Internet
Protocol) at the higher layers helps the reader to see how these
systems work together.

Chapter three outlines the components of the ADSL architecture
throughout a network, with the hardware parts mentioned being perhaps
more directly related to that topic than the software that is
reviewed.  Many of the services presented in chapter four actually
rely on ATM, PPP (Point to Point Protocol) and other higher layer
protocols.  Implementation is covered, with detailed configuration
examples and screen shots from real products, in chapter five. 
Chapter six addresses the technology alternatives for providing high
bandwidth access to the public.

(By the way, a thousand fold increase is 100,000 percent, not 10,000
percent, and a hundred fold increase is 10,000 percent, not 1,000
percent.  You're welcome.)

This book will, indeed, be useful for those implementing ADSL. 
Service providers will find a wealth of information that has probably
been confined to the engineering department up until now.  Users will
finally get a chance to understand what ADSL actually is, and where it
fits into the rest of the alphabet soup.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1999   BKIMADSL.RVW   990917