William Stallings is a best-selling author and five-time winner of the annual Text and Academic Authors Association award for best computer science and engineering text. He has authored 17 titles and-counting revised editions-43 books on various aspects of computer networking and computer architecture. Stallings is an independent consultant whose clients have included computer and networking manufacturers and customers, software development firms, and leading-edge government research institutions. He holds a Ph.D. from M.LT. in computer science and a B.S. from Notre Dame in electrical engineering. All of his Prentice Hall titles can be found at the Prentice Hall Web site: www.prenhall.com