Who Should Read This Book

While this book provides an ample tutorial of wireline data and wireless communications, we did not want to write yet another book on data communications or the basics of cellular wireless systems. Mobile VPN: Delivering Advanced Services in Next-Generation Wireless Systems covers only relevant topics and disciplines comprising Mobile VPN and other advanced wireless data service. Consequently, this book requires a reader to have basic education in computer science and electrical engineering. We also assume you have some exposure to the basics of data communications and cellular wireless concepts, as well as an understanding of OSI model and TCP/IP, and link layer technologies such as PPP, ATM, and Frame Relay.

Reading this book does not require a previous understanding of IP tunneling, wireless data communications, Wireless LAN fundamentals (although knowledge of regular LAN technology is still required), VPN concepts, data networking security, or next-generation cellular systems and services taxonomies. Those readers with a good understanding of these and other related technologies will find in-depth discussions on these and other related subjects especially useful. Sometimes even familiar and well-studied and documented subjects are presented in a new light of application to wireless and mobile VPN.

We tried to make this book useful for a wide audience of professionals and students in wireline and wireless data communications and networking, as well as representatives from other professions, such as investors and financial analysts wishing to gain proficiency in this subject. In particular: Chapters 6, 7, discussing the implementation of Mobile VPNs within particular wireless systems, and Chapter 9, discussing the future directions of wireless data services, offer comprehensive case studies and real-life examples of virtual private network deployments and address practical network design issues such as IP addressing strategies, VPN optimization methods, and practical wireless IP security. This makes this book especially useful to both wireless and wireline data network architects, IT managers, network administrators, and even corporate security officers involved in implementing of real-life systems.

Engineers and product managers involved into implementation and definition of products supporting MVPN functionalities will benefit from our in-depth descriptions of the functionalities of various elements required in next-generation cellular and WLAN systems to offer MVPN services. The analysis of business issues and future trends of MVPN field provided in the first and last chapters should be of special interest to product managers and other professional involved in the product feature decision making and market forecasting.