In the four years since the sixth edition of this book was published, the field has seen continued innovations and improvements. In this new edition, we try to capture these changes while maintaining a broad and comprehensive coverage of the entire field. To begin this process of revision, the sixth edition of this book was extensively reviewed by a number of professors who teach the subject and by professionals working in the field. The result is that, in many places, the narrative has been clarified and tightened, and illustrations have been improved. Beyond the refinements to improve pedagogy and user-friendliness, there have been substantive changes throughout the book. Much of the material has been revised and new material has been added. The most noteworthy changes are as follows:

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• The addition of Dr. Thomas L. Case, Professor and Chair of the Department of Information Systems at Georgia Southern University.
• Security coverage. Coverage of security-related issues is featured in relevant places throughout the book to meet the needs of the IT/IS schools using this book and the growing emphasis on network security.
• Now aligns with the ACM/AIS IS 2010 curriculum model. The new edition should be especially appealing to universities seeking alignment with the ACM/AIS IS 2010 curriculum model. BDC 7e covers all the recommended topics for IS 2010.5 IT Infrastructure, one of the core courses in the model curriculum. It also addresses multiple topics recommended for the IS 2010.3 Enterprise Architecture course including virtualization, business continuity, software as a service (SaaS), enterprise data models, network management, and emerging technologies.
• Cloud computing. Cloud computing has become a vital and essential tool in business IT. Cloud computing concepts are covered in a number of chapters throughout the book.
• Fourth generation (4G) mobile networks. 4G networks continue to expand worldwide and a section covering this recent technology has been added.
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). DHCP is a widely used protocol that enables dynamic IP address assignment. A new section covers this protocol.
• Electronic Mail. The section on email in Chapter 10 has been expanded to include a discussion of the standard Internet Mail Architecture.
• Multimedia Applications. A new discussion of this topic is in Chapter 10.
• Acceptable Use Policies. A new section on acceptable use policies for email, Web, and Internet applications is in Chapter 10.
• Internet addressing. The section on Internet addressing has been updated and expanded to include CIDR and IPv6 addresses.
• Multicasting. A new section on multicasting, which is increasingly important in the business environment, has been added.
• VoIP. Voice over IP is increasingly replacing traditional voice services. A new section in Chapter 15 discusses technology and service aspects.
• Presence information and services. The increased use of instant messaging and VoIP, plus the increased use of collaboration services, are all supported by presence services now becoming available. A new section in Chapter 15 explores presence information and services.
• Sample syllabus. The text contains more material than can be conveniently covered in one semester. Accordingly, instructors are provided with several sample syllabi that guide the use of the text within limited time (e.g., 16 weeks or 12 weeks). These samples are based on real-world experience by professors with the sixth edition.