An accessible illustrated introducton to the networks we use every day, from Facebook and Google to WiFi and the Internet What makes WiFi faster at home than at a coffee shop? How does Google order search results? Is it really true that everyone on Facebook is connected by six steps or less? The Power of Networks answers questions like these for the first time in a way that all of us can understand. Using simple language, analogies, stories, hundreds of illustrations, and no more math than simple addition and multiplication, Christopher Brinton and Mung Chiang provide a smart and accessible introduction to the handful of big ideas that drive the computer networks we use every day. The Power of Networks unifies these ideas through six fundamental principles of networking. These principles explain the difficulties in sharing network resources efficiently, how crowds can be wise or not so wise depending on the nature of their connections, why there are many layers in a network, and more. Along the way, the authors also talk with and share the special insights of renowned experts such as Google’s Eric Schmidt, former Verizon Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl, and “fathers of the Internet” Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn.

This book presents a collection of original research papers addressing the relationship between information systems (IS) and innovation. “Open”, “Smart” and “Network” are three keywords that are currently guiding information systems (IS) innovation, enhancing IS potentialities and their ability to support decision-making processes. The book discusses the relevance of these three new concepts in connection with technological and organizational innovations (i.e. cloud, smart technologies and networking), and the role they play in the development of accounting and management information systems. The book’s primary aim is to investigate how these innovations could influence information systems (with a particular focus on accounting and management information systems) by enhancing their information potentialities and improving accounting methodologies, performance measurement systems, data management, information systems architectures, and external and internal reporting. The book is based on a selection of the best papers—original double-blind reviewed contributions—presented at the 2016 Annual Conference of the Italian Chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS).

This book describes approaches, opinions, and concepts for new and emerging solutions and technologies that could be successfully applied in the configuration, optimization and management of supply networks in the highly volatile environment of today’s global economy. It features numerous case studies and quantitative research from different sectors and different countries. The authors, which include academics and managers alike, present tips on technical, organizational, financial and social aspects of implementing the new SMART solution. Dynamic and changing market conditions have made it necessary for companies to act in networks to maintain their competitive position. Accordingly, they have to adapt their own actions to those of other market players, which requires a SMART attitude: today’s supply networks need to be Sustainable, Modern, Adaptive, Robust and innovative Technology-oriented. For example, this concerns making decisions about the extent to which a business model should be green or lean. In turn, these decisions impact logistics, IT, environmental issues and co-operation between suppliers, customers, competitors, and complementors.

This book presents an application-centric approach to the development of smart grid communication architecture. The coverage includes in-depth reviews of such cutting-edge applications as advanced metering infrastructure, distribution automation, demand response and synchrophasors. Features: examines a range of exciting utility applications made possible through smart grid evolution; describes the core-edge network architecture for smart grids, introducing the concept of WANs and FANs; explains how the network design paradigm for smart grids differs from that for more established data networks, and discusses network security in smart grids; provides an overview of communication network technologies for WANs and FANs, covering OPGW, PLC, and LTE and MPLS technology; investigates secure data-centric data management and data analytics for smart grids; discusses the transformation of a network from conventional modes of utility operation to an integrated network based on the smart grid architecture framework.

The rapid growth of IoT and its applications in smart cities pose significant challenges for academic scholars. The increasing number of interconnected devices and the massive amounts of data they generate strain traditional networks, leading to inefficiencies and security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the centralized control plane in Software Defined Networks (SDN) presents a single point of failure, hindering network performance, while IoT devices themselves are susceptible to attacks, compromising user data and privacy. To address these pressing issues, Network-Enabled IoT Applications for Smart City Services offers a compelling solution. Edited by Dr. K. Hemant Kumar Reddy, Dr. Diptendu SinhaRoy, and Tapas Mishra, this book advocates leveraging SDN to handle high-frequency data streams effectively. It also proposes the integration of blockchain technology to enhance security and reliability in IoT applications, offering a roadmap for scholars to improve network efficiency, security, and reliability in IoT and smart city domains. With their extensive expertise, the authors provide academic scholars with a comprehensive and innovative resource that inspires further research and development in this evolving field, enabling them to make significant contributions to the advancement of IoT and smart city technologies.

The main objective of this book is to provide a multidisciplinary overview of methodological approaches, architectures, platforms, and algorithms for the realization of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based Smart Urban Ecosystem (SUE). Moreover, the book details a set of real-world applications and case studies related to specific smart infrastructures and smart cities, including structural health monitoring, smart urban drainage networks, smart grids, power efficiency, healthcare, city security, and emergency management. A Smart Urban Ecosystem (SUE) is a people-centric system of systems that involves smart city environments, applications, and infrastructures. SUEs require the close integration of cyber and physical components for monitoring, understanding and controlling the urban environment. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT) offers a valuable enabling technology, as it bridges the gap between physical things and software components, and empowers cooperation between distributed, pervasive, and heterogeneous entities.