The Sustainable Network

The Sustainable Network

by Sarah Sorensen
Released October 2009
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781449388850

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

"Companies with a stake in the technology industry or that have staked on the Internet (ala Google or Amazon or any of the thousands of small ecommerce companies around the world) are likely to pluck multiple nuggets of wisdom from her book."

-- Heather Clancy, business journalist

What technologies do we need to solve the complex environmental, economic, social, and political challenges facing us today? As this thought-provoking book reveals, one tool for enacting change is already at our fingertips: the global network.

Consider the private domains of companies, governments, and institutions along with the public Internet: we have an immense communications network that connects billions of people in ways we never thought possible. In this book, author Sarah Sorensen clearly demonstrates why this network is the best sustainable technology available to help us tackle a wide range of problems.

If each of us represents a node on this network, then it's time we realize the potential we hold. The Sustainable Network is a call to action, urging individuals, governments, markets, and organizations to put the power of this network to good use.

  • Discover how the sustainable network connects us all, with examples of how it's already effecting change
  • Understand how this network magnifies the impact of even the smallest change and newest idea
  • Explore the role that various market and political forces play
  • Learn how the network can be improved to better address environmental, economic, and social conditions
  • Get practical advice that you or your business can follow now

Publisher resources

View/Submit Errata

Table of contents

  1. The Sustainable Network
    1. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
    2. Preface
      1. Acknowledgments
      2. Comments and Questions
      3. Safari® Books Online
    3. 1. I Am a Node
    4. 2. What Is the Network: How Does It Work?
      1. Linking Things Together
      2. Protocols
      3. Just a Few More Terms: Hosts, Routers, Switches, LANs, and WANs
    5. 3. Green by Accident
    6. 4. What Makes the Network Sustainable?
    7. 5. Broadband: What Is It?
    8. 6. Can the Internet Hit a Wall?
    9. 7. The Mobile Me
    10. 8. Take It with You
    11. 9. The Network's Green Factor
    12. 10. Carbon Footprints
      1. Watch Your Weight
        1. Don't Forget to Take It to the Office
      2. A Product's Carbon Footprint
      3. The Business of Reducing Carbon
    13. 11. Net Efficiencies: Maximizing Resources While Minimizing Waste
    14. 12. What's So Smart About an Energy Grid?
      1. What You Can Do
    15. 13. Dematerialization
      1. What You Can Do
    16. 14. Detravelization
    17. 15. What Is the Network: How Is Telecommuting Enabled?
      1. IPSec
      2. MPLS
      3. SSL
    18. 16. Pushing the Boundaries
      1. Let's Get Specific
      2. What You Can Do
    19. 17. Data Center
      1. What About the Actual Equipment?
      2. Basic Consumption Reduction
        1. General Tips for Facilities
        2. Tips for Data Centers
    20. 18. Energy Efficiency Measurement
    21. 19. Doing Good by Doing Right
    22. 20. Is Broadband Really That Important?
    23. 21. Sustainable Providers
    24. 22. Net Neutrality
    25. 23. Tearing Down Economic Boundaries
    26. 24. Information Is King
    27. 25. Evolution
    28. 26. Network Time
    29. 27. Political Sustainability
    30. 28. Rocking the Vote
    31. 29. The Right to Network Usage
    32. 30. Challenges of the Networked World
    33. 31. Network Defenses Depend on How Traffic Is Sent
    34. 32. I Am on the Net, Therefore I Am Vulnerable
      1. The Machines
      2. The People
      3. And Sometimes It's Just Good Hacking
    35. 33. Antisocial Network Engineering
    36. 34. Protect the Net
    37. 35. The Last Best Place to Attack: Your Mobile
    38. 36. Government's Role in Protecting the Network's Integrity
      1. How the Network Can Help Efforts
    39. 37. 21st-Century Warfare: Cyberattacks
    40. 38. Social Sustainability
    41. 39. The Health Net
      1. What You Can Do
    42. 40. Not by Accident: Social Networking
    43. 41. Our Relationship with the Network
    44. A Quick Cheat Sheet of Common Terms
    45. Notes
      1. Chapter 3
      2. Chapter 4
      3. Chapter 5
      4. Chapter 6
      5. Chapter 7
      6. Chapter 8
      7. Chapter 9
      8. Chapter 10
      9. Chapter 11
      10. Chapter 12
      11. Chapter 13
      12. Chapter 14
      13. Chapter 16
      14. Chapter 17
      15. Chapter 18
      16. Chapter 19
      17. Chapter 20
      18. Chapter 21
      19. Chapter 22
      20. Chapter 23
      21. Chapter 24
      22. Chapter 25
      23. Chapter 26
      24. Chapter 27
      25. Chapter 28
      26. Chapter 29
      27. Chapter 30
      28. Chapter 32
      29. Chapter 33
      30. Chapter 35
      31. Chapter 36
      32. Chapter 37
      33. Chapter 38
      34. Chapter 39
      35. Chapter 40
      36. Glossary
    46. Index
    47. About the Author
    48. Colophon
    49. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly

Product information

  • Title: The Sustainable Network
  • Author(s): Sarah Sorensen
  • Release date: October 2009
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781449388850