An oft-repeated adage among telecommunication providers goes, "There are ve things that matter: reliability, reliability, reliability, time to market, and cost. If you can't do all ve, at least do the rst three. " Yet, designing and operating reliable networks and services is a Herculean task. Building truly reliable components is unacceptably expensive, forcing us to c- struct reliable systems out of unreliable components. The resulting systems are inherently complex, consisting of many different kinds of components running a variety of different protocols that interact in subtle ways. Inter-networkssuch as the Internet span multiple regions of administrative control, from campus and cor- rate networks to Internet Service Providers, making good end-to-end performance a shared responsibility borne by sometimes uncooperative parties. Moreover, these networks consist not only of routers, but also lower-layer devices such as optical switches and higher-layer components such as rewalls and proxies. And, these components are highly con gurable, leaving ample room for operator error and buggy software. As if that were not dif cult enough, end users understandably care about the performance of their higher-level applications, which has a complicated relationship with the behavior of the underlying network. Despite these challenges, researchers and practitioners alike have made trem- dous strides in improving the reliability of modern networks and services.

"Chinese Economic Reform" looks beyond the recent economic success of China, by focusing specifically on the pivotal role of the People's Liberation Army in the economy as a means of consolidating its power. The contributors address a wide range of topics, including the PLA's business activities, military industry and conversion, and arms sales. China's relationship with the rest of the world is evaluated in the context of this situation and the implications for her defence policy outlined. This is the first book to carefully examine the economic reform on defence and includes a controversial and fascinating chapter on the staggering corruption in the army.

An oft-repeated adage among telecommunication providers goes, "There are ve things that matter: reliability, reliability, reliability, time to market, and cost. If you can't do all ve, at least do the rst three. " Yet, designing and operating reliable networks and services is a Herculean task. Building truly reliable components is unacceptably expensive, forcing us to c- struct reliable systems out of unreliable components. The resulting systems are inherently complex, consisting of many different kinds of components running a variety of different protocols that interact in subtle ways. Inter-networkssuch as the Internet span multiple regions of administrative control, from campus and cor- rate networks to Internet Service Providers, making good end-to-end performance a shared responsibility borne by sometimes uncooperative parties. Moreover, these networks consist not only of routers, but also lower-layer devices such as optical switches and higher-layer components such as rewalls and proxies. And, these components are highly con gurable, leaving ample room for operator error and buggy software. As if that were not dif cult enough, end users understandably care about the performance of their higher-level applications, which has a complicated relationship with the behavior of the underlying network. Despite these challenges, researchers and practitioners alike have made trem- dous strides in improving the reliability of modern networks and services.