Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Designing Large-Scale LANs is a reindeer. Reindeer, or caribou, can be found in the arctic tundra, the mountain tundra, and the northern forests of North America, Russia, and Scandinavia. Though the wild caribou and the domesticated reindeer are members of the same species, North America is the only place where a naming distinction is made between the two. Reindeer were first domesticated in Europe and Asia about 5,000 years ago. Most domesticated reindeer come from that same stock, as more recent attempts to tame wild caribou have been unsuccessful. Once domesticated, reindeer were used as food, for their hides, and for transportation (some were saddled and ridden, while others pulled sleds).

Reindeer (or caribou) are the only members of the deer family in which both sexes grow antlers. After mating, adult bulls shed their antlers around November or December, while cows and young often carry their antlers throughout the entire winter. During growth, the antlers have a fuzzy covering, or velvet, which contains blood vessels that carry nutrients.

In addition to their antlers, reindeer have lateral hooves that allow their feet to spread on snow or soft ground. The hooves also act as paddles, making them excellent swimmers. Due to breeding, the colors of reindeer vary from white and gray to brown and black. Colors often vary even within the same herd. Jeffrey Holcomb was the production editor and proofreader for Designing Large-Scale LANs. Ann Schirmer was the copyeditor. Sheryl Avruch, Claire Cloutier, Tatiana Apandi Diaz, and Sue Willing provided proofreading assistance. Rachel Wheeler and Mary Brady provided quality control. Phillip Dangler, Darren Kelly, Edie Shapiro, and Sarah Sherman provided production assistance. Nancy Crumpton wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an illustration from the Illustrated Natural History: Mammalia. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with Quark™XPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. Mihaela Maier converted the files from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker 5.5.6 using tools created by Mike Sierra. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Linley Dolby.