Computer Networks
Why this subject matters: Networking fundamentals — TCP/IP, routing, congestion control — are core to GATE and resurface constantly in system design interviews, where you're expected to reason about latency, reliability, and protocols.
Data and Computer Communications
Strong on the Data Link Layer and the mathematical side GATE tests heavily — Data-Link Control (Framing, HDLC, PPP), Media Access (ALOHA, CSMA, CSMA/CD, CSMA/CA), Link-Layer Addressing, Error Detection (Parity, Internet Checksum, CRC), Flow Control (Stop-and-Wait, Sliding-Window), and Error Control (Stop-and-Wait ARQ, Go-Back-N ARQ, Selective-Reject ARQ).
Data Communications and Networking with TCP/IP Protocol Suite
A clear, diagram-heavy introduction to networking fundamentals and the TCP/IP suite — a good first read before moving to denser references like Stallings or Tanenbaum.
Computer Networks
Particularly strong on the Network Layer — routing algorithms and traffic policies get a deeper, more thorough treatment here than in most other networking textbooks.
Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach
Beginner-friendly despite its depth, and especially good for TCP congestion control — the top-down structure builds intuition before dropping into protocol detail.
Schaums Outline Of Computer Networking
A large solved-problem bank matching the GATE-style question format closely.
