Book excerpt: Before the appearance of broadband links and wireless systems, networks have been used to connect people in new ways. Now, the modern world is connected through large-scale, computational networked systems such as the Internet. Because of the ever-advancing technology of networking, efficient algorithms have become increasingly necessary to solve some of the problems developing in this area. "Mathematical Aspects of Network Routing Optimization" focuses on computational issues arising from the process of optimizing network routes, such as quality of the resulting links and their reliability. Algorithms are a cornerstone for the understanding of the protocols underlying multicast routing. The main objective in the text is to derive efficient algorithms, with or without guarantee of approximation. Notes have been provided for basic topics such as graph theory and linear programming to assist those who are not fully acquainted with the mathematical topics presented throughout the book. "Mathematical Aspects of Network Routing Optimization" provides a thorough introduction to the subject of algorithms for network routing, and focuses especially on multicast and wireless ad hoc systems. This book is designed for graduate students, researchers, and professionals interested in understanding the algorithmic and mathematical ideas behind routing in computer networks. It is suitable for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers in the area of network algorithms.