Book excerpt: No single solution applied at one particular layer can help applications solve all performance-related issues with communication services. Instead, this book shows that a coordinated effort is needed among the layers. It covers many different types of technologies and layers across the stack, from the architectural features of the hardware, through the protocols and their implementation in operating system kernels, to the manner in which application services and middleware are using underlying platforms. The book also describes key developments in high-end platforms, high performance interconnection fabrics and communication libraries, and multi- and many-core systems.