Data Communications Books

This is a very extensive book on TCP/IP protocol implementation on BSD/Linux systems. For any one who is interested in involving in networking protocol software development, this book is a must read and also a reference. It deals with kernel implementation of protocols and user based socket APIs/ioctls in detail. I strongly recommend this book for any beginner or experience professional a like.

I knew that this book is good, but it is more than good. You can find here any IP - related information, explained from simple to complex in all aspects. The information I was trying to find from different sources (Wikipedia etc), is just concentrated in the book.

It is not so good than real steven's volume I. It has not been written by steven. But has a good review for TCP/IP stack.

I bought this book because I was faced with having to port an application that uses BSD routing sockets and interface management ioctls to an operating system that doesn't support either of these features. The book contained enough information about these fairly obscure constructs that I was able to figure out what the mystery program was doing.

This is a bible, sliced into 3 neat pieces to explain and demonstrate everything related to TCP/IP right from the 0's and 1's in the packet. It is something like a must have set of books for someone who really wants to know the basics of networking right from its foundations.

Dear Readers: There is a new edition of this book (3rd Edition) available that covers the latest versions of Avid's software, including Xpress Pro HD. It also includes information about editing 24p, HD, HDV projects. I hope you find it useful. Best, Sam Kauffmann

I was a Media 100 editor for many years and my company switched to the Avid on Jan. 9, 2006. I didn't take any training but, I bought a training DVD set and 3 books. This book was the best, by far. It is presented by an editor who explains what you really need to know to get going and how to work around maintaining sync, etc. It was great. In less than a month, I completed 2 projects without a problem. I'm using Media Composer Adrenaline on a Mac.
:)

The book jacket says that the book's DVD-ROM will work with Xpress DV 3.0 and higher. The .omf video files were compressed at 20:1 using Media Composer and Xpress DV 4.6 does not support the 20:1 resolution, meaning that the sample video files cannot be imported and used in Xpress DV 4.6. This is a shame, because it seems like a good book and this is not really a problem that the author could have foreseen. Unfortunately, most places won't let you return a book after the DVD has been opened, so let this be a warning, FYI. Hopefully the upcoming 3rd edition will fix this problem.

This book was a part of our school curriculum for a class on Avid Editing. I didn't realise the value of this book while in School, but now sitting on the Avid a year and half later I wouldn't have survived without this book. I also went and looked up some other books but what's great about this one is that the information is very well organized and if you're on the Avid and get stuck... referencing stuff is really fast, as it's all laid out in simple step by step instructions. For any level editor, pro or novice, I would highly reccomend this book.

I can not "truly" put into words how great this book is written. Sam Kauffmann not only shows you the tools in the AVID system, but with "every" tool gives you the reason and purpose for it. Unlike other manuals, you really feel that you have grasped the concepts for each chapter before moving on. I am working efficiently, intelligently, and creatively in Avid because of this book. Sam Kauffmann is a professor at Boston University, and after reading this book I can honestly say if I were a student at BU...I would never skip his class! Simple Incredible!

If You buy this book you must have the Internet Routing Architectures (2nd Edition)
by Sam Halabi! A useful command reference.

CiscoPress's "BGP-4 Command and Configuration Handbook" by Dr. Parkhurst packs a punch for it's size. Most Cisco books of any value require a forklift to carry them around. In just under 400 pages, this book succinctly explains a plethora of BGP commands. It is important to note, this is not a BGP-101 book, anyone using this book should either have a basic understanding of Cisco's implementation of BGP from other CiscoPress books (either Doyle or Halabi).

The concept of this book is very simple - important BGP commands are discussed and also documented in configuration examples. It is very easy to understand the syntax of different BGP commands when displayed in this manner. There are a number of diagrams, showing the topology at hand. What I also like is that the book will often use different `show' commands to further document the use of the command. Appendix B is also of particular value, as it discusses regular expressions (something Cisco does a bad job at documenting - I think for awhile regular expression documents were an appendix to the dial section on the Cisco website).

Overall, I wish there would be more of these type of command books published. If you have a 3 or 4 router lab network, you will be able to see the effects of most of these commands. Also, any candidate for the CCIE will find commands documented here that are not discussed in other CCIE books.

I give this book 5 pings out of 5:
!!!!!

The Cisco BGP-4 Command and Configuration Handbook has become another valuable addition to my networking library. This reference by Dr. William Parkhurst is a comprehensive listing of all BGP-4 commands used in Cisco IOS software. Like his reference on OSPF commands, each BGP command is outlined with a syntax description, a purpose for the command, configuration examples and a short troubleshooting section.

The flow of the book was very logically laid out. It begins with basic BGP route aggregation commands and progresses through neighbor configuration commands, route redistribution and ends with chapters on troubleshooting commands. Each chapter begins with basic commands and builds on those commands as the chapter progresses. This way the reader gets a feeling for how each command interacts with other commands.

As with any other command and configuration handbook, the reader must be well versed in the theory behind the technology. This is especially true with this book. I must admit, that before reading this book, I did not have much exposure to BGP-4, but I found the material very easy to comprehend. It also helped me to understand the protocol better. Without the proper background in BGP-4 you can get lost very easily, however if you have had exposure to BGP then you will find this book very useful in configuring the protocol.

Another aspect of the book I really liked was in how the configuration examples were presented. Each example had a network scenario and gave a step by step process on how to utilize the command. A network diagram was included along with outputs from the routers used in the configuration scenario. The configuration examples start with a verification phase where the correct operation is determined. Then the command is applied and the changes are outlined and displayed. The troubleshooting section outlines steps where the most common failures may occur. While the reader can get a lot of information from just reading the configuration section, it really helps if you can have access to live routers.

I also found the appendices very helpful in understanding some of the book's content. Appendix A presents the concepts and terminology contained in RFC 1771 Border Gateway Protocol 4. Appendix B covers regular expression and Appendix C is about route map logic and how route maps are used in BGP-4. Don't be daunted by Appendix A, the author left out most of the details, like packet format and content and instead focused on BGP attributes, path selection and forming BGP connections. Appendix C gave a good refresher on route maps and how they are utilized in BGP.

This book has become an excellent reference source for my studies toward the CCIE. It also helped me to understand BGP better. I would highly recommend this book to anyone studying for Cisco certification or who has to work with BGP-4 in their network. I looked forward to reading more books by Dr. Parkhurst

The good thing about this book is that with 2 or three routers you can verify the configurations presented in the book. Then it is easy to see the errors. And there are lots of errors in this book. Most of them are just simple errors that any CCNA could find; example: four loopbacks configured loopback0-3, show ip route: loopback1-4, not big errors, but confusing. Also many times routers are mixed up in the configuration and the show commands. Example: a show command on router A displays information that must be from router C. etc..

I like this book very much, but it is getting a little bit unreadable because of the corrections I made :)

The strange thing is that there is no errata on the ciscopress site for this book.

3 stars because of the errors, otherwise 4,5

I have read it and decided to share my thoughts. Basically it gives you all the BGP commands and how to use them. It's a great resource to learn from or to help with using it in the real world. All the BGP commands and examples you need in one location. A must read for CCIE prep. You can't beat that.

This is a highly informative book. Will be more beneficial if you've had prior knowledge of computer security.

Merike Kaeo's Designing Network Security, second edition, by Cisco Press is an easy to read volume with generous emphasis on the roles of planning and careful design in corporate information security strategy. The book draws its examples from Cisco Security platform appliances and software.

Organized into three parts (ignoring the appendix) of four chapters each, the book progresses from description of various security concepts and technologies to security policy and planning, culminating in basic implementation scenarios. Of important consideration are the many case studies and configuration examples spruced throughout the volume.

Part I starts with the first chapter on Cryptography, which concentrates on several contemporary cryptographic schemes. This is a good introduction to the topic for newbies and non-cryptographers. It provides clear context for many of the cryptographic schemes in us in many Cisco appliances and used in other parts of the book. Access Control, Public Key and Identity Management where all given diligent attention and their applicability in real networks explored at the end of part I.

Part II develops the concepts and issues in corporate information security management from Enterprise Security Threat profiles in chapter 5, through considerations for site security, policy development and implementation and incidence management in chapter 8. I find this section as perhaps the most useful given the dilemma many organizations face today in developing comprehensive and holistic response to the ever growing threats to information and consequently much of their business infrastructure. This Section should also provide succor to security professionals grappling with the idea of developing a security policy and incident response procedure for their organizations. The case study on an educational institution is quit simplistic but in all provides some context for the complex task of policy development. This section like the other two is also well commented with advice and useful example scenarios.

The implementation Chapter is a bonus for Information Security Professionals working in predominantly Cisco environment. The section includes many easily adaptable real life configuration examples for many of the current Cisco appliances using IOS version 12.2 and later. Included are example configuration for routers, firewall, access control servers and Cisco IDS modules. Of course, most, if not all Cisco press text have their share of configuration examples using Cisco technologies, but the organization of this material brings much of the critical solutions into clear perspective.

I got the book a few weeks after getting my CISSP certification and will recommend it as a good read for CISSP candidates even though it is a vendor specific volume, much of the discussion and theoretical underpinning of the text are relevant for a multi-vendor, homogenous security environment that the CISSP addresses. I have read several CCIE-Security specific texts and reviewed the requirements for the Exam. This volume is a sure buy for CCIE-Security candidates.

This is a technical book for intermediate to expert level security and networking professionals, but more importantly it is an excellent desk reference for any information security consultant.

I started reading this book because of the title, i.e., "Designing Network Security", and of course, the "Cisco" name. This book needs to be re-vamped and Cisco Press should release a third edition. There are so many typographical errors, errors in the figures and in the configuration examples, that it falls far short of what I've come to expect from Cisco Press. Yet..., this reader recommends buying the book because it encompasses all of the basic material in designing security into your network.

It became evident throughout several of the initial chapters (at least to this reader) that there was more than one author involved in the writing of the book. There was such a difference in writing style and the structure of the material from section to section, that it was oftentimes distracting. It made this reader wish that the same author (of the well-written sections) actually wrote all sections.

This reader found it inordinately important that the first chapters be complete, concise, and very explanatory with lots of examples of the discussed topics, e.g., cryptography, hash functions, Data Link Layer protocols, and security protocols. As these topics are very much the basis to understanding why and how security is implemented, it should have behooved the editors to ensure the topics were thoroughly covered.

Chapter 1 starts out with the author stating that the intent was to provide the reader "with a precursory understanding" of basic cryptography. Unfortunately, this reader believes that the "precursory understanding" left MUCH to be desired. Had the author discussed the different algorithms and hash functions more than just "basically", the reader would glean the necessary understanding of "basic" cryptography and how it's employed in the security protocols. Only through multiple examples can the author ensure that the reader really understands the "basics". This reader recommends that future readers go to outside sources to really read up on "basic cryptography" before continuing with the book.

The author does a decent job of discussing the supporting transport protocols (tcp or udp), and she lists of all of the listening ports. Too many books leave it to the reader to find out the port numbers on their own. Having it all in one book gives the reader a great reference manual. I noticed that the author spent a lot of time discussing some subjects, but very little time discussing others. For example, when discussing SHTTP, the author states that "In practice, SHTTP has achieved limited use." This reader would have appreciated several examples of how SHTTP, and other briefly discussed subjects/protocols, are/were deployed even though their use was only limited. These types of discussions maintain the reader's interest, and improve the likelihood that the book will be read in its entirety. Part of writing for an audience is keeping the audience's interest. The author clearly explains the difference between application layer security protocols, transport layer security protocols, and security protocols found in other layers. Finally, this reader understands the difference between SHTTP and HTTPS.

The author gave a very good explanation of L2F protocol, but it would have enhanced the reading had the author made comparisons with the PPP protocol. And -- as this reader read each section, the suspicion surfaced that two different people wrote the different Layer 2 Protocol sections.

Though the figures were helpful, there were several with errors, and most importantly, the reader could benefit from even more figures. Most of the protocol-implementation descriptions left too much of the physical details out of their descriptions, e.g., the actual physical architecture should have been depicted as well as an example of the frame formats. This reader went to a personal library to re-discover frame formats in order to be able to decipher what the author wanted to relate. MOST readers have never been exposed to the hardware and need more graphic illustrations of the physical architecture/topology in order to understand. If this is the author's 2nd Edition, one hopes that she does another revision and gets out a cleaner and more detailed 3rd edition.

I will give the author kudos in giving a great explanation of IPsec. In reading this section, and sections covering other security-protocol implementations, the reader really needs to have basic cryptography concepts down. In this manner, one can follow the author through some VERY difficult-to-grasp concepts.

As the author covers security concepts that are deployed (or under development) in routing updates, it behooves the reader to have a good solid background in routing protocols. The author gives a brief description of how each routing protocol is implemented (without security), but to understand this section, this reader recommends that future readers read up on routing protocols in other Cisco Press books.

The author presented a broad overview of Common Network Security Susceptibilities; in doing so, she did a good job of compiling a concise list with good generic definitions.

There were a few boring -- put-you-to-sleep -- chapters, such as Site Security Policy, Implementing Corporate Security Policy, and Incident Handling, but..., they were important to cover. And if this is the first time that a reader will be exposed to this type of information, the author does an admirable job of presenting it.

The latter chapters are of great interest to most Network Administrators. These chapters cover exactly how to go about securing the network from external and internal threats. They example remote access security implementations, VoIP security, and wireless security. If for no other reason, buy this book for the latter chapters. More examples would have been greatly appreciated, but one understands that it's impossible to give an example for every conceivable network topology. This reader therefore recommends -- even though at the onset of this review there were several negative comments -- to buy and read this book. So much is compacted into this book that one can only wish that there were less errors. Though distracting to read at times, one will only benefit from buying and reading this book from beginning to end.

Merike Kaeo has been a network security professional with Cisco Systems, Inc for over 10 years. As a CCIE and a member of IEEE and IETF Kaeo has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to share on the subject.

The first of the book provide an overview of the core "Security Fundamentals". Each chapter delves a little deeper as the author talks about various aspects of network security including encryption, authentication, PKI, wireless security and more.

Beyond that Kaeo discusses the prevailing environment and what sorts of threats exist currently. Aimed more at infosec managers than administrators it provides a good look at common attack methods and things to consider when implementing network security. These first two sections combined also provide a wealth of information to help those aspiring to pass the CISSP or other security certification exams.

The last part of the book is primarily Cisco-centric. That isn't necessarily a bad thing since so many businesses rely on Cisco hardware for their network infrastructure. It certainly won't hurt your career in information security to be well-versed in Cisco technology.

The book is long- almost 800 pages. But, Kaeo manages to keep it moving and give the reader the information they need without getting bogged down being boring or too wordy. The figures and diagrams included help the reader to comprehend the concepts and topics presented.

This is a very good book with tons of useful information.

(...)

This is a big book, 745 pages, a bit about almost every topic in information security. The advantage of a book like this is that if you want to know three paragraphs about a security term that you are not familiar with, you can find it. The disadvantage of these survey type books is that they do not usually give you enough information to do anything.

Though there are some spots especially in the first few chapters where this happens, Merike Kaeo, the author, quickly succeeds in making this a book that goes beyond telling the reader about things and begins to share how to do things on Cisco equipment which is far more valuable. If you are a Cisco network engineer or administrator and are interested in learning more about information security this is probably a good book for you. I think this book would also benefit a manager or someone with purely theoretical information security knowledge that wants to be able ask technical people pragmatic questions.

The Voice over IP chapter was one of the clearest explanations I have seen, however a bit more of a warning about security, changing standards and interoperability would have been appreciated.

When work begins on 3rd edition, I would suggest more focus on using routing and switching technology to segment the internal network so a worm infection does not take down the entire facility. In general user VLANS to not need to talk to other user VLANS, they only need to communicate with servers.

My favorite part of the book is Appendix D, somehow I had never seen Rob Thomas paper on DDOS.

I wanted a book with all the network technologies, such WiMAX, FTTH and NGNs. This book contains all this information.

As an electronic engineer and graduate student, I found the book to be very comprehensive in discussing various emerging and present telecommunication technologies. The book would describe quite accurately the technology without bogging you down with unnecessary details. It manages to be brief while still providing valuable data for the telecommunications professional, and broad enough to cover a wide spectrum (no pun intended) of material. And most importantly, it isn't a bore to read.
I recommend this to anyone seeking a basic to intermediate knowledge of a broad array of telecommunciations concepts and applications.

I have to hand it to the authors, Lillian Goleniewski and Kitty Jarrett, for producing hands-down the most readable and comprehensive book out there on Telecom. I have had to slog through some of the worst writing to study this subject, and it was a breath of fresh air to crack this one open and start reading.

The authors cover every aspect of the field in great depth, and in such clear language that both the expert and the novice can benefit from this book. This will be required reading for all of my students, and I highly recommend other professors in the Telecom field to follow suit.

Well done!

Firstly, I am a strong fan of Ms. Lili. I have personally met the author during a 3-day seminar during my PETRONAS days back in 1994. At that time, I was attending what the best telecomm training course the market can offer as well worth its price.


WHY WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND TELECOMM PROPERLY:

Compared to other training courses, Ms Lili was about 2x-3x times more expensive but what is that to an oil-and-gas company where network downtime to a gas-compressing subsidiary can cost around RM100,000 an hour (1994 exchange of RM2.50@US$1) equivalent to US$40,000.

At that time, IT Support has to figure out how to support a heterogeneous mix of one IBM 3745 mainframe, few UNIX boxes, tens of Novell 2.x servers. Several network protocols ran inside the various pipes/lines such as SNA, TCP-IP and MS Netbeui, and my pet project OS/2 NetBIOS, and Novell SPX. Most network segments are on Ethernet, and a couple are on Token-Ring.

Needless to say, troubleshooting network traffic particularly eliminating "jabbers chipping echoes etc" was to put it mildly a "challenge." One of the fire-fighting effort required bringing in a US consultant with a pony-tail using Data-General "Sniffer" equipment!

For IT Support to figure out how to support the big project at that time, mainly getting SAP gateways remaining up, we need to understand what it was we were having, as well as understand how the newer telecomm technologies are going to do to the overall picture.

At that time, we have the whole possible mix of telecomm devices such fixed leased lines, dial-up backup, and few sprinklings of VSAT and wireless. Of course you cannot learn all that in a 3-day class. And I don't think I learn that at school too. What I learned became obsolete after I graduated !


WHY WE NEED THIS BOOK:

This is where this book comes in. To provide good IT support, so that users would not pester Helpdesk folks, we need really good technical references. Of course, we need that initial mind-enlightening class to understand the "big-picture." The details you can get that free easily off the web nowadays; understand how the big picture works is will make it easier for us to understand the complex details.



WHAT THIS BOOK COVER:

Covered the whole range of Telecom technologies ranging from basic stuff such as circuits and channels to transmission type such as analog vs digital. The book then cover the traditional media such as twisted-pair, coax, fibre and telecomm devices such as microwave and satellite.

The depth of technical details amazes me to have everything in one book covering IP protocols, ports, and Quality of Service. Main trends are covered such as optical networking, broadband and wireless for both LAN, and WANs..

I really like Lily's supplementary notes on the various indicators on industry adaption of specific technologies as well as their technological history. Basically if you need to know something on Telecomms, there will be some pages on that topic here. .


COMPARED TO 1sT EDITION:

Compared to the 1st edition, this is thicker by a double! We have a whopping 865 pages, although still much less than Yellow Pages

In the 2nd edition, I realized the author has diligently tracked the technology updates which is what most people wanted.


WISH LIST FOR NEWER EDITION OR NEW BOOK ALTOGETHER:

Since I am now into management consulting for E-Government and E-Commerce, some discussion on cost structure for would be VERY ATTRACTIVE especially to decision-makers in developing countries with low phone/network penetration.

I believe if I am all powerful African president wanting to have my own mobile telecoms company, I would want to have a reference that will give some estimates on trenching cost, and base-station costs. That will surely help my nephew who is going to be the CEO of that company some idea of what sort of loan and spending that has to be incurred. Farfetched ? Well this is a wish-list!


TELECOMMS MUST BE A PART OF YOUR COMPANY IT STRATEGIC PLAN:

Overall for techies out there, recognizing important trends in the telco industry is VERY VERY important for your corporate management. Having a feel of where everybody is going is critical to their Telecommunications Infra roadmap. This is where this book come into value.

The Telecomms Infrastructure road map will determine what decisions are required for infrastructure procurement, leasing or investment. Thus, the Telecomm chapter is an important part of a company IT Strategic Plan (ISP).

Subsequently, this ISP will exist if senior management is really serious to get their brilliant and precious Business Strategic Plan up and running. Unless if the company is just SOHO with only 1-2 computers and they pass files using flash-disks! Otherwise the senior management is just talking.

The book does what it sets out to do - cover the basic underpinnings of modern telecom. Its' age (a scant three years) shows a bit here and there (some of the material obviously predating the book), but for the most part it is accurate and relevant. It is not a technical document, as 600 pages would not be enough to cover the component technology. It mentions occasionally the regulatory issues in telecom, but only in passing; its' primary focus is on business. It makes a good book for the student or someone interested in a telecom career. I might also recommend it to someone whose future plans include sitting through a telecom sales pitch or taking a meeting with telecom lobbyists (at least the part where they might drag in an engineer to talk about some cool new technology).

When I say it has a business focus, I mean that it tries to explain the pros and cons of a particular technology in terms of cost, complexity, and ability to satisfy customer needs. Applying the same criteria, I would say the author has provided a moderately costly (that is, not free), easy to understand, and given the constraints of the business focus, does so rather well.

But the book has a few flaws. Here's what I found -

p.254 - "binary form" should read "dotted decimal form" - which the author uses correctly on the following page.

p.255 - no mention of NAT (Network Address Translation) as a means of saving IPv4 address space. Like the author, I'd like to see IPv6 deployed before I'm too old to care.

p.298 - the phrase "going forward" should be extirpated before the next edition. Also appears on p.312.

p.310 - the author briefly mentions an imminent "talent dearth" as driving the next wave of technical innovation, then trots out some ITAA blurb about half the job vacancies going unfilled each year. Of course, training might also help the problem, if global business can be bothered with such trifles.

p.340 - ANX was purchased by SAIC in 1999 I think, and its' URL as published has been deprecated. On the bright side, I did see a picture of a cute puppy when I went there.

p.354 - in discussing voice chat in games, author uses Sega Dreamcast as example. Only the good die young...

p.429 - author mentions Amsterdam. Sounds like reasonable grounds for a drug test to me! Of course, there's always the excuse of visiting the Van Gogh museum...

p.459 merits a special mention as both the best and worst way to sell a wireless future. Not only will the world be at your fingertips, but it will be trying to gnaw them off. While the author sees a benevolent infrastructure where knowledge of your whereabouts and tastes will be used to respond to your needs quickly and thoroughly, I see a world where your convenience comes at the price of empowering spammers, stalkers, and government goons.

Some of the parts I really enjoyed either because of their novelty or thoughtfulness were as follows:

p.274-6 - talking about the notion of backhauling data, the author touches on a problem analogous to Net Neutrality.

The Internet primer on p.259-80 was maybe the best I've read. Sadly it was too short.

Also enjoyed the circuit-switching chapters 4 and 5.

p.331 - author makes a case for tiered Internet. I'm hopeful we can keep "best effort" Internet service at a quality level sufficient for playing Battlefield 2 for the foreseeable future.

This book is better than three stars, but not quite four. Were its' material a little fresher, it would merit four. I'll check out the website and update this review accordingly.

As usual John Vacca has written an extremely complete and intersting book. I love this author and I am a regular buyer.
Tullio Bortoletto

Fantastic book that's a must read for those of us that ask the question WHY and are NOT satisfied by high level fluff!!!

This hands-on reference guide to wireless broadband networks provides almost 1,000 pages of informative coverage on such topics as wireless broadband fundamentals, standards for next-generation high-speed connectivity, planning and designing wireless and satellite applications, configuring residential wireless broadband access technology, troubleshooting fixed wireless broadband networks, and testing broadband satellite networks. A must-read for anyone involved in deploying and designing wireless broadband networks, and an essential reference for the future.

I'm a technical trainer for a large telecommunications company. As such, I'm always looking for ways to make my classroom more student friendly and easier to work with. Looking into wireless networking to eliminate some of the hardware from the classroom brought me to John Vacca's book. I found everything I needed (including vendors and places that supply the equipment I need) and a virtual battleship of additional information! Its an interesting game to play; read this book and look out the window at the kids playing in the park across the street... you'll shake your head at the unfathomable techno-future those kids will be taking for granted!

This book is very, very outdated. For example, it predicts that LMDS will be the clear winner in broadband wireless coverage. The market leaders predicted by this book are all bankrupt.

I used this book to study for the Cisco Routing Exam 640-503. The material is very relevant to real world issue I deal with in our network day to day. The book is worth the money for the great sample configurations and debug info alone. It covers in more detail the practical side of doing ip routing then most of the Cisco Press titles. The authors clearly know the material and put together sample configurations and networks that you might actually do in the real world.
I would pick this book up in addition to any other study materials for the CCNP Routing exam. I personally think the routing exam was the hardest of the bunch. Now I get to study for the new 640-901 Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks (BSCI) for the CCIP, the great news is that this book has ISIS, which is on the new BSCI exam.
Ed Horley - CCNP, CCDA

Definitely, Advanced is the word here. I have read it, and I use this book a lot as Reference. Very useful, nice examples; very well explained.

If you're involved with Cisco Routers in any way, you should have this, even if youre not the network administrator, it will help you understand how routers work. I even used it as a reference for my Bachelor's Degree Project. Definitely a must-have!

One of the most sought after certifications is the CCIE. CCIE is also the hardest certification to obtain and for the most part it has to do with the Advanced IP routing exam and lab. This book should provide much needed help in that area.

Written by two CCIE's this book tackles the extremely complex subject of IP Routing in great detail. Topics dealing with standard routing are only the beginning of this book. More advanced topics like classful and classless routing, IS-IS, integrating the routing protocols together, NAT, DDR and some of the most compete and detailed coverage of BGP and but a few of the areas discussed.

Each and every section has CCIE tips included and well as router screenshots. Both author make the most of their uses of the diagrams and figures giving you on of the first book for the CCIE exam.

Was given this book as a suplment study aid for the CCNP Routing exam. The book has a lot of great information and is a great study aid. The BGP section is very lacking and you'd be better served by seaking BGP infomation elseware. Other then the BGP section I found this book very helpfull

This is an excellent book to Study Advanced Cisco Networking. This book covers Routing with practical examples. Also included is the detailed configs at each stage. This book is recommended for CCNP or CCIE Students.

This collection of 4 texts, a complete preparation guide for the four core CCNP exams is an absolute must-have to pass all 4 exams with high score. Everything you would need to pass the exams is contained here.

If you or your company has money to shell out for the CCNP certification courses (which costs somewhere around $2,000+ per course, multiply that to 4), you would have the privilege to work on the lab hands-on, plus receive 2-volume spring-bound textbooks.

But, if you cannot afford to spend that fortune or your company is such a cheap skate, bless you... this book set contains the exact contents, word-for-word, of each of the required course. Main difference is that it is more convenient than the 2-volume spring bound official text. Errata given by class instructors also apply to these books. Some certified training center might hand you a separate lab book which has a different setup than the one contained on these books. Although the actual lab setup and hardware used from Cisco CEC is different from these books, the actual lab scenarios and practices are somewhat similar with these books' content.

I have not used any other reviewer but these sets to attain my CCNP certification (I got rid of the spring-bound text given to me at certified training center, yup, sold it to ebay). I strongly advised to go through the lab scenarios/exercises, either on a piece of paper or actual hardware (don't bother with Sybex CCNP Virtual lab, it's a great disapointment). You can grab yourself some used routers/switches from ebay (some companies on the internet offer a timed lab practice for a fraction of the cost where you FTP on their site and allow you access on their hardware) or you can follow along and do the exercises on a piece of paper.

If you must pass your CCNP, you will, and these book set is all you need. I'll give it a 5-star as the errors you will find are not really major one...bv the lab exercises & exhaustive information are awesome! Superbly illustrated throughout. The Book set is not only highly useful for the exam, but would also come in super handy as a great reference tool for the job.

You'll definitely want to spend the money on purchasing this set. It contains everything you'll need to pass the CCNP. Unlike a dedicated study guide, however, this set contains books that will continue to serve you in the future as you work with Cisco switches and routers. Every successful network administrator I know has this set. The materials are written in a clear manner with plenty of diagrams by excellent technical authors. If you have only one set of books for Cisco materials, this is the set to have.

Some reviewers claimed it's a good book (in fact 4 books in a set). However, while its technical contents are accurate and in-depth, it fails to help readers to understand the topics so that people can one day pass the CCNP exam.
The wording, organization are just odd. They're hard to read, and boring. If you can only last for merely 10 min. on these books, what is the purpose of buying them ?
Those authors must be good engineers/instructors, but the editors failed big time to make these books good enough to justify the price tag.
My 2 cents, buy some other CCNP books. They're better ones.

Cisco has updated the CCNP exams with new material as well as new questions. Studying for the exam(s) requires the most up to date material available, that's why Cisco Press has taken the lead and given you a preparation library that is both complete and up to date with all the changes.

The four book set is tailored made for the classroom and is listed as Cisco Official courseware. Covering the BCMSN, BCRAN, BCSN and CIT exams this sets of books also works to help in the study for the CCDP exams.

Once thing that impressed me the most is the fact that information is so detailed and written by CCIE's and CCSI's giving you the benefit of years of experience. The books had very few errors in the grammar department. The information does exceed what the objective call for and the author(s) knowledge is evident throughout the books.

Overall this is both a great set of book for the classroom and could with the certification library you have an unbeatable combination to work with. I do not see the price being an issue but with future release there should be some simulator included

For all of the lauding these books get, I think they are extremely overrated. They are some of the driest, most poorly organized and difficult-to-read technical books I've ever trudged through. I swear by Odom's Cisco Press CCNA Guide (probably one of the best networking books I ever bought, though it's been awhile), but these were a sore disappointment, and made the road to the CCNP much more painful than it needed to be by far. You'll often get the impression that the authors were intentionally trying to make fundamentally simple concepts and learning, overly complex and obscure. It's very frustrating. I've been doing this (networking) for almost 10 years now, and have come across plenty of tough studying over the years in the neverending hamster wheel of staying technically current, but I can think of few books that were as difficult and outright painful to study as these.

These books may be comprehensive (and that is very arguable), but they are very poor, difficult reads, and in my opinion, that doesn't make them an effective investment in either time or money. Now that I've finished them, I can definitively say I was disappointed overall. They're seriously overrated.

Its contents is the best I was able to find for a relatively novice. It covers all areas with examples and diagrams that complement the explanations. A must have for newbies.

Complete strudy on Pix platform but there isn't a part on the Blade in Cat6500 Device based on pix tech.

I bought this book because I needed to learn how to use the PIX Firewall for my company. My experience with configuring firewalls (Or any Cisco device) is extremely limited, so I needed a basic book that explains how to configure a PIX firewall (what the commands do, how traffic flows, and the consequences of your actions when configuring a firewall)

This book has helped me greatly in understanding how the PIX firewall works. After reading through it and using it as a study aid for my job, it has given me the knowledge to know what I need to look for when configuring my PIX Firewall.

Unfortunately, this book has many grammatical errors that leave you confused as to what the author is trying to describe. Also, alot of the errors make you question the validity and integrity of the author's knowledge on some of the configuration examples.
Example: The author has diagrams that lay out the network design of certain scenarios, using the diagram to explain what a company's public IP address is. Unfortunately no where on the diagram does it show the public IP address. In fact, in some examples, the IP address is completely different from what the author is describing.

In summary...
If you can except that there are going to be grammatical errors and possibly even conflicting examples described in the book. Then this book will help you greatly.

After reading this book and using it to take notes and actually 'study' for it, it has helped me greatly in understanding how to configure my PIX.

Personally.... I wish there was a book that simply layed out the commands needed to configure your PIX firewall a specific way. I'd rather get the firewall configured now, and then understand how it works later.

It gave a great for overview for beginners and yet still has good information to be kept as a reference. He also has over 100 additional pages of info on his website. Great Buy

This is a great book on how to use the Cisco PIX firewall.

Even though Cisco has great documentation, there is still a lot you can learn about PIX, and this book show you how.

Unfortunately this book is not for those of us who need "how to" guidance. It is full of useless information and opinion, but very little substance. You are better off searching the web for information.

This book is a complete guide that shaped my perspective in dealing with exchange at work. This is all of the real world, day to day "what you need to know and do" information that so many books lack.

If you are looking to study for the exchange exam this is the wrong item. Instead this very well written book will make you feel like the author is standing over your shoulder pointing out what is what, how to maintain and troubleshoot them all as well.

Full of checklists, how to's and the authors real world experiences and advice. Thanks Jim. Great job!

This is the best exchange book out there for the "Real world" exchange administrator. If you own the exchange system in your company, you dont want to miss this one...

This one of the best books I have had in my life. Not only provides information about the entire Exchange topic that a professional Exchange Administrator will need. It also provides a large amount of information that you must to know in order to ensure a healthy life of your Exchange organization.
From the examples that the author brings, you can clearly notice that he has an outstanding experience in the field; he doesn't anything for himself turning all his knowledge into this book.
The book itself is very well organized, and the guides for getting results are clear. I have followed those guides for topics that are rare as restoring the exchange databases, complex operations using the command line and Exchange, using the tools in the Exchange Resource Kit.
I have also found tricks in this book that senior Exchange Administrator colleagues don't know how I discovered. Many of my secrets reside in the pages of this book and when facing problems this is will be always my first resource.
Certainly, the book is not an introduction to Exchange, you may need to know or have experience with Windows 2000 and email operation, don't expect that this book will teach you on subjects like Active Directory or others related to Windows 2000. Understanding that, and without a doubt, I recommend this book.

As a network manager, I have no time to wade throught most of the horrible E2K books out there. I have to know what my email administrator knows so I made certain I was on top of my game with E2K by purchasing and working through 3 book, one being this one. When we went to roll out E2K and then maintain it, this book provided the most info and help. The other 2 I will not name as I would not be rude to drop anything less than 2 stars on an authors hard work - that being said I will keep that other two titles anonymous. Pick this one up, you will be happy you did.