Cisco Books

Title: CCSP Self-Study: Securing Cisco IOS Networks (SECUR)
Author: John F. Roland
ISBN 1-58705-151-6

Though I have yet to take the first exam in the Cisco Certified Security Professional series, I feel confident that after reading this book, that I'll pass. I am a CCNP (re-certified last year) and would say that the material covered in this book expounds on a CCNP's education. In other words, this should be the next phase for all CCNPs, i.e., don't stop reading after attaining the CCNP. The information covered in this book is the least you need to read and understand in order to be, at a minimum, a "security" professional in your field. This book covers the security aspects that aren't mentioned (or mentioned very briefly) in the CCNP series. This book covers securing the router using the IOS' built-in features, such as, the IDS, the firewall features (CBAC), and setting up secure VPNs with IPSec.

For the most part, the author did a good job with the illustrations and the examples. There are a few errors, but with enough reading, the student can decipher them. Perhaps they'll be fixed in the next edition. A reader would benefit greatly by answering the questions at the end of each chapter, but were a reader to work out the scenario exercises at the end of each chapter, everything would then fall into place. The material is difficult. With enough repetition (and the author gives you many chances), the reader can't help but understand it.

One thing this reader noticed is how well the material is presented, i.e., the author tells you what he's going to cover, he covers the material systematically and extensively, and he summarizes by telling you what he covered. This method of presentation ensures maximum coverage of the material and ingrains it into the reader. In fact, and I don't speak facetiously, this author does such a great job of presenting the material several times that if you never got it the first or the second time, by the third time, it finally sinks in -- at least that's what it took for this reader.

This book included two additional and very helpful appendices, i.e., a "Sample Network Security Policy", and "Configuring Standard and Extended Access Lists". The sample policy offers a nice template for those that may find themselves tasked to create one in the future. Very nice additional features in the configuring access lists appendix are two tables. One table contains the several types and codes of ICMP and the other table contains the TCP port keywords.

I would give this book a 4 in a rating of 1 - 5, 5 being the highest. Though the book is very long, I learned the material. In fact, I believe that it required such a length because, as I state yet again, the material is very difficult to grasp. There are enough examples that one could easily follow the steps and employ them in one's own network without (too much) difficulty. And most definitely, this book will be used frequently on my book shelf, not only as reference, but as a template builder.

This is the first book I started off with for preparing for 642-501(Securing IOS Networks ) exam and I liked this book very much.
This is the only book I could find the information about SDM, which is a topic in the exam. Some times you feel like the text is too verbose, but this does not take the gist away from the topic at hand. Only downside of this book is, it does not come with a CD. If they come up with a companion CD with some sample questions, I think you can pass the exam with this single book.

I found the book to be useful. Covers alot of detail for implamenting VoIP, VoFR and Video. A lot of sample configurations to help you understand concepts covered. Excellent

I needed to implement a VOIP solution for a client & I hadn't done much Voice/Data integration. This book was just what I needed. The book is device/task segmented so that you can easily get the info you need. This line of books provide the same info that you can get online, but without hours of searching for that data.

I loved this story for the action alone. The writer took me back to this time and place. I fell in love with the characters and the story line. This story was different than the first book more factual but I loved this one as much as the first. I can't wait to see what comes next from this new and talented writer. I'm proud to see new talent coming out of the south.

I loved this one as much as the first. More action in this story. This story was different than I expected after reading the first book but enjoyed it enormously.
I loved the way it was based on a real person and could transport myself to the time and place of the story.
Can't wait to see what comes out next from this new and exciting writer.

Internet Phone Services Simplified
Neil Anderson and Jim Doherty * ISBN: 1-58720-162-3 * SRP: US $19.99

Reviewer Name: Sean Conway, Network Analyst III
Reviewer Certification: CCNA, CCDA
Rating 5 of 5


I would say that the contents of this book match the book's title completely. I found the book to be well organized, illustrated and supported by great practical examples. It's written in plain English where ever possible and when the technical jargon is used it was always accompanied by a clear explanation. Although having a basic understanding of a home network setup is helpful, it's by no means necessary to benefit from this book. Anyone looking to gain a basic understanding of how internet voice services work and how to select the appropriate service for their particular situation will find this book to be of great help.

There are plenty of examples to reinforce the text. The sections written by "The Geek Squad" were nice to see because they discussed the knowledge gained from the everyday implementation and support of internet voice services. The sections also included some humor which made reading the book enjoyable as well as informative.

Internet Phone Services Simplified is directed mostly at the home user. I've noticed more and more advertisements for phone services over a high speed broadband internet connection. It seems everyone from my phone and cable companies, to my Internet Provider and other various vendors have some form of voice offerings. And they all want my business. This book will help the reader understand the differences between voice services over cable, DSL and even Instant Messaging services with voice capabilities.

The book compares everything from cost, reliability, voice quality and most importantly, 911 and E911 services. It doesn't try to sell you on one type of service over another. It just explains well the differences between the services and leaves it to the reader to decide which would be best for them.

I was surprised to see services like Skype and Instant Messaging covered. These services are free and even with having a lower voice quality than the paid services, would usually work well enough for those making limited long distance calls.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone considering using Internet Voice Services. The cost of the book could very well save you some money by choosing the service that best suits your needs and at the least would save you some frustration trying to get your system set up and working. This alone is often worth the cost of many books.

This is an OK book. It provides the information a truly naive user would need to set up a commercial VOIP account.

This short book is very repetive and chatty. Beyond the historical perspectives, it conatins little useful information that can't be found by looking at a few web sites.

Some of the content is pretty, but usless, graphics. I hope you like the picture of the lady on the book's cover, because you get to see it five more times inside the book. Each time it occupies a full page.

Even though the book devotes a lot of content to analyzing to cost of various options, it doesn't even mention the fact that you can try VOIP free with a software phone and something like ekiga (the application formerly known as gnomemeeting). Softphone and SIP are found only in the glossary.

It is an easy read that will give you rock-bottom basics of setting up your home network and computer for commercial VOIP service.

This was my first Networking course. I found this text to be a good complement to the online material. While you could certainly pass the course without it, it presented the material in a different style, giving you an extra chance to grasp the concepts. For the most part it is well written and easy to follow. Based on my experience with this text and the curriculum as a whole I have decided to continue in the course sequence and pursue CCNA certification.

I would not bother purchasing the companion lab manual. All the necessary information is available in a pdf from the Cisco Networking Academy and can easily be printed (or simply read from the computer screen).

I obviously bought this book for the CCNA class that I am taking. As textbooks go, this book is very well written and makes the understanding easier as you go through the class (as opposed to trying to do my reading online through the cisco academy). Highly recommend buying the book if you are taking the class.

great labs, but too many review questions when the answers are not there, or online to check yourself. Typically we are adults in this class, answers would only help be sure we are not closing the book with the wrong answer written in, and not knowing.

The Routing Protocols and Concepts Labs and Study Guide book has been really helpful for me. As a NetAcad student, I found myself going back and rereading each section online to remember the concepts I learned. This book helped me reinforce my concepts and remember the material covered in this course. With fill-in-the-blanks,matching, and study guides in every chapter, I was able to remember all that I learned. There are also a lot of labs for each chapter, which helped me improve my troubleshooting skills and increase my knowledge. The topologies of the labs were different than the ones you find in the original online NetAcad course, so you get more practice too! You also get a CD with this book which has all the labs and packet tracer files. I brought this book to help me review my vocabulary, practice labs, and get more troubleshooting experience, and this book does just that! I'm satisfied with my purchase.

Best and most up to date book for the 2006 CCIE R&S Written exam I've seen!

The information was fairly topical and there wasn't a whole lot of depth. The book resembles a large collection of notes. If you're looking for in-depth explanations of a technology, you'll need to look elsewhere. If you understand the theory and are just looking for things like timers and default settings then this will help out. I did like how the author included real world examples of why you'd choose to implement a particular solution, instead of just giving the mechanics of how.

The book has a decent amount of example questions. They are helpful at jogging your memory, but don't expect anything that straightforward on the exam.

I hate to harp on editing because it really takes the focus off the content, but more time needs to be spent on editing. Some sentences are nonsensical. Other times, words are miss-spelled and should have been easily caught.

The most memorable and humorous line in the book was a potential answer to one of the chapter questions which read "smoke, huge billowing clouds of smoke."

Overall I'm hard-pressed to recommend the book since it sells for $99. A better value is the "CCIE Routing and Switching Official Exam Certification Guide" which costs less, has more assessment questions, more detail, and better editing.

This book consists almost entirely of commands and CLI session dumps from actual device configurations. This can be useful as a reference on correct configuration of devices within the scope of the BCMSN exam. The lab manual poses good questions for thought on the subject matter, however the lack of any sort of answers or discussion on the questions is disappointing.

This is a good place to start if you have the hardware available and want to get experience configuring devices on BCMSN topics. You could work from these labs to get yourself very familiar with these subjects, but you would probably want other resources.

The official exam certification guide is still going to be your primary resource for learning this material. This is a useful supplement for actual device configurations as you learn the material.

Thanks to Mr. Lammle for one more excelent studying material. Very good exam notes to read a day or two before the CLSC exam. I just passed it and use only this book and Sybex study guide to prepare. Did not give it a five star only, because of the some confusing typos.

With Cisco Certification becoming more in demand every day, you need an edge in obtaining the certification. Coriolis, a known leader in certification study material has put together a testing package that allows you to try before going live.

Covering exams 640-503, 504, 505 and 506 the package includes over 400 questions divided up between the 4 exams. While this may seem like a great deal of question in reality it's about 100 per exam and for the money I think you should be given more.

Although the questions do cover the exam objectives, it doesn't a long time to go through them. I like the idea that you can do online downloads to obtain more question, but as stated before for the price the data bank should be full.

The software was a snap to install and with Windows 98, NT, ME and 2000 there was no problems. I would recommend disabling any virus software to ensure a smooth install.

The testing software can be taken in review mode to learn as you go or in either the real mode with no time limits or the simulator mode to give you the feeling of the actual exam. Overall add a few more questions and this is a great learning tool.