Routers and Routing Books

For anybody starting to prepare for the CCNP routing exam, this is the book you should be looking for.I used this book and passed the exam in first attempt. However use few extra self study books for more information and variety,
A MUST BUY!!!!
Saurabh Nautiyal

I found this workbook an excellent opportunity to practice concepts taught in the textbook. Probably the only complaint I have or suggestion rather, is the absence of a chapter on getting your lab (home) setup. You can spend an awful amount of time just getting interfaces setup-that is if you don't have alot of experience handling various WAN interface cards. However, once setup, use this lab book, it'll pay off in the end when you sit for the exam, and asked to perform simulations. Good luck

If you are using Cisco routers in your network and are in charge of administration then you will want to have this book readily available. Not just a book about troubleshooting, the introductory portion provides a strong education in the Cisco hierarchal approach, the layered troubleshooting approach, and the problem resolution model approach.

This is followed by a solid explanation of protocol behavior and characteristics. Chapter three starts the actual diagnostic mechanisms and Cisco TCP/IP commands. Chapter four then covers diagnostic tools including network monitors, simulation tools, and Cisco IOS diagnostics. The next several chapters involve troubleshooting the actual protocols including TCP/IP, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF, IS-IS, and BGP. The final chapter involves troubleshooting in a redistribution routing environment.

Some of the strongest reasons for recommending this book include the realistic scenarios for every size network, the straight-forward and efficient troubleshooting methodology proposed, and the thoroughness of the material. The text covers all the essential material tested in the Cisco exam Internet Troubleshooting Support.

Loaded with illustrations so you can visualize what is happening and understand the concepts easily, this is an excellent book for anyone working with Cisco routers. The included CD contains a study program with multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge, the source code for all code in the book, all the tables and illustrations in the book. The index is a little skimpy for a book of this size and type, but even with that shortcoming Cisco IP Routing Protocols is a highly recommended purchase and one of the best books available for anyone working in a Cisco environment.

If you want to truly understand a Cisco based network and IP routing you can't do better than Enabling IP Routing with Cisco Routers. For those who are interested in passing the Cisco exams it covers the essential material for the Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks exams. The book starts at the beginning with the OSI reference model and why routers are needed. It then continues with information on the Cisco design philosophy and the layered structure of the Cisco hierarchical design, and then goes through everything you need to know about IP routing. Coverage includes IP Addressing, classes, Ipv6, routing design, Network Address Translation (NAT), static and dynamic routing, Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), Enhanced Interior Gateway Protocol (EIGRP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS_IS), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and On Demand Routing (ODR).

Part II contains case studies of different protocols to help the reader understand how the information works in a real life situation. The book also comes with a CD containing a large question bank to test your knowledge, copies of all source code listings in the book, and copies of all tables and figures. This is easily one of the best books on IP routing and builds knowledge from the ground up for Cisco routers. No fluff, no filler, just good solid information in a format that is easy to read, easy to follow, and easy to learn. Enabling IP Routing with Cisco Routers is highly recommended.

A good primer for users wanting to know about Linux Routing. A cool book, in that I have not seen one on tihs topic before. The writing is clear and concise. It could have used a little more detail on some subjects, but overall a good read.

This book covers computer networking theory and practice, with a strong bias toward IP-based networks. It's thorough, complete, and developed based on years of refinement of the material in the classroom and in the field. The authors have a wealth of practical experience, and it really shows through.

In addition to IP networking, this book covers some great material related to voice networking. As technologies like VoIP become more and more prevalent, readers of this book will appreciate knowing some of the history and the design principles that that factor into the technology set.

So, if you have an interest in the theory that goes into the practice, this is a great book. It's written at a graduate level, and it's very light on introductory material (if you manage to learn IP by reading Chapter 1, I'd like to meet you!), but if you're an IP network professional, you should be well prepared to absorb this book.

Highly recommand. It is a great book of the topic. I really enjoy reading the chapters about the DECNET AND APPLETALK. everybody can learn something from this book.

... the publisher would be totally honest about the scope and depth of this book and alter the title to read "Cisco TCP/IP Routing Basic Reference".

When I was first dropped into the position of having to know routing, and knew nothing, I was lucky enough to begin with this book. One of the most concise and readable basic level introductions to networking and routing that I have ever seen. This book is a wonderful beginning level text for those of you who have never seen or worked with a Cisco router before but will be doing so shortly.

My one complaint is the use of the word "Professional" in the title. This text is nowhere near the technical level or depth of what I would consider required to be considered a professional in the field of networking, much less to be considered as a professional when it comes to working with Cisco equipment. But like I said, one of the best introductary level books I've come across.

PJZ

This book does not provide the theory behind the technology and will not prepare you for certification either.

It shows you how to do a few things that the "author" wants to show you and NEVER goes into detail about them. The author will "see little point" in going into something and tell you nothing about it.

This book is definitely a beginner level that will not drown you.

On the back cover, the book reads:

'Make the most of the leading router technology with the in-depth manual you never got from cisco!'

I hope you noticed the word 'in-depth' then I wonder why when I tried to get some IS-IS information, on page 120 all the writer has to say is said in a paragraph and the last line reads:

'Nothing more will be said of Integrated IS-IS, because I recommend that if you want to use a link state protocol, you use OSPF.'

HAAA need I say more about this book!

Chris, it is none of your damn business to tell the reader what to use or not. When you took the task of writing a book on cisco tcp/ip, then you had better covered IS-IS 'in-depth'. When I pick up a book to read about satanism, it does not neccessarily mean that I'm planning to adopt satanism. I might just be reading for the sake of getting to know what satanism is all about, right?

I reviewed this book earlier and gave it a bad rating, probably my expectations were high. Some of the guys I lended the book to, who are beginners in the field, right out of school and have not actually worked on the routers find this book helpful because of its basic coverage of cisco IOS features.

It starts from the very basic configurations tasks and moves on to adding other IOS features such as routing protocols and access-lists. It talks about configuring IP addresses along with little theory, serial, ethernet, tunnel and loopback interfaces and encapsulation types.

However it does not cover all the knobs provided by IOS to fine tune the protocols such as OSPF, BGP etc. It covers the legacy protocols as well. There is no coverage of IS-IS at all and that's the sticking point. There is a vast amount of ISP deployment of IS-IS and the author ignores this fact. There are no troubleshooting tidbits regarding the routing protocols, such as how to avoid and fix routing loops etc.

So if you are just starting in cisco routers, you can use this book. Keep in mind that for hands-on practise and doing excercises in the book you'll need 3 cisco baby routers (2500 series).

If you are looking for a book on TCP/IP and only TCP/IP this is not the book you need, but if you are working towards any Cisco Certification that this book is a must have. Completely breaking down TCP/IP and relating it to the CISCO IOS has this book getting the top rating.

Lewis's expertise in the area of TCP/IP is what makes this book the handy reference you need by your side. The author is detailed, accurate and complete. While this book is not tailored to specific exam it will aid in any Cisco Certification you are planning to take.

The is an abundance of figures, diagrams, actual router screen shots, tables, and router commands to give you the one go to reference manual. In just over 480 pages Lewis takes nothing for granted making sure you have the most up to date information right at your fingertips.

The book covers IOS version 11 and 12 as well as a detailed breakdown of TCP/IP in a Cisco environment, WAN technologies, troubleshooting, VPN and firewalls. Overall an excellent book, however the one drawback maybe the price.

As many reviews attest to, this book is short, clearly and logically presented, and covers the majority of bgp4 attributes, without going into specific implementations. Even though it does not go into vendor-specific implementations, each attribute of the protocol discussed is explained through highly simpified network topologies, supported by diagrams. The author gives clear descriptions for each of these example networks, and then goes on to explain a certain routing policy problem and its solution using bgp4. I believe the intro/refresher on IP in the beginning of the book is good because you get the authors terms and understanding of IP before hearing his application of it to bgp in the following sections. Includes a brief introduction to load-sharing via bgp (although does not mention bgp multipath or multihop by name, it does reference the basic concept, and the concept of using loopbacks as bgp next-hops in order to achieve) and also provides a brief introduction to the capability of multi-protocol bgp, which I believe contemporary readers may be looking for information on - specifically, regarding vpnv4. The text does not mention this specific multi-protocol extension, but the general intro to mp bgp is enough to serve as an introduction to the subject. I would recommend this to anyone with a basic understanding of IP, seeking to understand, or increase their understanding of how routing is done on a global scale over the internet, or how the bgp protocol itself is designed and functions. 4 stars because on the end of page 86, the text simply cuts off mid-sentence, and begins with a new sentenced on page 87, with seemingly no obvious explanation.

Great BGP book, sure wish it was longer.

A great general discussion that boils the RFC down to something readable. If this is your first journey into BGP then this book does an excellent job of giving a broad overview of the protocol without burying the reader in the details.

The first 30 (or 116) pages gives IMHO redundant background on IP addressing, CIDR, Distance Vector protocols, and other information I believe anyone learning BGP should already know.

The book gives an excellent treament on the different message types and what they look like, but I would have preferred more details on how IBGP and EBGP differ i.e. resetting MEDs or local-pref, appending local AS, modifying NEXT_HOP attribute, etc.

The route selection process (one of my personal favorite parts of BGP) only deals with a subset (6) of the 10 or 11 options Cisco or Juniper will use. There is no mention of comparing Cisco's weight, prefix origin, MEDs between AS, cluster-list, or comparing IGP metric. To be fair though, weights are vendor specific and some of these options may have been introduced after the 1999 publication date.

My biggest frustration with the book is that being vendor agnsotic there are no details as to configuration or how one would actually implelement any of the information given. There is also no discussion on troubleshooting BGP, what typical configurations would look like, best practices in filtering or installation.

For those who already have an understanding of BGP or who have used the protocol in the field, I would recommend the Complete Reference Juniper Network Routers chapter 12 on Interdomain routing Theory or as a fall-back the much more dry and difficult to get through, Internet Routing Architectures by Halabi.

This book is best for the BGP beginner or someone who needs a refresher on what BGP is trying to accomplish and is willing to read other books on how to configure their actual routers.

This book was a pleasure to read because it focussed on the technology issues regarding BGP4. There was enough TCP/IP to serve as a review and then discussion on the topic of the book. Whereas how to configure a router is important, it is refreshing to read a book that talks about the technical aspects and leaves configuration to other books (especially Cisco configurations)

This is an awesome introduction to BGP. I highly recommend it for anyone just learning BGP and also as a review for those who already know it. Good luck.

The authors have excelled at making difficult subjects easy to understand. Its hard imagine someone could read this book and not pass the CCIE written.

Wendell's books are still good refrence and operational manuals for practictioners and teachers alike

David

Well written, covered v2 exam blueprint. Highly recommended as a review guide before taking exam. Included tests in cdrom is big plus. Used it and passed re-cert.

This book is an excellent introduction into advanced Routing & Switching concepts. I have just completed the Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) examinations, and chose this book as the next logical step. I've already been very pleased with the decision.

The text is understandable and well written and can easily be studied from. I've started preparing for the CCIE and am working through the book as it is written, understanding and memorizing as I go (I also use the computer software "Supermemo").

One thing I will point out: the CCIE Written Exam Blueprint (available on Cisco's website) is changed to version 3.0 as of mid-June, 2007. This book is written for the previous version of the blueprint and doesn't include all aspects of IPv6. MPLS (another new topic for the CCIE Exam) is included in the appendix of this book.

If you get your CCIE, you will be taking written exams for the rest of your career (I'm 12-year CCIE, I just passed my sixth written), so a study guide is a wise investment. This is a pretty good one - but even though its over a thousand pages long, it still lacks details in some areas.

Although it is common to buy some routing protocol books on top of these, that's not the areas that I found it to be weakest. Several protocols in the LAN section aren't discussed in sufficient detail, and the wireless sections look like they just got burned out and threw together something quickly. You had better plan on additional research on these topics.

The CD sample questions are sometimes helpful to point out weak areas, but don't expect to see many (or perhaps any) of them on the exam. The PDF version was extremely useful - not for reading but for searching. If I was looking for information on a protocol, I could search the PDF and find the page number, which matched the book. I always find books easier to read than PDFs.