Routers and Routing Books

This book is excellent in explaining the concepts and steps in IGMP and PIM operations. The first six chapters along is worth the money, it gives you a confidence to go into any network and have a baseline understanding of how everything should work. They can improve on the chapters for M-BGP and M-ISIS to include more examples. That is, if you'd like to 'see it work' then you need to lab it out yourself and apply the configuration in the later chapters. For someone who does not have access to a lab it is definitely a draw back. But all in all, I have read over many documents from Cisco CCO and other vendors, but they dont do nearly as good of a job as this book.

I liked this book - it has good, clear explanations for many core interdomain multicast concepts. I give it three stars, though, because whilst it's a great start, it doesn't really go far enough - only 255 pages on interdomain multicast - I think there's plenty more that could have been included.
I would check out Developing IP Multicast Networks volume 1 for IP multicast in general. For a really detailed examination of interdomain multicast, I guess we'll have to wait for Beau Williamson to write volume 2!

I have never understood multicast prior to reading this book. Yeah, the concept of it is easy but when it came to knowing how it worked and knowing the difference between Sparse and Dense mode, etc, I was lost. Well, after reading this book I can now answer those questions and many more. This book has open my eyes and inspired me to want to learn more about it. It is so easy to follow and understand and all topics are well covered and explained. It's a keeper.

-Mario

The authors writing style is very detailed and thorough. This has all relevant information to get somebody started in the world of multicast. After finishing this book you can jump straight into the rfcs/drafts and be able to read them like a childrens book. I love the fact that they omit talking in depth about DVMRP/CBT/MOSPF, since those protocols serve no relevance in todays modern networks. It is a much more coherent read then "Developing IP Multicast Networks" by Beau Williamson. The authors begin by giving you an overview of multicast technology, including IGMP, PIM-SM, MSDP, and how they work together to create the state required to deliver multicast traffic from a source to reciever. They then go more detailed into each protocol to give you a more detailed understanding about the protocols behavior. This is what "Developing IP Multicast Networks" shouldve done to make it a better multicast book. I also like the packet decodes at the end, turns the book into a great reference. Definite 5 stars.

Note: If you are a network admin thinking about deploying IP multicast, PLEASE, buy this book and pay close attention to the SSM service model as described by the book. After reading the book you should have the knowledge to deploy and troubleshoot SSM. The next-gen 'killer-apps' all depend on pervasive multicast throughout the internet. Do your part.

-andrew

The first half is multicast theory and descriptions of how the protocols work and is vendor agnostic. The authors pull no punches when it comes to how it actually works in the real world, which I like.

Next is a section on how to configure the protocols on a Juniper Networks router. It's followed by a similar section on how to configure a Cisco router. The two chapters show how to configure similar features on the vendors' equipment. There is no performance testing nor discussion about capabilities of specific revisions of code, which I also like. Any attempt to do that would make the book quickly become outdated. I believe these types of issues are best discovered in a lab, not in a book.

All of this is followed by a detailed service provider implementation case study. I liked this part the best. It includes configuration for both vendors' routers.

Finally, there are some good detailed appendices.

Certainly you can pick up some good information in the configuration examples that may be useful outside of multicasting. On the other hand, the book itself is entirely focused on multicast traffic and protocols. I read it for fun which should give you an idea of how interesting I am to talk with at parties.

Hope that helps. I highly recommend it!

This beats out any of the books (3) I've read about the subject. This book coupled with ICND from Cisco and some practice with a couple of real routers or simulated should definitely be enough. It was very easy reading - yet informative. Subnetting can be nasty but this guy makes it easy in my opinion. I passed the exam with flying colors as a result. I've lent the book out on three occasions and everyone was happy with it compared to other books out there. I think the secret is that it actually teaches you as opposed to memorizing what may be on the test. I hope this guy writes for advanced exams.
Good luck
Bob/CCNA

While I have not read this particular book, I took the Cisco BSCN course taught by Robert Myhre. He is easily one of the best technical instructors I have ever had. If he writes anywhere near as well as he teaches, you can't go wrong with his books.

This is an EXCELLENT practical book for the CCNA 2 exams.

If there were a LAB EXAM on the CCNA 2 test, this book would be in the same category as that by Andrew Bruce Caslow for the CCIE Lab.

It is the only CCNA book I have come across that TRULY gives you the hands-on experience that you need on the job whilst preparing you for the CCNA exams.

It adopts the same approach recommended by Andrew Bruce Caslow, the author of the best-selling CCIE lab book - "Cisco Certification - Bridges, Routers, and Switchees For CCIE's" (Prentice Hall), through a THOROUGH and SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to configuring and troubleshooting Cisco devices, thereby helping you to understand the practical aspects of what you are learning.

This book would definitely make you feel as though you are in the workplace in view of the many PRACTICAL LAB SCENARIOS introduced in Chapter 5 and gradually built up through to 14. It is also packed full of robust diagrams that help you the learning process.

In my view, this is the BEST CCNA 2 book out there. A SUPERB book for those willing to put their Cisco skills into practice without simply cramming to pass the exams.

Well done Mr Myhre.

Ok here is the skinny, I did notice the errors in the book, some of the explanations I had to read over and over as well as check online sources ...This is the recommended procedure for doing anything, I feel for those who read books and expect authoritative definitions. Anyways I picked up this book with no knowledge of Cisco Infrastructure----thats right zippo, I work at a Helpdesk position reccomending products including cisco. This book in a month helped me get a 924 on the CCNA exam. In fact I thought the exam was rather simple. The book was easy reading and I never fell asleep once, unlike tood lammelle's books. So this is the answer, if you want CCNA read this book. Has some errors but that shouldn't hinder your progress any. I WILL be purchasing the BCSN by Mr. Myhre.

I'm the third person to post a review on this book. The first person said he hasn't read the book but the instructor was great in a classroom. And he posted a review on the book?

I have no doubt the author is a great instructor, however, the errors in this book may not be his fault at all. I understand mistakes will be made in printing, but there were mistakes in the PRACTICE TESTS ANSWERS! Mistakes IN the answers and then in spellings. There are many mistakes throughout the book that will hopefully be corrected when the next edition is published. I'm glad I understood some of these concepts before I read this book. Otherwise I'd be going into the CCNA Exam with the wrong knowledge. Again, I'm not taking digs at the author, but the book has too many mistakes printed in it in the wrong places! (un hem.....the practice test answers)

Also, I was hoping the CD was going to be an interactive test prep software. I was WRONG! It's only a Network Management Program. Why would anyone want one of these when they are PREPARING for a CCNA exam. The book would have been worth the money if it was a test prep CD.

Last thing, the Labs and Scenario's.....were we supposed to buy our own Routers to participate in these labs? How was one supposed to do the labs if we don't own routers, switches, cables, etc.....am I expecting too much from this book? For(this much)...I think not. If I'm not being fair...please someone...let me know. Give me another point of view! I don't think this edition is worth the money. If the included CD was something that would help for test preparations....then it might be worth the price.

This book really gets down to the nitty-gritty of delivering data on the Internet. It covers numerous protocols, including Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Constraint-based Label Distribution Protocol (CDL-DP), and the Resource Reservation Protocol with Traffic Engineering Extensions (RSVP-TE). This book tells you what you need to know.

The documentation of switching and routing in IP networks was very complete and well illustrated. The book also described the concepts in the context of real world applications. Definitely lives up to its "essential" title.

I purchased this book and returned it, not because it was a bad book, it wasn't. As a matter of fact had I not purchased a MPLS book already or owned the Moy OSPF book. O would have kept it. It is a good book that covers all the required routing protocols, albeit not in enough detail. The book always left me short on detail, I still had questions after I would read a section.

So once again I would say that this is a good book but not a great one. If you are looking for some basics on RIP, OSPF, BGP and MPLS then this is a good book. If you are looking for more detail, like why do ILEC's have IBGP and OSPF running on the same router, and how are these routing protocols used in networks today with some real examples, then look somewhere else.

Cheers!

This Book by "Cisco" is excellent in teaching routing protocols. One of the best technical books ever written, by professionals, for novices.

Love the text, with the answers to questions in back you can check yourself easily.

As a student, I've found the online curriculum to be unreliable. The text size is small and cannot really be changed. The curriculum is only accessible online also and loads too slow. Purchasing this book was a good idea. Everything including the practice quizzes, Packet Tracer Activities,glossary, and diagrams are included in this book. All the chapters of the Routing Protocols and Concepts curriculum is implemented in here. Purchasing this book was a good idea. I was able to study any time and anywhere I wanted without a computer. I can also retain more information by going back in the book and reviewing the concepts. Without this book I don't know how I could have gotten through the curriculum. It really helped me! I would recommend you to get one too. This really helps you remember your concepts. I would highly recommend purchasing the Labs and Study Guide to go with this. They include additional labs and exercises.

If you are like me, then you have a significant commute in addition to your normal work day. If you also happen to be studying for the CCNA test, then you should definitely get yourself a copy of this set of audio tapes, and listen to them in the car while you ride to work and back. These tapes (4 of them, lasting about 4 hours) cover all of the main points on the test. Topics parallel the CCNA Exam Cram book, and cross-references are offered when useful. The last tape of the set has a short topic review followed by 60 or so questions and answers that are typical of the CCNA 640-507 test.

Please note: do not expect this set of tapes to be the only material that you will need to pass the test. Cisco tests are significantly more difficult than any Novell or Microsoft test that you may have taken in the past. You will need to read and understand all of the material in the Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (ICND) book, as well as all of the material in the Internetworking Technology Handbook to have any hope of passing. Think of this set of tapes as a good use of otherwise wasted time that you will spend in the car commuting to work. Used properly, these tapes are a valuable addition to your other study material.

This is a must have if your studying for the CCNA exam and work long hours. Great to use in the car or working out. The information helps reinforce what you already have learned and helps to tie in certain subjects that are vague. Great learning tool.

Although this book is billed as a 'Study Guide' is is more like what we used to call a 'work book.' It matches, on a paragraph by paragraph basis version 3.1.1 of the Cisco Networking Academp Program CCNA 2 course. But instead of just being descriptive in nature, it attempts to expand your hand-on knowledge of working with Cisco equipment. Here you actually configure a router, not just read about it. And as you go along you are asked questions that can be answered in the book itself. The pages are tear-outs, perferated near the center of the book so that they can be handed in as part of homework assignments.

In the lab section there are some 70 different labs, 55 of these match the ones recommended in the online course. The labs are broken down into three sections Curriculum, Comprehensive, and Challenge which are of increasing difficulty.

After completing the exercises and hands-on labs in this book, you will be well prepared to pass the test and to continue to the following Cisco courses.

Studying for the CCNA myself I bought this book to help compliment my reading. My only complaint is the lack of an answer key. I would have loved to be able to complete a chapter and then grade myself appropriately to learn. Other than this flaw I feel the content is very good at forcing you to remember key concepts, terms and scenarios.

I have been in IT for over 10 years, trust me when I say that you need to know this stuff THOROUGHLY.

Anyone who has observed the behavior of real networks understands fully the tradeoffs that are involved in performance versus cost. What is typically not understood in real business contexts is that such tradeoffs can be analyzed quantitatively using various tools from mathematics. Network managers frequently shy away from using these tools, usually viewing them as esoteric or too complicated to be practical. They instead rely on intuition or some vague notion of commonsense to guide their decisions on bandwidth assignments, load balancing, and so on.

That the latter approach can sometimes lead to trouble is exemplified by the results of this book. Throughout its pages, the author gives simple examples and straightforward mathematical theory to illustrate the issues that can arise in network traffic management. It is readily apparent when reading it, especially the discussion of Braess's Paradox, that a simple, commonsense belief, such as the belief that adding a link to a network will relieve congestion, should be viewed with caution.

What the author wants to study in the book is more general, as he is interested in finding out to what extent networks can be left to the users, and not managed centrally, in order to have the most optimal performance. When users of a network decide for themselves what paths to take in the network, and if their decisions are made without considering the effects on other users, this is called `selfish routing.' Will selfish routing result in the best distribution of traffic flow in a particular network? If not, what is the worst possible loss of social welfare that can result from selfish routing? What the author asks, is the `price of anarchy'?

To motivate his answers to these questions, the author begins with two examples. One of these examples, called `Pigou's example, deals with a simple source-sink network with two links, one of which has a fixed cost and the other a linear one. This example illustrates the fact that selfish behavior does not necessarily optimize social welfare. The second example is called Braess's Paradox, and illustrates the fact that making network improvements can actually adversely affect network performance.

Readers are expected of course to have the necessary mathematical background in order to gain anything from this book. Network design engineers typically have this background, but network managers typically do not. The book therefore will not get the attention it needs from the latter class of people. This is unfortunate since it is the network manager who typically needs to understand the issues and results discussed in this book. They are rigorous results from a mathematical perspective, but there are plenty of historical and empirical data that support them. Very important throughout the book is the notion of a network flow at Nash equilibrium and of an optimal flow. The price of anarchy is defined to be the worst possible ratio between the costs of these two flows.

The reader will find that it is the collection of cost functions that are most important to the calculation of the price of anarchy. He calculates the price of anarchy with cost functions that are linear, quadratic, cubic, p-th order polynomials, and certain functions used in queuing theory. An interesting construction he uses in his analysis is the `anarchy value' of a collection C of cost functions, which he shows gives an upper bound for the price of anarchy of every instance of the network with cost functions in C. This upper bound is independent of the complexity of the network and the number of commodities that are using it. Optimal and Nash flows are shown to be identical, but with different cost functions. One very interesting calculation that the author performs, and one that is very important for network managers, involves comparing the cost of a flow at Nash equilibrium to that of an optimal flow that must route additional traffic. He shows that this comparison is equivalent to comparing a Nash flow in a better network to an optimal flow in the original network. The conclusion of this analysis is that the benefit of central control is exceeded by the benefit of improvements in link technology. For the queuing cost functions (M/M/1 queues to be exact), one needs to double the capacity of every link in order to beat optimal routing.

Since Braess's Paradox is a real issue, it is important to design networks that do not exhibit it. The author approaches this design problem by finding a subgraph of the original network that minimizes the common cost of all traffic in a Nash flow for this subgraph. Because the number of subgraphs is exponential in the size of the instance the author has to resort to approximate algorithms. He calls these approximations `C-approximation' algorithms since they give a solution that is bounded above by C times the optimal solution, where C is a positive real number and is called the `approximation ratio' or `performance guarantee' of the algorithm. The author realizes that such approximations may not exist for NP-hard problems, the author tries to find upper and lower bounds on C. This allows him to find upper and lower bounds on the severity of Braess's paradox for the worst possible case. These bounds of course depend on the cost functions, and the author studies four versions of cost functions, namely where they are arbitrary, linear, polynomial, and "incline." All of these bounds are proven with the assumption that P is not equal to NP. For linear cost functions, he proves that for every e > 0 there is no (4/3 - e)-approximation algorithm and there is no ([n/2] - e)-approximation algorithm for arbitrary cost functions. In addition, he proves that there is no o(p/lnp)-approximation algorithm for polynomial cost functions of order p. For general cost functions and large networks, the conclusion reached is that Braess's Paradox can be arbitrarily severe.

Besides containing original results from the author's own PHD thesis, the book has complied results and concepts that can not only jump start a new comer in the field, but also give practical tools for network designers. Starting from the very simple description of Pigou's example, Braess's Paradox, the chapter 2 on preliminary [describing Nash equilibrium, optimal flow], and the most interesting author's note [at the end of each chapter] are very well articulated. Author is very careful about introducing any new term/concept so that he does not lose the reader's attention.


Chapter 3 describes the "worst possible" [the upper bound of the price of anarchy] ratio between the cost of a flow at Nash equilibrium and that of a socially optimal outcome. Author considers cost functions that are linear, quadratic, cubic, polynomial, and M/M/1 delay function.

Chapter 4 extends the results/ bounds from the previous chapters for more general and complicated situations like generalized selfish routing beyond networks [Nonatomic Congestion Games], approximate equilibrium [approximate Nash Flows], selfish routing with explicit edge capacities, and with finite number of network users each controlling a non-negligible amount of flow [that may or may not split]. Example 4.6.1 and the subsequent results shows that the "worst- case inefficiency (or the upper bounds of price of anarchy) of selfish routing should be achieved by only a particular finite range of traffic rates"

Chapter 5 & 6 addresses the interesting design aspects with practical implications, answering the questions how to use a modest degree of centralized control so that selfish routing results in a socially desirable outcome. General network design with arbitrary cost functions, linear network design with linear cost function, Polynomial and Incline network design are considered with and without taxes. In chapter 6, Stackelberg games/routing is studied to see how much central authority can reduce the price of anarchy in a network used by both selfish individuals and some authority. Even though, the strategy reduces the price of anarchy to a constant, the computation complexity is NP hard. However, author stated that there is a fully polynomial-time approximation can be used under certain conditions.

The book started with Pigou's example to show that "selfish behavior need not produce a socially optimal outcome", and Braess's Paradox -"with selfish routing, network improvements can degrade network performance". These statements can seem to be too strong if you ignore the caveats at the section 1.3.4, and the differences with the more general game theory issues beyond networks. Also some readers can correlate this "selfish behavior" with the power of individual dreams/greed that is driving the free market. The "selfish behavior" in this book is different than the one we see in the free market economy which is a closed loop system with feedback to promote sustainable win/win selfish behavior in the long run among the participants. On the other hand the author has considered "centralized optimization" as a separate entity from the selfish participants in the game resembling more like a centralized socialistic government. In an "ideal" free democratic society, "centralized optimization" is by the participants, for the participants.

I have personally taught over 20 CCIE's with this book at the IT Mentor CCIE Boot Camp. I think that this is one of the best books on the market for your CCIE studies.

The book is filled with easy to read, useful information. The labs provide very good practice for the CCIE lab exam. If you can master these labs, you have a 90% chance of passing the CCIE lab on the first try.

I found this book extremely useful and relevant for my lab preparation and continue to use it as a reference book for the various technologies. Specific chapters that standout and that I found particularly useful include: ATM; IS-IS; Protocol Redistribution and NAT; Multicast; Bridging and DLSW+ and BGP - the BGP chapter was excellent and extremely helpful! I also read the other reviews and would like to add that yes, unfortunately, there are errors/typos (...) Overall, I highly recommend this book for anyone studying for the CCIE Written Exam or the Lab! Great work and thank you very much, Rob and Kevin.

If you think you must have this book to pass the ccie written.
Then buy a used book. They are available for $18.
Buy instead Jeff Doyles books,Cisco Lan Switching- Clarke & Hamilton, a Bruce Caslow book.

-a twice re-certified CCIE-

This book rates up there with the best. It covers all the topics for CCIE preparation. All routing protocols found in the CCIE lab are covered, including an excellent reference for BGP. LAN switching as related to the 3550 switches is covered. Includes study material regarding the topics covered in the latest requirements for CCIE on the Cisco.com website. I use this book also as a reference for daily work activities as needed.

CCIE: Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Study Guide, Second Edition is a really good CCIE prep guide.

But don't rely on it alone. you really need to study from multiple sources if you want to pass the CCIE.

This book is a good resource, however, I found that there were a number of problems with the practice questions. It would be helpful if the book included explanations on why particular answers weren't right and more importantly that PH would publish errata to the book. It would also be helpful if people who didn't know that CCNA 2.0 is out that they should be buying the newer material. The original CCNA test expired in the summer of 2000. My test comes up in less than 7 days and I'm scrambling to find out what the differences are. Shame on you PH.

I had taken ICRC and then took a class taught by Mr. Myhre based on this book. The 2 courses did not even compare. There were people that had been through ACRC that did not have a good grasp of subnetting until this course. I've seen some of the other reviews saying there are other outside materials needed to pass the CCNA exam. I think Mr. Myhre would agree. The point of this book is to enable you to understand the concepts and know the basics. It is up to the individual to apply them. And yes, I had a couple of questions on switching on my 640-507. The success rate for the 15 person class taking the test and passing the first time was over 75%!

I bought several books on Cisco and CCNA before taking and passing the exam with a score in the high 790's. With hindsight, I can say that Mr. Myhre's guide was by far the most instrumental in my success because it set the foundation necessary to make other manuals more readable.

There are many factors that make this guide essential to anyone preparing for the exam, but for the sake of time and space here are just a few: --All of the exam objectives are thoroughly covered. --I began my studies with only a superficial knowledge of the subject matter, and found the material highly readable and very well thought out. Very rare for a technical manual.

I had no problem finding the page numbers, the reviewers who did should eat more carrots. This book is ESSENTIAL to your success.

This is a good book, but not great, I am an IT professional and use Cisco all day ansd live in the IOS was looking for a book to help me get ready for the CCNA this isnt it.... Look into the sybex book by Lammle

This book is a good resource, however, I found that there were a number of problems with the practice questions. It would be helpful if the book included explanations on why particular answers weren't right and more importantly that PH would publish errata to the book. It would also be helpful if people who didn't know that CCNA 2.0 is out that they should be buying the newer material. The original CCNA test expired in the summer of 2000. My test comes up in less than 7 days and I'm scrambling to find out what the differences are. Shame on you PH.

After waiting 2 months of the delivery I still have nothing. There seems to be no way to contact Amazon about this. Very poor service. I recommend NOT ordering from them. I'll have to arrange a charge back on the CC

Cisco's CCIE Routing & Switching Lab has always been one of the most coveted certifications in the Networking industry. While CiscoPress publishes a wealth of material concerning the CCIE and the different areas of testing IGPs, BGP, QoS, security, etc..., the same cannot be written of labs to test one's knowledge of the various subjects. I feel "CCIE Routing and Switching Practice Labs" by Duggan and Gorito is an excellent reference and valiant effort by CiscoPress to resolve this gap.

I have studied most of the major 3rd party vendors study aids for the CCIE lab (InternetworkExpert, NMC, IPExpert and ccBootcamp). Even considering the 100s of labs I have studied, I believe this book does something none of the other study materials do - and that is mimic the questions that are asked on the CCIE lab. Each chapter is broken down in two areas - the test and the answers. The difficulty of the exams is not as complex as you will see on the exam - but it is close. If the CCIE had a difficulty rating of 10, I would place the difficulty of this book at about a 6 - 7 (I would place most 3rd party vendors advanced study material at an 11 - yes, harder than the real lab).

The book does have some noticeable typos, and you may have to verify your configs on GroupStudy if you are confident that your configurations are correct. For example:
-on page 50, the 2nd route-map in example of 1-40 should be set to 20, not 10.
-on page 59, example 1-60's last ACL should use 0.0.0.7, not 0.0.0.255
-on page 197, example 3-93 should include to deny tcp and udp 445 as mentioned in the first paragraph.

There are many books a CCIE candidate will need on his shelf to help attain their digits. This is the rare CiscoPress book that the candidate should use only when they are near the culmination of their studies.

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

The CCIE is a moving target.

I may be stating the obvious, but before you plunk down this kind of money and spend that kind of time, you might want to check the Cisco web site and see how many chapters are still relevant. At this point the chapters on ATM and DLSw are not.

This is a good book for general practice studying and feel the format of the real test. However, difficulty and complexity level of this book are way way far under in comparision to the real test. Hope my suggestion is good for whom wants to consider this book as part of studying for CCIE lab.

Since the CCIE R & S lab changed in January, lots of things in this book are no longer on the current exam. That includes Voice over IP, ATM, DLSW and ISDN. Given that most people don't have ATM switches or ISDN simulators in their home labs anyway, that makes a good bit of this book no longer relevent to exam prep. Pretty expensive renting an on-line rack to practice technologies not on the exam any more. It would be alot of work to re-write the labs yourself to take out the stuff no longer tested. For example, you could replace ATM pvcs with frame relay pvcs, but then you would need to redefine the solutions yourself,also.