CCIE Fundamentals: Network Design and Case Studies, Second Edition
by Eric Quinn
10/2/2000 -- While the information in Cisco's CCIE Fundamentals: Network Design and Case Studies, Second Edition by Cisco Systems exists on the Cisco Web site, it's not as well organized as it is in the book.
The majority of this book is based on the following model: "In one chapter we'll teach you about this topic and maybe later we'll show you how to configure it." The volume is broken into three sections. The first, Internetwork Design, deals with why you'd want to use a particular approach and how to use it effectively. You'll find configuration information in these chapters, but they're little snips of code. It's the difference between showing someone how to configure an IP address on an interface vs. demonstrating that two devices directly connected must be on the same IP network.The biggest topics covered are SNA design and dial-up design, but ATM, IP, and multicasting are also included.
The next section is called "Internetworking Case Studies" and this is where you get to see how everything fits together. The book covers multicasting, routing protocols, IPX SAPs, HSRP, and other topics. The chapters here are chock full of sample network designs with configurations for each of the routers or switches shown. This is Good Stuff, Maynard!The last section is the Appendix. Like most books, I generally say "Yeah, that's useful. I'll look at it some day," and this one isn't much different. The appendix has five sections. Two sections are good for beginners, dealing with broadcasts on a switched network and IP subnetting. The other three deal with SNA topics.
Overall, I'd recommend this volume. It's a little SNA heavy, though, with four of the 24 real chapters being devoted to SNA topics. Dial-up topics get a bit more weight with five of the 24 chapters, while the other 15 chapters cover a lot of other territory. This is a book that you can sit down and read. It's not quite an instruction book but seems to have been designed halfway between being a teaching tool and a reference source. I give this book 4.5 routers out of 5.
This review originally appeared on TCPmag.com.
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Eric Quinn, CCNP, CCDP, CCSI, is a security instructor and consultant. He is also co-author of the CCNP Remote Access Exam Cram by Coriolis Press. He writes the “Link State Update” column for TCPmag.com, and is a contributing editor for CertCities.com. Reach him at .
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