Cisco Routers for the Desperate

This is a short book that can be read in a single sitting. However, like most hands-on technology books, it’s best to read it in front of a computer accessing the resource being discussed. In this case, a Telnet session with a Cisco router is the fastest way to learn and retain the survival lessons taught. Author Michael Lucas has obviously read many of those thick Cisco router management books, and has effectively distilled the most important morsels of information into this brief handbook. By Chapter 4 (there are nine chapters in all, plus a useful Appendix on IP addresses and netmasks), the book had worked its magic on me. The black rectangular Cisco box sitting in the server rack was no longer the mysterious 2001-like monolith that hummed along and somehow had something to do with delivering my executing Web code to the world. Rather, it was just another computer that could be told what to do. More importantly, it was now a system that I could understand — and even troubleshoot when the time came.

The book quickly teaches readers about working with the Cisco command line, which is the entry path into router configuration, management, WAN connections, and even upgrading Cisco’s Internetwork Operating System (IOS). Chapter 5 on troubleshooting routers is the book’s most important section, and is the real reason behind buying the book in the first place. Focusing on the two primary problem areas for routers (crashes and/or network failure or slowness), the suggestions offered should ideally be incorporated into a disaster recovery procedure for router recovery. At 25 pages, Chapter 7 on redundancy with BGP and HSRP is the book’s lengthiest and most complex chapter, requiring a re-read to grok all the router concepts and blocks of capital letters (ARIN, ASN, BGP, HSRP, MRTG, and RADB). Nevertheless, once these initially cryptic concepts are understood, they not only make sense, they also bring an even deeper appreciation for the complexity that Cisco routers are capable of managing.

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http://rapidshare.com/files/12916306/Cisco_Routers_For_The_Desperate_Router_Management_The_Easy_Way.zip