Cisco Routers for the Desperate, 2nd Ed
Router and Switch Management, the Easy Way
Book Review

By Dale Farris, Reviews Coordinator Golden Triangle PC Club March 2009 General Overview Cisco routers and switches are the cornerstones of many networks. But when things break, repairs can intimidate even the most competent administrator. Luckily, just knowing the "in case of emergency" basics will take you far. Just like the original, this second edition of the highly acclaimed Cisco Routers for the Desperate is written for the administrator in crisis mode. Updated to cover switches and the latest Cisco terminology, with a tighter focus on the needs of the small network administrator, this second edition gives you what you need to know to provide reliable network services and fix problems fast. You'll find coverage of: Installation—how to get your router and network connections up and running right the first time Troubleshooting routers and switches, so that you can determine whether your hardware or the Internet is broken Security concerns, like how to keep your network equipment safe from hackers and install a private network between two offices How to implement basic network redundancy to reduce the risk of network downtime Cisco Routers for the Desperate, 2nd Edition is designed to be read once and left alone until something breaks. When it does, you'll have everything you need to know in one easy-to-follow guidebook. Table of Contents The book's ten (10) chapters include the following: Chapter 1:   Befriending the Command Line Chapter 2:   Router Configuration Chapter 3:   Router Interfaces Chapter 4:   Wide Area Network Connections Chapter 5:   Troubleshooting Routers Chapter 6:   IOS Changes Chapter 7:   Redundancy with BGP and HSRP Chapter 8:   Cisco Switches Chapter 9:   Logins, Authentication, and Remote Access Chapter 10: Cisco Network Services The book also has an appendix on IP addresses and netmasks. Author Michael W. Lucas About the Author Michael W. Lucas is a network / security engineer with extensive experience working with high-availability systems. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Absolute FreeBSD, Absolute OpenBSD, Cisco Routers for the Desperate, and PGP & GPG, all from No Starch Press. Date February 2009 - 2nd Edition ISBN ISBN-10 1-59327-193-X ISBN-13 978-1-59327-193-0 Price $24.95 $24.95 CAN Features 144 pages; figures; screen shots; sample programming statements; index Targeted Customers This book is aimed at computer network and system administrators who are responsible for managing their computer networks, including knowing how to manage and troubleshoot their Cisco routers. The author aims this super work at the administrator of a small network who is responsible for anywhere from 1 to 3 Cisco routers in addition to their other more time-consuming duties. He strives to make the reader comfortable with the Cisco environment and to provide exactly the information necessary to troubleshoot and resolve the most common problems that happen either on Cisco routers or that involve Cisco routers. He also provides the basic information necessary to address some of the questions that frequently arise when working with Cisco routers, network connections, and switches. As some readers will likely realize, this relatively short work is not designed to be a replacement to the many other more elaborate technical books on Cisco routers that are now available. Since Cisco certification is now highly valued by network administrators, this certification has resulted in numerous Cisco certification exam preparation textbooks that cover all the technical details about running and programming Cisco routers. Cisco almost invented the networking business, along with the server software from Microsoft and Novell, and you will likely find Cisco routers, switches, and other networking equipment behind the scenes of most any computer network. Cisco hardware has been used to interconnect almost every sort of network hardware ever created. The author focuses squarely on TCP / IP networking in an Internet environment and does not detour into channelizing circuits, VoIP, IPX, Apple-Talk, MPLS, prioritization, or any other of the other features available in Cisco-land. He will instead help readers discover how to learn these things themselves. His main goal is to make readers comfortable with the environment and technology found inside every Cisco router. About No Starch Press San Francisco based No Starch Press, Inc., publisher of such best-selling titles as "Steal This Computer Book 3," "The Book of JavaScript," and "The Linux Cookbook," is an independent publishing company committed to producing readable, information-packed computer books that make a difference. No Starch focuses on Open Source, Web development, computer security, programming tools, and alternative operating systems. No Starch authors are highly regarded experts who have the rare ability to write about complex topics clearly and concisely. As a result, No Starch books share a no-nonsense manner that both educates and entertains. The Linux Journal Press series offers readers books on cutting-edge Open Source topics that make a difference, in an effort to advance the acceptance and usability of Linux. Recent titles include "The Book of Zope," "Programming Linux Games," and "The Linux Cookbook." Linux Journal Press titles are developed in partnership with Linux Journal. The No Starch international distribution network brings their books to all major English-language and critical non-English language markets. Their U.S. distributor, Publishers Group West (PGW), is the largest U.S. distributor for independent book publishers. PGW sells to all major wholesalers (Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Bookazine, Koen, etc.), national chains and independents, online booksellers, and academic and technical bookstores. No Starch also aggressively pursues sales in non-traditional channels, including corporate and premium sales, bulk sales, and book clubs. The No Starch international distributors (including JGA in Canada, Computer Bookshops in the UK, Woodslane in Australia/New Zealand) reach all major English and non-English markets with large technical populations. They also maintain extensive contacts with international publishers who translate their books and bring them to their markets in their local language. William Pollock, founder and publisher of No Starch Press, Inc. (and co-founder of APress) has over fifteen years of book publishing experience. No Starch Press benefits from his experience in professional reference, scientific, college, and trade publishing. Mr. Pollock has worked his way up through the publishing ranks from editorial assistant, to sales representative, to acquisitions editor, to publisher. He knows the book publishing business from the ground up. Contact Travis Peterson Sales & Marketing Assistant No Starch Press 555 De Haro St., Suite 250 San Francisco, California 94107 800-420-7240 415-863-9900, Ext. 300 FAX 415-863-9950 travis@nostarch.com www.nostarch.com