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When you’re taking a Cisco exam, the basic requirements are: a)knowing the subject matter, b)knowing the test/exam taking strategies, c)and one of the most important, the hands on!

This book goes over all three topics. Subject matter is covered in detail, apparently beyond what is included in the exam itself. So, although the book is written for preparing for the CCNA Security exam, it will help you build your basic security toolkit for designing, configuring, maintaining, and auditing networks. I particularly liked the Review Questions at the end of each chapter, they may look simplistic but will surely be effective in order to pass the real exam!

“Key Topics” designation also come very handy to highlight an important concept for exam preparation. This should help you build your strategy on what to expect on the exam, both difficulty level and the subject matter.

Book contains a ton of full length configuration examples which can easily be used for the hands-on needed.

Overall, a very good effort once again by Catherine!

Rating: 5 / 5

The book is an authoritative way to learn how to configure and control various Cisco routers and switches. Perhaps most importantly from the standpoint of security, you see how routers can be used to maintain a firewall. For most companies that are connected to the Internet, a firewall is often a necessity.

Some background in understanding the basics of TCP/IP is needed. But the book explains the relevant details. If you are wondering how to configure your internal network behind a firewall, the text has common setup examples that you can copy.

There are also candid discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of various filtering methods. For example, firewalls that do packet filtering are often used. This involves maintaining a policy table with conditions for allowing or denying traffic based on parameters like source IP address, destination IP address and the port numbers. The Cisco routers that do this are very fast, because inspecting the packet headers is simple to do in silicon. But the book also explains the limitations. Notably, the analysis is stateless, so a connection that uses a multipacket handshake cannot be checked, assuming it passes the above tests. Still, packet filtering is so simple and fast that you should probably do it.

The book also delves into how to make a VPN across the Internet. A powerful and popular way to have more secure communications.

The questions at the end of each chapter are fairly straightforward. Nothing that is too complicated.

Strictly, the book is meant for those studying for a Cisco network certificate. But potentially, the scope is broader. It’s a good overall explanation of routing and switching, and especially about setting up firewalls and VPNs. Not necessarily restricted to Cisco hardware. But even for the latter, the book might read better than a typical manual for a specific device.
Rating: 4 / 5