| | |  | CISCO | Home » » » » Cisco Routers for the Desperate: Router and Switch Management, the Easy Way | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | 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.
| | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9781593271930
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Michael W. Lucas | | Paperback:
| 144 pages | | Publisher:
| No Starch Press | | Publication Date:
| March 18, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 159327193X | | Product Length:
| 9.16 inches | | Product Width:
| 7.16 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.43 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.63 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.55 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 25 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 25 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 With a few changes, Cisco should ship this with their gearMar 05, 2005
By Richard Bejtlich
"TaoSecurity"
'Cisco Routers for the Desperate' (CRFTD) is the book Cisco should package with their routers -- assuming author Michael Lucas makes a few tweaks. I've always been amazed by Michael's uncanny ability to include details that matter to administrators, especially in his earlier books 'Absolute BSD' and 'Absolute OpenBSD'. CRFTD is no exception; the book is chock full of life-saving Cisco tips. I suggest you buy one to keep by your router, just as the author recommends.
CRFTD is not supposed to be comprehensive, but it is designed to answer many if not most of the questions facing the average small router administrator. If you're responsible for multiple routers or have complex requirements, this book is not for you. If you are stuck sitting if front of the router connected to your ISP, and don't know how to proceed, CRFTD is for you.
Although this book weighs in around 120 pages, it features material seldom discussed in other Cisco-related books. For example, Michael provides good advice on how to interact with your ISP to troubleshoot connectivity issues. He explains WAN circuits and the equipment responsibilities of ISPs and end users. Most impressively, he dedicates 25 pages in chapter 7 to Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Cisco's Host Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) -- two topics I did not expect in a book this size. I also appreciated mention of enabling usernames and passwords (beyond the usual 'password' and 'enable' methods) and activating secure shell services.
I like CRFTD because it cuts to the chase and tells the reader what he or she needs to know to properly configure a router. There is not a lot of theory here, but there are some explanations. In some cases, the syntax is not exactly in synch with Cisco's latest expectations. For example, the company recommends using 'copy running-config startup-config' to save the running configuration to flash memory. This does not mean Michael's syntax is wrong, but his approach may harken to an earlier time.
The book has some minor errors which forced me to provide a four star rating. The first issue is the lack of recommending the 'no shutdown' command when configuring interfaces. Having just sat through a week of Todd Lammle's CCNA class, I can personally attest to the number of times router admins forget to enable interfaces. I did not see Michael mention this -- so remember to enter 'no shutdown' when configuring interfaces. Second, Michael mixes up the use of the console port and the AUX port; console is usually for rolled-cable access, while AUX is typically for modem access. At the bottom of p. 31, omit the term 'netmask' from the 'ip address' command; it's not needed. On p. 109, 'timeout' should be 'time-out' in the syntax.
Overall, I really enjoyed CRFTD. I think a second edition will easily make the necessary changes. I heartily recommend buying a copy of this book for router admins at your corporate remote locations. They will thank you for simplifying the administration of their routers. Those looking for a quick, hands-on CCNA refresher will find working through Michael's examples a good way to reinforce key configuration concepts.
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
powerful diagnostic toolSep 06, 2005
By W Boudville
No one will mistake this for a Dummies book. No pretty colours or fancy graphics. Just a slim compendium of diagnostic hacks to be performed, probably under conditions of high stress. Lucas assumes you have some prior networking experience with TCP/IP. He claims you don't need much actual experience with a Cisco router to use this book. His reason is interesting. Those routers need to work continuously and in practise they and your network often do. Until an occasional breakdown. But the high MTBF means you might have little actual hands on with the router. Ironic, eh?
It should be said that the book is not really about what to do if the router is bad. Rather, it is about the more realistic case where something has come unglued on your network. Lucas shows how the router can be an invaluable tool in tracking down the problem.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Great crash course into Cisco routersFeb 06, 2007
By Gerald Ford
"pho_kin"
I started a new job and had almost no experience with Cisco products. I was desperate and bought this book. What a gem of a purchase. This book takes something cryptic as Cisco appliance administration and walks you through it so that anyone can learn in hours.
I have bought books from this author before and have yet to be disappointed. The man has clearly been an admin for years, so he knows the pain we all feel. :) His humor is really refreshing on such a dry topic.
All in all, I would recommend this book for any novice network admin, or someone who wants to start a new job using Cisco products. It's worth the price.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
For the desperate indeed, but also for the noviceNov 07, 2006
By M. Salvador
"linux guru"
it is a very good book for the regular operations person, who need to know how the connection to your ISP works. I am in the isp business, therefore I deal with customer's turn ups and router configurations every day. If you are a network person dealing with current issues like qos and voip, this book is NOT for you. If you are a noc technician at an ISP or an IT person in control of your ISP connectivity, this book is the HANDBOOK. It is so concise that you will end reading all the chapters in one afternoon, or less, and at the end you will know exactly, and I mean exactly, what goes where and why, in reference to all the cisco configurations at your end.
Caveat. This book is less than in introduction to cisco equipment, but it will get you connected and running to an ISP, with redundancy and high availability.
It is a fun book, all and all.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Exactly what I needed, when I needed it!Mar 03, 2005
By M. Olander
A *must* have book for when you need to make a quick change on a cisco router and don't have time to review. This book walks you through from logging in to making your router changes right from the beginning of the book.
The title perfectly described my state of mind when I bought it! After 15 minutes or so though, the network was purring along again ;-)
Thanks!
-matt
See all 25 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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