Customer Reviews

Building a Cisco Wireless Lan

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All the Cisco WLAN deployment options you could name for seasoned LAN or WAN administrators. This book is well written and informative for deploying the Cisco Aironet solution. I will use it when needed as a reference.

If you are new to Wireless and Networking then the CWNA (Certified Wireless Lan Administrator) from Planet3 is better. The CWNA is also WLANA approved and has other higher level courses including SECURITY. I prefer vendor neutral courses /materials for beginners (like me). Also the wireless market is very fragmented and there are multiple vendors. A vendor neutral course is better at giving a broader inital understanding.

Cisco's Aironet is targeted for existing client sites that have Cisco routers/switches. The sitess are adding (dumping?) the wireless LAN to the current IT /Networking staff's workload. No new jobs there. However this is a Great book for the in-house IT staff running a Cisco shop.

If you want just the security there are other more in depth books. However without understanding the Wireless Lan those other books are USELESS. So this book is excellent for its intended market.

This book is great, but little out of date. Cisco has released many new hardware as well as software wireless technology. I recommend "Managing and Securing a Cisco® Structured Wireless-Aware Network" which is the updated version.

Although good, It does not have documentation on Access Point 1200 and new authentication mechanisms such as PEAP etc. Otherwise has some good details, in additon to documentation that can also be found on Cisco website. Recommend not to buy until new edition comes out and it gets updated.

There isn't any word on new Cisco AP family based on IOS software.
This is a problem today.

Good book to go over the basics of wireless LAN and to help you build your own home wireless network

Like many people, I set up my first wireless network without any instruction. I used the cheapest equipment available. As you read or reference sections in this book, you realize that by using good quality equipment you increase reliability and services within your WLAN.

The book is clearly written and is easy to use as a reference. That said, I have read the book from cover to cover.

The book gives detailed information about settings on Cisco devices such as the 340 and 350 series. Although the wireless field - specifically IEEE 802.11b - is changing rapidly, this book contains information that is great for intermediate to advanced wireless network installers.

While this book is slightly out of date (Cisco has released some new WLAN equipment since it was published), it still presents a wealth of information on Cisco WLAN components. Even if you are totally new to the field of WLANs, the book spends the first two chapters covering WLAN technology and concepts. After that, you are off to the races with Cisco specific products. The reamining seven chapters covers network design, wireless bridges, access points, client adapters, WLAN security and accessories. A great deal of information. In addition, if you are interested in obtaining either or both of the Cisco WLAN specialization certifications (WLAN Field Engineer and WLAN Design Engineer), then I can say from experience that this book is a must read to help pass the tests. Once again, another great book from Syngress!

Is most of this information already on the web? Probably. However, this book provides a organized, manageable repository of Cisco Wi-Fi info that can be bookmarked, highlighted, dog-eared, or carried along. Pictures should have been in color, though, especially the Cisco screenshots. Maybe a few more interior design examples (are all warehouses 850'x 2000'?)

Being one of the authors and technical editors on this book, I can assure you that nothing was directly copied from the Cisco Web site. This includes the text, and the figures and images. However, as this is a Cisco-centric book regarding the design, installation and configuration of a Cisco product; there will inevitably be some similarities to the documentation on the Cisco Web site. The editors have kept this concern in the forefront of our minds, to ensure that there is plenty of additional extras tips and relevant information not available on the Cisco site and only included in our book. This book was written and tech edited by people who have designed,installed and support WLANs in the real world, with real world information. Based on the feedback I have received from peers and strangers at the recent Cisco Networkers conference, your opinion and assessment of our work is not widely accepted.