Customer Reviews

Building Service Provider Networks

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Howard Berkowitz is known in the networking community for his writing which has helped many, many people earn advanced certifications. But Howard doesn't write to that goal; he writes, instead, to the goal of helping people understand what it takes to make a network actually perform and deliver the business function it was purchased for. This is another in that series of lucid and focused books.

BSPN looks at the problem from the point of view of the engineer or technical manager who needs to deliver a service provider network--an ISP, ASP, etc. Over the course of the book, he uses a few fictitious businesses to demonstrate how a service provider could feasibly meet their needs. The content starts with the problem to be solved--as it always should--and progresses to how the promises are worded (Service Level Agreements, etc.), and on into the technical considerations that go into putting such a service in place.

As usual, he peppers the book with enough real stories to lend perspective to the thinking you have to do in planning networking (though most of don't plan for an adult male tiger "marking" the equipment). His diagrams are generally conceptual rather than using icons for different networking devices. After all, if you understand the logic, you can apply the best business equipment choice for the job you need to do.

And that is what this book is there for--to help you profitably provide a customer with the service they need. In these business times, that's a value.

Howard's book is an excellent overview of a number of service provider issues and technology. For myself, it helped me to wade through the morass of VPN technologies on the market when we were researching the replacement of our frame relay network. If you have an interest in the issues faced by service providers, or if you would like to learn more about wide area network technologies, then this book is a must-read. Howard's sense of humor and insightful anecdotes make this an especially easy read, despite the high technical content.