Customer Reviews

Cisco BGP-4 Command and Configuration Handbook

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you start with BGP you can read Doyle's Routing TCP/IP vol II. For the complete picture and also if your are a beginner, read Halabi's Internet Routing Architecture 2nd edition (if to choose one, buy this last) If you already practice BGP and want to achieve the "BGP's state of the art", buy Parkhurst's BGP-4 Command and configuration handbook. This is NOT a command reference book which are very unuseful. Although Cisco is doing efforts with their web site, it's missing many explanations on commands. It is never as good as this book that contains a lot of examples for illustrating the why and how.

BGP resources (in print at least) are few and far between. This book presents a much needed tool in the day to day configuration and maintenance of THE routing protocol - BGP. It is for cisco people only - but Juniper have also got some good docs on their web site....so check them out.

Overall a great book - use with Halabi's 'Internet Routing Architectures' and Jeff Doyles 'Routing TCP/IP Vol 2'

This book has 1 to 4 lab exercises for every BGP command using a minimum number of routers. If you are preparing for the CCIE lab this book can guarantee that you shouldn't miss any BGP questions.

This is the new definitive BGP book by Cisco. It is more in depth than Internet Routing Architectures and covers very specific and practical examples on how to properly configure BGP.

The nice thing about this book is that it does cover theory, but does not get bogged down in it. You could easily take this book with you to work and set up community strings, peer-groups and load balance BGP with this at your desk. It's Very specific, has very pratical examples and is a must if you work with BGP and are striving for CCNP/CCIE...4 stars. A must have in any Network Engineer's library.

I have read it and decided to share my thoughts. Basically it gives you all the BGP commands and how to use them. It's a great resource to learn from or to help with using it in the real world. All the BGP commands and examples you need in one location. A must read for CCIE prep. You can't beat that.

BGP isn't easy. No book is ever going to change that, but this book comes close.

Commands and all of the parameters are explained, with good examples. If you want to be able to accomplish something, or want to understand what someone else was doing/thinking when they coded some line in the configuration, then this book is for you.

I'm probably going to have to hide it from my colleagues, in order to avoid someone taking it on an anonymous "loan".

It is a book that helps you understand what BGP commands do. It will not give you real live BGP designs (Internet Routing Architectures from Sam Halabi is much better for this). I have found many errors, try to find 2nd edition if available. Or you can take it as CCIE lab practice "Find errors and get ready for troubleshooting" :-))

If You buy this book you must have the Internet Routing Architectures (2nd Edition)
by Sam Halabi! A useful command reference.

The good thing about this book is that with 2 or three routers you can verify the configurations presented in the book. Then it is easy to see the errors. And there are lots of errors in this book. Most of them are just simple errors that any CCNA could find; example: four loopbacks configured loopback0-3, show ip route: loopback1-4, not big errors, but confusing. Also many times routers are mixed up in the configuration and the show commands. Example: a show command on router A displays information that must be from router C. etc..

I like this book very much, but it is getting a little bit unreadable because of the corrections I made :)

The strange thing is that there is no errata on the ciscopress site for this book.

3 stars because of the errors, otherwise 4,5

The Cisco BGP-4 Command and Configuration Handbook has become another valuable addition to my networking library. This reference by Dr. William Parkhurst is a comprehensive listing of all BGP-4 commands used in Cisco IOS software. Like his reference on OSPF commands, each BGP command is outlined with a syntax description, a purpose for the command, configuration examples and a short troubleshooting section.

The flow of the book was very logically laid out. It begins with basic BGP route aggregation commands and progresses through neighbor configuration commands, route redistribution and ends with chapters on troubleshooting commands. Each chapter begins with basic commands and builds on those commands as the chapter progresses. This way the reader gets a feeling for how each command interacts with other commands.

As with any other command and configuration handbook, the reader must be well versed in the theory behind the technology. This is especially true with this book. I must admit, that before reading this book, I did not have much exposure to BGP-4, but I found the material very easy to comprehend. It also helped me to understand the protocol better. Without the proper background in BGP-4 you can get lost very easily, however if you have had exposure to BGP then you will find this book very useful in configuring the protocol.

Another aspect of the book I really liked was in how the configuration examples were presented. Each example had a network scenario and gave a step by step process on how to utilize the command. A network diagram was included along with outputs from the routers used in the configuration scenario. The configuration examples start with a verification phase where the correct operation is determined. Then the command is applied and the changes are outlined and displayed. The troubleshooting section outlines steps where the most common failures may occur. While the reader can get a lot of information from just reading the configuration section, it really helps if you can have access to live routers.

I also found the appendices very helpful in understanding some of the book's content. Appendix A presents the concepts and terminology contained in RFC 1771 Border Gateway Protocol 4. Appendix B covers regular expression and Appendix C is about route map logic and how route maps are used in BGP-4. Don't be daunted by Appendix A, the author left out most of the details, like packet format and content and instead focused on BGP attributes, path selection and forming BGP connections. Appendix C gave a good refresher on route maps and how they are utilized in BGP.

This book has become an excellent reference source for my studies toward the CCIE. It also helped me to understand BGP better. I would highly recommend this book to anyone studying for Cisco certification or who has to work with BGP-4 in their network. I looked forward to reading more books by Dr. Parkhurst