Cisco Firewall Video Mentor (Video Learning) (Paperback)

by David Hucaby (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

“ The Cisco Firewall Video Mentor is an outstanding aide in learning to configure and understand the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance. Whether you are a newcomer to the ASA or operationally experienced, these videos clearly explain and demonstrate how to configure and manage the ASA from the commandline and from the ASDM GUI.”

—Mark Macumber, Systems Engineer, Cisco

 

Cisco Firewall Video Mentor is a unique video product that provides you with more than five hours of personal visual instruction from best-selling author and lead network engineer David Hucaby. In the 16 videos presented on the DVD, David walks you through common Cisco® firewall configuration and troubleshooting tasks. Designed to develop and enhance hands-on skills, each 10–30 minute video guides you through essential configuration tasks on the Cisco ASA and FWSM platforms and shows you how to verify that firewalls are working correctly.

 

Lab Layout:

Each video lab presents objectives, dynamic lab topology diagrams, command syntax overviews, and video captures of command-line input and GUI configuration. All of this is coupled with thorough audio instruction by an industry expert making learning easy and engaging.

 

Network Animation:

Animated network diagrams show you lab setup, device addressing, and how traffic flows through the network.

Command-Line Interface (CLI) Video:

 

Video screencasts of ASA and FWSM CLI and the ASDM GUI demonstrate command entry, configuration techniques, and device response.

 

 

This video product is part of the Cisco Press® Video Mentor Series. The video products in this series present expert training from industry-leading instructors and technologists. This dynamic learning environment combines animations, screencasts, and audio instruction to help users bridge the gap between conceptual knowledge and hands on application.

 

 

System Requirements:

• Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, or Vista
• Apple OS 9 or later
• Linux operating systems that have a web browser with Flash 7 or later plug-in
• Speakers or headphones
• Color display with a minimum 1024x768 resolution
• 1 GHz or faster CPU recommended
• DVD drive

About the Author

David Hucaby, CCIE® No. 4594, is a lead network engineer for the University of Kentucky, where he works with healthcare networks based on the Cisco® Catalyst®, ASA/PIX®/FWSM security, and VPN product lines. David was one of the beta reviewers of the ASA/PIX 7.0 and 8.0 operating system software. David has a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky and has worked in the IT field for 19 years. He lives in Kentucky with his wife Marci and two daughters.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Cisco Press; 1 Pap/DVD edition (May 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587201984
• ISBN-13: 978-1587201981
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #512,052 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent learning tool for the cisco firewall devices, September 29, 2008

By	M. Mrozek - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Cisco Firewall Video Mentor (ISBN:1587201984) by David Hucaby is a step-by-step video training guide for configuring the PIX or ASA firewall and is a must for beginner and intermediate level engineers. Hucaby is a natural at teaching and the video and audio make for a smooth learning experience. It comes with a handy 90 page book that follows labs but is also a great command and process reference guide to keep at your desk.

Hucaby moves along fairly quickly so you never get bored and it's easy to stop the video if you need to do a bit more research. Because he moves at a perfect speed, I found myself watching areas that I was already familiar with because I wanted to see if there was something he might do differently. I never felt as though I had wasted my time after finishing any of the sections.

One thing I really like about this is you can be completely new to Cisco and he gives you the essential tools you need to know to hit the ground running. I feel strongly that I could give this to a IT professional new to Cisco and help them feel relatively comfortable with the basics of a Cisco firewall. But it's not just the basics; it covers more advanced features like MPF, rules, traffic capture, etc..

The layout of the video is perfect and allows Hucaby to quickly move through the bottom console while displaying commands, images, and other data at the top of the screen. It's also easy and quick to navigate through the various labs. I used a pretty old computer yet I could jump from one lab to the middle of another in a very reasonable amount of time. The time is always on the bottom of the layout so you can remember exactly where you were at one point for later reference or research.

Not only does Hucaby cover configurations on the command line interface but he also does demonstrations in the ADSM. Right after he completes a CLI config, he removes it and shows the same config in the ADSM. I'm still not a fan of using the ADSM graphical user interface but it was nice to see commands translate from the CLI to the GUI.

I'd have to say what I was most impressed with was how Hucaby often spends a lot of time explaining why he is doing something, as opposed to someone who moves from step to step with little value to add. For example, in the chapter titled Packet Capture, he goes through all of the command syntax arguments before he actually types the command. After covering the syntax, you feel a lot more comfortable as he types the particular command arrangement.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this publication and I will seek others like it for more Cisco topics.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hucaby R-O-C-K-S!!! This one is a winner., July 26, 2008

By	Darby B Weaver Jr. (Orlando, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

I'm a fairly seasoned Cisco PIX/ASA Firewall Administrator. I've been around for a few years supporting several enterprise/campus networks and worked for a few Fortune 500 companies as the Firewall Administrator.

I love this product. Especially the clear and concise explanations for using multiple contexts.

These explanations are very clear and very much build on the previous topic. The author is clear and smooth in his expert delivery of the topic.

This is excellent. I own most of his books and I've used them on the job. But I never heard Huccaby deliver this material. He's top notch and clearly an expert's expert.

I think this product is an excellent value and would highly recommend it to anyone who supports with the Cisco ASA or the Cisco FWSM (Firewall Service Module).

Good job David.

Thanks for an excellent product I can easily recommend to others.

My sincerest compliments.

Darby Weaver

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cisco Firewall Video Mentor, June 13, 2008

By	John Fellenbaum - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cisco Firewall Video Mentor by David Hucaby published by Cisco Press (ISBN-13: 978-1-58720-198-1 / ISBN-10: 1-58720-198-4) covers various firewall configuration tasks associated with Cisco's Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) through 16 instructional videos (also referred to as Lab 1 through Lab 16). A printed, ninety (90) page booklet accompanies the DVD. The booklet is also available in PDF format on the DVD. The booklet covers all 16 labs and is consistently formatted. The booklet format for each lab contains 4 sections. The first section describes the objectives of the lab. The second section contains the steps performed in the lab to complete the objectives. The third section contains the initial configuration prior to starting the lab. The fourth section is used as a reference to the video presentation of the lab.

The author uses the Command Line Interface (CLI) to demonstrate how to configure various tasks and many times uses the Graphical User Interface (GUI) called ASDM (Adaptive Security Device Manager) to depict how one can also accomplish the same configuration task through the use of ASDM vice the CLI.

The video is presented well, typically using the upper third of the layout for reference material (i.e. - command formats, diagrams, etc.). The bottom two/thirds of the layout are used to show the terminal emulation session (i.e. - the console session of the ASA) and the ASDM interface. The author has a pleasant voice and the running audio commentary was outstanding and synchronized perfectly with the typing associated with the CLI and ASDM interfaces. I am wondering how many takes was required to get the audio synchronized with the typing that well. It truly is impressive.

The author does a tremendous job presenting the content of the video. The content is presented in a cumulative manner. All content, from rudimentary concepts, such as, exploring the CLI modes to more complex concepts, such as, Modular Policy Framework (MPF) are broken down and thoroughly explained. I found the video to be properly paced. When I did not fully grasp a concept, it was easy to back up the video and watch and listen to it again.

I really enjoyed learning about Cisco's ASA via this video method. It is a nice departure from just reading pure technical documentation. The video mentor presentation is the next best thing to having your own lab equipment. Anyone interested in learning about stateful firewall concepts and configuring the Cisco ASA will benefit greatly from watching and listening to this video.