Cisco IOS in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference for IOS on IP Networks [Paperback]

James Boney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2001

Routers are the glue that holds the Internet together, and Cisco Systems--holding roughly 70% of the market--is the most prominent router manufacturer. Cisco's routers come in all shapes and sizes and almost all of them, from the smallest to the largest, run the IOS operating system. IOS is an extremely powerful and complex operating system, with an equally complex configuration language. There are many commands, with many options, and if one thing is configured incorrectly, the entire company could find itself offline.

Cisco IOS in a Nutshell covers IOS configuration for the TCP/IP protocol family. The book is divided into two parts: the first part includes chapters on the user interface, configuring lines and interfaces, access lists, routing protocols, and dial-on-demand routing and security; the second part is a classic O'Reilly-style quick reference to all the commands that you need to work with TCP/IP, including the lower-level protocols on which it relies, and lots of examples of the most commonly encountered configuration steps for the routers themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Three cheers for the Nutshell format! There may be no better printed style for command-line environments, like the Internetwork Operating System (IOS) that runs on Cisco Systems routers. Cisco IOS in a Nutshell documents the most important bits of the frequently arcane IOS command line from aaa accounting to write, thereby providing a valuable resource to everyone who works with IOS. The reference section--which makes up about 60 percent of this book--summarizes each command (again, they're not all covered, but the ones that aren't are pretty obscure) with a statement of its scope (global, interface, line, or whatever), followed by generalized syntax summaries in the style of Unix man pages (these indicate the legal combinations of switches and parameters). Then, a detailed discussion of each switch and parameter clarifies what each is for. The whole reference section is alphabetical, with lettered dark boxes on the pages' outer edges that are easy to scan while flipping pages rapidly.

Prior to the reference section, the author explains how the IOS interface refers to and controls aspects of routers, such as lines and interfaces. He does a great job of it, too--you could do far worse than to read his explanations before going to work under IOS for the first time. The other great value of this early section is in the author's discussion of how to configure a new router by bringing interfaces, data-communication protocols (like TCP/IP), routing protocols (like Border Gateway Protocol, or BGP), and services like Domain Name Service (DNS) online. This book is a tremendous value for Cisco engineers. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to configure a Cisco Systems router with the Internetwork Operating System (IOS). The most popular commands are documented, and there's a tutorial section that familiarizes readers with the Cisco way of thinking about a router's work. The author uses IOS 12.x as his baseline, though users of older versions will find his work valuable.

About the Author

Jim Boney has worked at Chesapeake Computer Consultants, Inc. for the last eight years as a consultant specializing in a wide variety of subjects: network design, network management, Unix administration, and programing in various languages (Perl, Java, Tcl/Tk, and C/C++). For the last three years, he has been working on the vLab project, which allows complete access to Cisco routers over the Internet. Jim lives in Pasadena, Maryland with his wife Peggy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 700 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156592942X
• ISBN-13: 978-1565929425
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right by my side - making it easier to configure the router., December 16, 2001

By 

Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cisco IOS in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference for IOS on IP Networks (Paperback)

One thing I have discovered over the past 12 years is that it is impossible to remember every command associated with a particular operating system, this includes routers. That's why I have this book on my desk to help me out remembering the syntax for the configuration files.

This 590 page must have reference book starts off with the loading of the image and configuration files which included setting up the router and the Line commands needs for this. Then author gives you the commands for the configuration of the line interfaces as the next topic discussed.

From there you find commands for configuration of Frame Relay, ATM, Access Lists, and Queues as the next set of topics, followed up with Interior Routing Protocols like RIP, IGRP, EIGRP and OSPF being tackled.

Moving on BGP and SNMP, DDR, HSRP, NAT, security and troubleshooting rounds out the topics. While this book is written to any exam specifications you may it very useful for most if not all Cisco certification exams.

Finally the book has over 300 pages devoted to the commands and there breakdown to give you the where to use, description and examples of the code. About the only thing left out was the entire book in e-book format or formatted for the palm. Overall this is one book I will have with for a very long time - well done!!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Desperately needs a new edition, December 21, 2005

By 

Patrick Gavin "Weasel Boy" (Arcata, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Cisco IOS in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)

While some people might find this volume indispensible, I found it to be nearly worthless. Newer IOS features that should be covered, like VTP, are absent. Important basics like crypto key generate are missing too.

If they ever release a new edition that addresses some of these glaring holes, I might recommend it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CISCO IOS in a nutshell, October 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Cisco IOS in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference for IOS on IP Networks (Paperback)

The Cisco IOS Command Line Interface (CLI) has burgeoned over the years, and
the consequent wealth of commands can intimidate the most seasoned system admin.

More than half of this book's 592 pages are devoted to a CLI reference section--
and if you are seriously involved with router management, you'll find that your
copy will be well worn.

The other half of the book is a practical coverage of theory -- access lists,
interior and external routing protocols, security, troubleshooting -- each
with real-world examples to back them up.

Think you're already a Cisco Guru? You might need to think again -- do you know
how to optimize your access lists? (page 98) Do you know the difference between
IGRP and EIGRP? (check out Chapter 9 -- interior routing protocols.) And finally,
do you know how to setup multiple-group hot standby routing? (flip to page 213)

This book is a great guidebook for the novice and a solid reference for the
experienced.