Customer Reviews

Cisco Routers for the Desperate: Router Management, the Easy Way

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Cisco Routers for the Desperate' (CRFTD) is the book Cisco should package with their routers -- assuming author Michael Lucas makes a few tweaks. I've always been amazed by Michael's uncanny ability to include details that matter to administrators, especially in his earlier books 'Absolute BSD' and 'Absolute OpenBSD'. CRFTD is no exception; the book is chock full of life-saving Cisco tips. I suggest you buy one to keep by your router, just as the author recommends.

CRFTD is not supposed to be comprehensive, but it is designed to answer many if not most of the questions facing the average small router administrator. If you're responsible for multiple routers or have complex requirements, this book is not for you. If you are stuck sitting if front of the router connected to your ISP, and don't know how to proceed, CRFTD is for you.

Although this book weighs in around 120 pages, it features material seldom discussed in other Cisco-related books. For example, Michael provides good advice on how to interact with your ISP to troubleshoot connectivity issues. He explains WAN circuits and the equipment responsibilities of ISPs and end users. Most impressively, he dedicates 25 pages in chapter 7 to Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Cisco's Host Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) -- two topics I did not expect in a book this size. I also appreciated mention of enabling usernames and passwords (beyond the usual 'password' and 'enable' methods) and activating secure shell services.

I like CRFTD because it cuts to the chase and tells the reader what he or she needs to know to properly configure a router. There is not a lot of theory here, but there are some explanations. In some cases, the syntax is not exactly in synch with Cisco's latest expectations. For example, the company recommends using 'copy running-config startup-config' to save the running configuration to flash memory. This does not mean Michael's syntax is wrong, but his approach may harken to an earlier time.

The book has some minor errors which forced me to provide a four star rating. The first issue is the lack of recommending the 'no shutdown' command when configuring interfaces. Having just sat through a week of Todd Lammle's CCNA class, I can personally attest to the number of times router admins forget to enable interfaces. I did not see Michael mention this -- so remember to enter 'no shutdown' when configuring interfaces. Second, Michael mixes up the use of the console port and the AUX port; console is usually for rolled-cable access, while AUX is typically for modem access. At the bottom of p. 31, omit the term 'netmask' from the 'ip address' command; it's not needed. On p. 109, 'timeout' should be 'time-out' in the syntax.

Overall, I really enjoyed CRFTD. I think a second edition will easily make the necessary changes. I heartily recommend buying a copy of this book for router admins at your corporate remote locations. They will thank you for simplifying the administration of their routers. Those looking for a quick, hands-on CCNA refresher will find working through Michael's examples a good way to reinforce key configuration concepts.

No one will mistake this for a Dummies book. No pretty colours or fancy graphics. Just a slim compendium of diagnostic hacks to be performed, probably under conditions of high stress. Lucas assumes you have some prior networking experience with TCP/IP. He claims you don't need much actual experience with a Cisco router to use this book. His reason is interesting. Those routers need to work continuously and in practise they and your network often do. Until an occasional breakdown. But the high MTBF means you might have little actual hands on with the router. Ironic, eh?

It should be said that the book is not really about what to do if the router is bad. Rather, it is about the more realistic case where something has come unglued on your network. Lucas shows how the router can be an invaluable tool in tracking down the problem.

I started a new job and had almost no experience with Cisco products. I was desperate and bought this book. What a gem of a purchase. This book takes something cryptic as Cisco appliance administration and walks you through it so that anyone can learn in hours.

I have bought books from this author before and have yet to be disappointed. The man has clearly been an admin for years, so he knows the pain we all feel. :) His humor is really refreshing on such a dry topic.

All in all, I would recommend this book for any novice network admin, or someone who wants to start a new job using Cisco products. It's worth the price.

it is a very good book for the regular operations person, who need to know how the connection to your ISP works. I am in the isp business, therefore I deal with customer's turn ups and router configurations every day. If you are a network person dealing with current issues like qos and voip, this book is NOT for you. If you are a noc technician at an ISP or an IT person in control of your ISP connectivity, this book is the HANDBOOK. It is so concise that you will end reading all the chapters in one afternoon, or less, and at the end you will know exactly, and I mean exactly, what goes where and why, in reference to all the cisco configurations at your end.

Caveat. This book is less than in introduction to cisco equipment, but it will get you connected and running to an ISP, with redundancy and high availability.

It is a fun book, all and all.

A *must* have book for when you need to make a quick change on a cisco router and don't have time to review. This book walks you through from logging in to making your router changes right from the beginning of the book.

The title perfectly described my state of mind when I bought it! After 15 minutes or so though, the network was purring along again ;-)

Thanks!

-matt

This book was a real surprise. I had low expectations for such a short text (122 pages) but, this is a great book for anyone needing an mid-level how to do it now reference. The chapters are short and to the point. The author seems very expeienced and has many good sugestions clearly born from that experience.

It is a great book for experienced network engineers to keep handy for say a jr. admin. Give this book to somone who hasn't ever touched a router (but, knows the fundamentals of networking) and they'll have a Cisco router up and running out of the box in less than an hour.

This was a real timesaver for me (to not have to handhold my staff) when I had to deploy a large network with a small inexperienced staff. It raised the productivity of my group overnight and allowed me to focus on the big problems, then later come back and explain the details to them.

As a network administrator, I've seen my fair share of Cisco Routers. But I've never really had any formal training regarding the Cisco IOS. So, I've been forced to learn as I go, searching Google for advice regarding the problem I'm having or the configuration I want to change on the various routers I've worked on over the years.

If only "Cisco Routers for the Desperate" had been on my bookshelf a few years ago! It would have definitely saved me many hours of searching for configuration help on my Cisco routers. In this book Michael Lucas gives a straightforward and quick lesson on setting up and configuring Cisco Routers.

Lucas writes the book for someone who's not necessarily an IT person, but instead has found themselves "in charge" of the network at their organization. He uses simple and conversational language to walk through unpacking and plugging in the router, dealing with basic interface configuration, basic troubleshooting, and even some BGP and HSRP configuration.

In addition to the conversational style Lucas writes in, he also keeps things short and concise. He makes sure to cover the basics of his topic, but he doesn't go into excessive detail. He writes for his intended audience and doesn't stray from that.

I would strongly recommend this book for both IT Professionals looking to get started with Cisco routers, as well as anyone who has to deal with a Cisco router from time to time but doesn't have the time or technological know-how to tackle a more in-depth book on the subject.

This book is a necessity if you need to know about Cisco routers! Anyone who's ever tried to read Cisco documentation can attest to the fact that their 'manuals' are overwhelming and include a lot of nonsense. This book presents the information in an easy-to-understand manner and gets right to the point. If you need a crash course, THIS is the book to get!

Goes straight to what matters in the Cisco Router management area.

Another title for this book could have been "Street Smarts for Cisco Routers." I recommend this book for any one that is new to dealing with vendors and manages support contracts and purchases.

And for those that have just been put in charge of a network and haven't yet had time to work through a good networking course or book. The book has a quick introduction to networking and configuring Cisco routeres. If you are desperate this would be the book to read first.

Lucas covers a lot of the business details and connection details between you and your ISP. This book is a great starter for someone that has been put in charge of networking for a new division or new business.

For example he discusses how to shop for an ISP, and what kind of things to look for in a contract. Who will do the actual T1 connection installation (maybe not the company you contracted with).

He talks about Cisco support contracts. Cisco's practice that hardware is transferable and can be sold, but software is not. If you want Cisco support, you will have to pay for the software even though you already paid for the hardware.

The book also gives a good overview on router configuration, but I would recommend that you also purchase a good CCNA book or networking book of your choice.