IP Switching and Routing Essentials: Understanding RIP, OSPF, BGP, MPLS, CR-LDP, and RSVP-TE [Paperback]

Stephen A. Thomas (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471034665 | ISBN-13: 978-0471034667 | Publication Date: December 15, 2001 | Edition: 1st

The only complete source of information on IP switching and routing technologies
A master at distilling complex need-to-know networking technologies into a clear, to-the-point narrative, proven author Stephen Thomas now tackles IP switching and routing--the backbone of all Internet communications. He presents all the relevant technologies in the context of real-world applications, offering concise explanations and over 150 illustrations that make complex topics easy to understand. An invaluable resource for network managers and service provider professionals, this book delivers complete coverage of routing technologies--distance vector, link state, and path vector--as well as the full roster of Internet standard routing protocols: Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF). The text then documents advances that enable Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), including the MPLS architecture, its interaction with standards routing protocols, Constraint-Based Label Distribution Protocol (CR-LDP), and traffic engineering extensions to the Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP-TE).

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The most complete source of information on IP switching and routing technologies

The job of delivering data efficiently over the Internet can be very complex and requires a sound understanding of the network routing protocols. This invaluable resource delves into the heart of the Internet, uncovering how this network delivers data from one location to another. Stephen Thomas explores all of the relevant technologies behind IP switching and routing, offering concise explanations and nearly 300 illustrations to help make the material easier to understand.

The book begins with an introduction to the basic concepts that are critical to the Internet and takes an in-depth look at the Internet Protocol (IP) and the UDP and TCP transport protocols, including recent advances such as differentiated services forwarding and explicit congestion notification. This is followed by an examination of the Internet's three standard routing protocols: Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF). Thomas also provides detailed coverage on how these protocols are actually used in real networks, as well as their syntax and semantics. He then shifts to IP switching, describing the latest advances that enable Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS); coverage includes label switching over ATM, frame relay, and generic networks, interaction with standard routing protocols, Constraint-Based Label Distribution Protocol (CR-LDP), and the Resource Reservation Protocol with Traffic Engineering extensions (RSVP-TE).

An essential manual for network managers and service provider professionals, this book:
* Delivers complete coverage of routing technologies including distance vector, link state, and path vector
* Discusses the full roster of Internet standard routing protocols
* Provides complete coverage of label switching and MPLS, including network performance gains and traffic engineering applications
* Examines the two common alternatives for exchanging label information: LDP and RSVP-TE

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About the Author

STEPHEN A. THOMAS is Chief Architect for Wave7 Optics, a leading-edge developer of IP-based optical networks for the delivery of video, voice, and data services in business and residential applications. He is also the author of IPng and the TCP/IP Protocols and SSL and TLS Essentials (both published by Wiley).

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471034665
• ISBN-13: 978-0471034667
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,034,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for beginners or intermediate engineer, March 6, 2002

By 

Rocky (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: IP Switching and Routing Essentials: Understanding RIP, OSPF, BGP, MPLS, CR-LDP, and RSVP-TE (Paperback)

I purchased this book and returned it, not because it was a bad book, it wasn't. As a matter of fact had I not purchased a MPLS book already or owned the Moy OSPF book. O would have kept it. It is a good book that covers all the required routing protocols, albeit not in enough detail. The book always left me short on detail, I still had questions after I would read a section.

So once again I would say that this is a good book but not a great one. If you are looking for some basics on RIP, OSPF, BGP and MPLS then this is a good book. If you are looking for more detail, like why do ILEC's have IBGP and OSPF running on the same router, and how are these routing protocols used in networks today with some real examples, then look somewhere else.

Cheers!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Call It Like It Is - Essential, January 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: IP Switching and Routing Essentials: Understanding RIP, OSPF, BGP, MPLS, CR-LDP, and RSVP-TE (Paperback)

The documentation of switching and routing in IP networks was very complete and well illustrated. The book also described the concepts in the context of real world applications. Definitely lives up to its "essential" title.

1.0 out of 5 stars The Kindle version sucks, January 17, 2012

By 

A. Duey (Lincoln, NE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: IP Switching and Routing Essentials: Understanding RIP, OSPF, BGP, MPLS, CR-LDP, and RSVP-TE (Kindle Edition)

I purchased the Kindle version so I could read it on multiple devices and the digital conversion is HORRIBLE! Illustrations often end up separated from the text describing them, but far worse the grey box breakouts are almost unreadable!!! The scans of the text in the gray boxes are harder to read than the captcha phrases websites use to verify that you're human! On top of that the illustrations were scanned at a low enough resolution that they are rough to look at. They're generally functional, but way harder to read. If you're thinking about this book, I'd avoid the ebook version sadly.

So far the content of the book has been like a college text book. Not great to read but does a decent enough job of getting the point across.