Customer Reviews

Nortel Networks Layer 3 Switching

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Whether you are a novice in the Internetworking industry or a seasoned professional this book is a must have!! Layer 3 switching is a new and exciting technology adopted by many Fortune (XXX) companies. The co-author Zeecil Kimmel has worked on projects and troubleshot some of the most complex networks using this technology for some of the largest customers Nortel Networks currently supports. Her ability to explain this complicated technology in an easy to understand fashion is exemplory. Her examples and scenarios are "real life" scenarios and examples that she has either personally resolved herself or has had provided invaluable input in resolving.

Most technical manuals or publications are boring and hard to read, but this one is "down to earth" and does not waste your time with unecessary theories or opinions. It a must have book for those who are involved in troubleshooting or designing internetworks using Nortel Networks Layer 3 switches.

This book is a nice index of the different Nortel Routers and their features are. The book is also a great reference as an overview of Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching in relation to the specific Nortel hardware (i.e. Passport, Accelar). The book is indispensible if you own and manage a Nortel switching solution.

If you can get past all the Marketing-speak in this book about how the Passport is 1) the greatest invention since sliced bread, and 2) light years ahead of anything that any other manufacturer has even thought of (let alone released), I suppose it's OK as a very introductory guide to what layer-3 switching brings to the table relative to layer-2 switching and layer-3 routing.

But that's about all I can imagine it being good for. As someone already familiar with layer-3 switching but new to Nortel's routing/switching product line, it was for the most part useless to me. Nortel's website is a better source of information on this topic -- the information is more detailed and current (the book is almost 3 years old).

So, to summarize, I don't think that anyone reasonably familiar with networking technologies will get much out of this book. And for those who aren't, there are much better books available on networking that don't sound like they were written by a Marketing department.