Cisco(R) PIX (TM) Firewalls (Paperback)

~ Richard Deal (Author) "Firewalls have evolved from a simple packet-filtering technology to a multipurpose device that includes the abilities to examine traffic for intrusion detection, scan for viruses..." (more)
Key Phrases: application inspection feature, content filtering server, virtual telnet, Auto Update, Mode Config, Normal Interface (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Secure your mission-critical networks with the #1 leading firewall and this definitive guide. Featuring in-depth coverage of installation, configuration, and maintenance this book will show you how to protect your data from unauthorized users and hackers.

From the Back Cover

Your one-stop Cisco PIX Firewalls resource

Develop a well-thought-out security solution that can easily integrate with your current network, is flexible enough to accommodate changes in your network, and is still easy to monitor and maintain. Author Richard Deal delivers pertinent, up-to-date information on installing and maintaining the Cisco PIX Firewall and on mastering the Cisco PIX Firewall security certification. Eliminate security risks whether you're working at a home desktop or protecting an enterprise-class corporation. Learn to maximize performance and reliability. Plus, take advantage of PIX management features and the Virtual Private Networks--all with the help of this professional resource.

• Meet security needs without impairing a company's business plan or goals
• Defend your network against reconnaissance, denial-of-service, and access attacks
• Understand the adaptive security algorithm, PIX Device Manager, and other Cisco security components
• Support IPSec and Virtual Private Network services
• Deploy security policies uniformly across all devices in your network
• Discover simple installation and configuration techniques to minimize start-up investment
• Take into account departmental needs and corporate organization
• Control inbound and outbound traffic through connection table entries
• Maintain secure perimeters by working with source and destination addresses, TCP sequence and port numbers, and TCP flags

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Product Details

• Paperback: 537 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (October 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072225238
• ISBN-13: 978-0072225235
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,448 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #7 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Security & Encryption > Firewalls
  #67 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Networking > Networks, Protocols & APIs > Bridges & Routers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good Cisco PIX book, January 9, 2003

By A Customer

This book is very well written and is an easy read. It will be very useful for anybody not yet familiar with the PIX firewall product, as well as experienced administrators looking to implement some of the newer, more intricate features. The author runs through the fundamental and more detailed aspects of configuring a PIX, and implementing it in a variety of production environments. Starting configuration/implementation from scratch, each chapter follows on logically to the next, leading to a fully functioning firewall; including the various other environmental considerations you need to make when implementing a total security solution. Written in Q4 2002, this book is currently up to date, and includes coverage of the new PIX 6.2 software features and commands. Its clearly defined chapters also make it very easy to navigate as a reference.
All explanations and examples are very clear and easily understood, with none of those 'confusing' explanations I come across in so many tech books. And I only spotted a few mistakes, which is very good going for this type of book. The author also incorporates some of his own experience; mostly to make a point or generally put what is being explained into a real-world context, thereby making it easier to relate to for the reader.
Finally, although this book is not intended as an exam study guide, it does cover a lot of the content included on the new CSPFA (9E0-111) exam. To be fully prepared however, you'd want to fill in the gaps (PDM, integrating IDS, downloadable ACLS, the VPN client etc.) with the relevant texts and tutorials available on the Cisco web site.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, reliable, well-written, February 18, 2003

By	Priscilla Oppenheimer (Ashland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Richard Deal's "Cisco PIX Firewalls" provides essentially all of the information you will need to get a PIX up and running. It also has useful information on where to place PIX firewalls in your network design and how to ensure their configuration implements your security policy. I've never met the author or corresponded with him, so this isn't one of those "friends of the author" reviews. :-) Nonetheless, I do highly recommend the book.

Chapter 1 is a good introduction to what a firewall is and the different types of firewalls, including information on how to classify a PIX. In addition to Chapter 1, there's a nice insert in the middle of the book that encapsulates the most useful information regarding what a PIX does and how. I've never seen a book that has this sort of "executive summary" insert, or perhaps we could call it a crib for decrypting the rest of the book!? Seriously, the book doesn't need much decryption. One of its best features is its easy-to-follow style. Deal is an excellent writer.

Following the helpful introduction is a description of the PIX firewall product family line, which is important when working with Cisco products, since Cisco has a seemingly infinite number of products. Chapter 3 follows those chapters and offers a concise description of the PIX command-line interface.

The most valuable chapters are the ones that follow because they describe how a PIX works as far as its handling of traffic flow, address translation, filtering, fixing of problematic protocols, and support for VPNs. There are some minor errors with regards to protocol behavior in these chapters. As is the case with many configuration authors, Deal is not a protocol expert, but the errors do not detract from the book and will hopefully be fixed in a second printing.

The book also has a practical section, consisting of seven chapters, on PIX management, including logging, centralizing security, using PIXes in a redundant fashion, password recovery, and upgrading the PIX.

In summary, I found this book useful and readable.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and thorough, May 1, 2003

By A Customer

If you ever wanted a thorough overview of PIX firewalls this is it. Goes into quite a few PIX commands (and the difference with Cisco router commands). All aspects of PIX are covered, including failover, management options, and the joys(?!!) of IPSec onfiguration. Very readable for non-experts.