Cisco Books

This is the ultimate hands-on preparation tool for the rigorous two-day CCIE lab exam. The book covers voice technology, multicasting, and VPNs and contains 6 full-scale CCIE lab case studies. The bonus CD-ROM includes actual configurations ideal for practice.

The Cisco CCIE Wireless certification assesses and validates wireless expertise. Candidates who pass the CCIE Wireless certification exams demonstrate broad theoretical knowledge of wireless networking and a solid understanding of wireless local area networking (WLAN) technologies from Cisco, the market leader in WLAN technology. This self-study exam preparation guide for the CCIE Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert certification exam contains everything you need to test yourself and pass the Exam. All Exam topics are covered and insider secrets, complete explanations of all CCIE Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert subjects, test tricks and tips, numerous highly realistic sample questions, and exercises designed to strengthen understanding of CCIE Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert concepts and prepare you for exam success on the first attempt are provided.

This book is a solid read. I will warn you, it can be "high level" on a lot of different concepts. What I mean by high level is this book is more about hitting the highlights than the nitty gritty.

If you are like me, did your CCNA and your CCNP, then this book will make sense. It admits that "goes into a little more detail than the CCNP material" and that sounds about right. If you are looking for a book and you are a noob that wants to learn about networking this book is NOT for you.

Who's this book for? People that want to take the CCIE Routing and Switching Exam version 4. The book tells you that is what it's for. So again, if you are a CCNP and I mean a REAL CCNP and not some retard who memorized a bunch of answers and can actually perform REAL network duties, then you will be fine with this book.

It will cover what you need to know for the CCIE RS written which really, covers a broad set of topics and doesn't go deep into everything. The lab however will, so while this will get you through the written don't forget to add the following books:

Routing TCP/IP Volume 1 second edition, jeff doyle (CISCO PRESS)
Routing TCP/IP Volume 2, jeff doyle (CISCO PRESS)
MPLS Fundamentals, cisco press

You may also want to read the BCMSN book by cisco press as well.

So for the CCIE RS written, this book is good for that but if you want deep and explanation of line by line what things do, the background on them - this is more of a fly by but essential for your CCIE RS written exam.

Addresses the top consultancy & education forum questions, with tips & success factors on investigating, evaluating, attaining & capitalising on Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) IT certification.

During the first 7 chapters the author gives overviews of security vulnerabilities and attack mitigations in the current networking world. When finer points are confusing, there is detailed explanation to make the problem clear. For example distinguishing between MAC spoofing and ARP spoofing. Each threat is outlined with a description, background, problems, and mitigation techniques using Cisco configuration. This is not just a theory book but manages to fit in useful configuration examples in almost every turn of the page. This is not a quick read: you will want to have a lab setup to practice on while you read.

Unlike many security discussions that make much of vulnerabilites that are highly unlikely or virtually impossible to pull off, the author clearly states when an attack is improbable, and not worth the effort to consider.

The second unit of the book focuses on identity and access management. I found the sections on layer 2 access control most useful. Particularly the use of 802.1x protocol with a RADIUS server. Something I am currently trying to implement in a network.

Part 3 is all about privacy and encryption and covers many ways to tunnel, hide, and encrypt data packets. The last sections are about Intrusion Detection and Security Management.

Perhaps one of the most helpful setions in the book are the guidelines for establishing a security policy and making it work in a real world environment. Chapter 25 walks you through starting with a security model that gives you a foundation for fleshing out your companies standards, guidelines and procedures so you will be ready for your next audit as well as the real security threats of today.

The CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Certification Guide by Wendell Odom is comprehensive,concise and cost effective.

The content of the book covers the CCIE 3.0 written exam blueprint in sufficient detail.There is no unnecessary fluff anywhere in the book. We all know that CCIE material is not exactly light reading, but the CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Certification Guide goes into technical details without being tedious. Yes, there are typos but this does not detract from the overall usefullness of this book.

CCIE training/prep classes are not cheap and a typical class may cost thousands of dollars. For anyone preparing for the CCIE written exam by self study, Wendell Odom's book is a great resource to have in your library.