Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (Cisco Career Certifications)

Here's a book that clearly and concisely explains the low-level internetworking concepts that make the Internet go. If you read Internetworking Cisco Network Devices and come to understand its subject matter, you'll be well prepared to pass the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam (640-507) and do a bang-up job at most any networking job you choose to pursue. This book explains Internet-standard data communications protocols (the TCP/IP suite and routing algorithms particularly) in terms of their implementations on Cisco routers, switches, and software systems. By doing so, it prepares you to install, configure, manage, and troubleshoot Cisco equipment.

If you're starting from near zero on the networking knowledge scale (and even if you're not), you'll likely want to read this book from beginning to end. The authors lay down a conceptual foundation (including excellent coverage of the Open Systems Interconnection reference model) in early chapters, and subsequently proceed to place Cisco-specific knowledge on top of that base. The text frequently seems dry, but it's clear that the authors and editors went to considerable trouble to get their facts right and drive home the big concepts with illustrations. Test-preparation aids are limited to a dozen or so review questions (with brief, minimally annotated answers at the back of the book), so it's clear that this book is about knowing the material, not preparing for an artificial test. It does readers a service. --David Wall

Topics covered: The contents of the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam (640-507), which verifies knowledge of interconnections among networks as implemented with Cisco equipment running Internet-standard protocols. Coverage spans selection of hardware from the Cisco line, cabling, configuring Internetwork Operating System (IOS), setting up switched networks with Catalyst 1900 switches, and establishing virtual local area networks (VLANs). Plenty of coverage goes to TCP/IP under Cisco gear, including routing protocols, the configuration of routes, and point-to-point communication over wide area network (WAN) links of various kinds.