Like the other books in the Cisco Press certification line, this one reads like an instructor's lecture, albeit frequently supplemented by reference material (command documentation, for example). The authors begin with material that should be familiar to a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or anyone else with basic network grounding, and build from there into the more specialized areas of VPNs, NAT, and access-control lists as they pertain to PIX environments. As always, you'll learn more if you have a testbed PIX firewall on which to try the procedures that appear in the text (the companion CD-ROM holds no simulator, only a quiz program), but this book gives test candidate a great base from which to work. --David Wall
Topics covered: The stated objectives of the two CSPFA exams, one of which candidates must pass in order to earn the Cisco Secure PIX Firewall Advanced (CSPFA) certification. The two exams are 9E0-111 (soon to be retired) and 642-521. Coverage includes PIX firewall installation and configuration, as well as techniques for adding such services as remote access management, virtual private networks (VPNs), network address translation (NAT, and accounting features.