Network Warrior: Everything you need to know that wasn't on the CCNA exam by Gary A. Donahue Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Network Warrior: Everything you need to know that wasn't on the CCNA exam
Book Review: Excellent book
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this book to be absolutely remarkable. The text at the top about it being what you need to be that wasn't on the CCNA is all too true.
Mr. Donahue's writing style is what makes the book. He explains often complex topics in a manner of a grizzled old veteran telling a war story. He doesn't break down into the deep technical details, he tells you how it works and why you should do it the way he's telling you to.
There's more that goes into being a network monkey than just knowing what commands to type, and the insight he offers into the more social aspects of how to be a network guy are invaluable. It is my honest opinion that the final chapters, particularly those on how to deal with management and being a nerd, should be required reading for anyone that works at a technology company.
It is my sincere hope that Mr. Donahue continues his writing career and takes his style of communicating to other complex subjects. I would love a dissertation of BGP written in the same manner, for example.
If you're a bright shiny new CCNA, or studying for the CCNA, and you're serious about pursuing a career in networking, buy this book. It won't help you pass any exams, but you'll find it as one of your favorite reference materials nonetheless.
Book Review: Excellent practical info for all network admins and designers
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know why the title page on this book says "Everything that wasn't on the CCNA Exam", because that might mislead some people to believe that this book is extremely Cisco-specific or is for network admins that are just starting out. Neither is true. Instead, this book is a very good survey of the various skills, network equipment, and technology that you need to know about in the year 2007 to be a successful network administrator and for that matter, successful network designer. This book is Cisco-centric in that mentions problems and algorithms specific to Cisco equipment, but it should be useful to anyone involved in network administration and design. Also, if you are a student taking a course in computer networking, this book is full of accessible explanations that you might not find in your typical textbook. For the relative low price of admission, it might be worthwhile to have it around as a supplemental text. The following is the detailed table of contents:
Part I. HUBS, SWITCHES, and SWITCHING
1. What Is a Network?
2. Hubs and Switches
Hubs; Switches;
3. Auto-Negotiation
What Is Auto-Negotiation?; How Auto-Negotiation Works; When Auto-Negotiation Fails; Auto-Negotiation Best Practices; Configuring Auto-Negotiation;
4. VLANs
Connecting VLANs; Configuring VLANs ;
5. Trunking
How Trunks Work; Configuring Trunks;
6. VLAN Trunking Protocol
VTP Pruning; Dangers of VTP;Configuring VTP;
7. EtherChannel
Load Balancing; Configuring and Managing EtherChannel;
8. Spanning Tree
Broadcast Storms; MAC Address Table Instability Preventing Loops with Spanning Tree; Managing Spanning Tree; Additional Spanning Tree Features; Common Spanning Tree Problems; Designing to Prevent Spanning Tree Problems;
Part II. ROUTERS AND ROUTING
9. Routing and Routers
Routing Tables; Route Types; The IP Routing Table ;
10. Routing Protocols
Communication Between Routers; Metrics and Protocol Types; Administrative Distance; Specific Routing Protocols;
11. Redistribution
Redistributing into RIP; Redistributing into EIGRP ;Redistributing into OSPF; Mutual Redistribution; Redistribution Loops; Limiting Redistribution;
12. Tunnels
GRE Tunnels; GRE Tunnels and Routing Protocols; GRE and Access Lists;
13. Resilient Ethernet
HSRP; HSRP Interface Tracking; When HSRP Isn't Enough;
14. Route Maps
Building a Route Map; Policy-Routing Example;
15. Switching Algorithms in Cisco Routers
Process Switching; Interrupt Context Switching; Configuring and Managing Switching Paths;
Part III. MULTILAYER SWITCHES
16. Multilayer Switches
Configuring SVIs; Multilayer Switch Models;
17. Cisco 6500 Multilayer Switches;
Architecture; CatOS Versus IOS;
18. Catalyst 3750 Features
Stacking; Interface Ranges Macros; Flex Links; Storm Control; Port Security; SPAN; Voice VLAN; QoS;
Part IV. TELECOM
19. Telecom Nomenclature
Introduction and History; Telecom Glossary;
20. T1
Understanding T1 Duplex; Types of T1; Encoding; Framing ;Performance Monitoring; Alarms; Troubleshooting T1s; Configuring T1s;
21. DS3
Framing; Line Coding; Configuring DS3s;
22. Frame Relay
Ordering Frame-Relay Service; Frame-Relay Network Design; Oversubscription; Local Management Interface (LMI); Configuring Frame Relay; Troubleshooting Frame Relay;
Part V. SECURITY AND FIREWALLS
23. Access Lists
Designing Access Lists; ACLs in Multilayer Switches; Reflexive Access Lists;
24. Authentication in Cisco Devices
Basic (Non-AAA) Authentication; AAA Authentication;
25. Firewall Theory
Best Practices; The DMZ; Alternate Designs;
26. PIX Firewall Configuration
Interfaces and Priorities; Names; Object Groups; Fixups; Failover; NAT; Miscellaneous; Troubleshooting;
Part VI. SERVER LOAD BALANCING
27. Server Load-Balancing Technology
Types of Load Balancing; How Server Load Balancing Works; Configuring Server Load Balancing;
28. Content Switch Modules in Action
Common Tasks; Upgrading the CSM;
Part VII. QUALITY OF SERVICE
29. Introduction to QoS
Types of QoS; QoS Mechanics; Common QoS Misconceptions
30. Designing a QoS Scheme
Determining Requirements; Configuring the Routers;
31. The Congested Network
Determining Whether the Network Is Congested; Resolving the Problem;
32. The Converged Network
Configuration; Monitoring QoS; Troubleshooting a Converged Network;
Part VIII. DESIGNING NETWORKS
33. Designing Networks
Documentation; Naming Conventions for Devices; Network Designs
34. IP Design
Public Versus Private IP Space; VLSM; CIDR; Allocating IP Network Space; Allocating IP Subnets; IP Subnetting Made Easy;
35. Network Time Protocol
What Is Accurate Time?; NTP Design; Configuring NTP;
36. Failures
Human Error; Multiple Component Failure; Disaster Chains; No Failover Testing; Troubleshooting;
37. GAD's Maxims
Maxim #1; Maxim #2; Maxim #3;
38. Avoiding Frustration
Why Everything Is Messed Up; How to Sell Your Ideas to Management; When to Upgrade and Why; Why Change Control Is Your Friend;
Book Review: Excellent reference
Summary: 5 Stars
Not for the non-techncial or people just starting out. This is an exceptional book/reference to pretty much everything you need to design robust networks and a lot cheaper than the Cisco library!Book Review: Fills a LOT of gaps
Summary: 5 Stars
This book won't help you become an OSPF expert, but it will help you become a better network engineer. It's one of the only books I've every seen that embraces the fact that our jobs have a gruesome amount of logistics inherent to them, far more than a programmer or DBA, for example. I'v spent the last 2+ years at MySpace, and Donahue's descriptions of the problems faced by explosive growth brought a tear to my jaded, burnt-out eye. Finally someone understands we're not just idiots! (If you disagree, try scaling from 10Gbps in transit to 80 in one year, then shoot me an email :) ) Even better, since his anecdotes and advice on the practicalities of our niche are often only mildly technical, they're easy to read. I was able to blast through 100 pages at a time, often laughing and nodding, while still learning a new spin on simple things like IP address allocation.
On a more technical level, this book fills a ton of gaps that aren't covered anywhere else, or the documentation is difficult to find or understand. The section on storm-control was excellent in this sense. If you do nothing else, go to Borders and read that section. It's useful information in its own right, but demonstrates Donahue's tendency to spin something simple in a way that shows you something new. I picked up a lot of weird details in this book, even if I skimmed half of it.
I also noticed a lot of his sidenotes pointed out some very common pitfalls, such as appending a space to your password in PPP on one side of a link by using the context help, then not doing so on the other end, and wondering why your stupid link won't come up.
So what are the cons? None really, just a few things I would have liked to see in there (none of which detract from the 5-star rating).
- I would have liked to hear how Donahue approaches the issue of spares and money, specifically convincing management to buy spares, or hiding them in budgets
- The NTP section could have used a blurb on anycast, which works beautifully for NTP
- I would have liked to see him mention the troubleshooting assistance that change management provides, since if something breaks and your engineers issued a change request, you pretty much know where to start
- I'm also a huge fan of peer-review for CM, as having a manager rubber-stamp your ACL update is ... of limited technical value
I'd say that, along with about 5-10 other books that go into hardcore depth on various technologies (Doyle's routing books, Halabi's BGP, QOS Voice exam guide, etc.), this book should be on a shelf near you at work. If you're already pretty advanced it's a really quick read that tosses some golden nuggets at you when you least expect it.
One more thing, since one guy punished the book's rating for being Cisco-centric, I'd like to take a moment to point to the Book Description, specifically the part that says, "Network Warrior is a Cisco-centric book". If you're at a book store (do they still exist?) and thus do not have access to this description, please see the first paragraph on the back of the book, specifically the part that says, "...helps you deal with real Cisco networks..."
Book Review: Fills the gaps
Summary: 4 Stars
The book is well written with the author's field experience in evidence. I found that some of the topics discussed filled voids of understanding that are generally assumed in other references. Real world scenarios were used and, although I may never be exposed to some situations, were informative. In all, well worth the cost.