For many years I have been a consultant for different companies and have written books on switch and router configurations and troubleshooting. During my years as a consultant I have had to either install, administer, or troubleshoot switching problems and configurations for switches without a good handbook. I have constantly gone through bookstores looking for a book on Cisco switch troubleshooting and configurations that didn’t deal with a Cisco curriculum. Guess what? I couldn’t find one! I have written books related to the CCDP and CCNP curricula and always thought about writing a book that concentrated on Cisco switches. One day I was walking through a bookstore and noticed a book from The Coriolis Group called Cisco Routers for IP Routing Little Black Book. I immediately thought to myself that a Cisco Switching Little Black Book would be a great configuration handbook for many people. After contacting Coriolis and pitching them the idea for the book, I received a call from Steve Sayre, the publisher at Coriolis, who was excited about publishing a book of this nature. As I pondered and started putting my idea into an outline, I realized that I could not place everything that an administrator needed in a Little Black Book. To make a long story short, a few months later, with a great big outline and help from Albert Ip and Hanson Nottingham, the book became this Black Book—the most feature-packed handbook for Cisco switching an administrator can buy. Not only do we cover the Cisco Catalyst switching line but we also cover the LightStream ATM switch series, Gigabit Switch Router Series (GSR), and the IGX and MGX WAN switch series.

Cisco’s Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) certification provides a way to distinguish those brilliant and talented enough to become Cisco administrators from those who just might be, umm—well, better suited to another occupation. It’s basically Cisco’s version of separating the wheat from the chaff. The main reason that it’s a really good thing to be the proud possessor of Cisco’s certifications is that they give you a serious edge over the poor, wretched, unfortunate, and noncertified masses. Having one or more of these little beauties just screams, “I’m a wiz—I’m your living-breathing IT answer—hire me, not that hopeless, bungling uncertified quack you just interviewed!” In addition, any prospective employer worth his or her salt who’s seeking solidly skilled, trained, experienced administrators knows to look for a job candidate with a CCNA certification. Okay, it’s true. Being certified in something doesn’t necessarily preclude hands-on experience. But people who have experience combined with certifications are well sought out, even in the toughest economies. It’s simply, “have certs, will travel.” They make you special. Be forewarned, however—these certifications are not easy to get a hold of. You should know that the new Cisco 640-801 CCNA exam is downright harsh! You’ve just got to be prepared— no cruising with this one. If you want to seriously increase your odds of passing, meet two of your new best friends: this book and the CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide Fourth Edition (640-801) , written by yours truly (Sybex, 2004). These two references are what you need to prepare for the new and nasty CCNA exam. Both of these valuable resources will also serve to further your understanding of a whole bunch of the vital knowledge and skills you need to become a successful Cisco administrator.

Welcome to the exciting world of Cisco certification! You have picked up this book because you want something better—namely, a better job with more satisfaction. Rest assured that you have made a good decision. Cisco certification can help you get your first networking job, or more money and a promotion if you are already in the field. Cisco certification can also improve your understanding of the internetworking of more than just Cisco products: You will develop a complete understanding of networking and how different network topologies work together to form a network. This is beneficial to every networking job and is the reason Cisco certification is in such high demand, even at companies with few Cisco devices. Cisco is the king of routing and switching, the Microsoft of the internetworking world. The Cisco certifications reach beyond the popular certifications, such as the MCSE and CNE, to provide you with an indispensable factor in understanding today’s network—insight into the Cisco world of internetworking. By deciding that you want to become Cisco certified, you are saying that you want to be the best—the best at routing and the best at switching. This book will lead you in that direction.

Top-Down Network Design, Second Edition, is a practical and comprehensive guide to designing enterprise networks that are reliable, secure, and manageable. Using illustrations and real-world examples, it teaches a systematic method for network design that can be applied to campus LANs, remote-access networks, WAN links, and large-scale internetworks.You will learn to analyze business and technical requirements, examine traffic flow and QoS requirements, and select protocols and technologies based on performance goals. You will also develop an understanding of network performance factors such as network utilization, throughput, accuracy, efficiency, delay, and jitter. Several charts and job aids will help you apply a top-down approach to network design.This Second Edition has been revised to include new and updated material on wireless networks, virtual private networks (VPNs), network security, network redundancy, modularity in network designs, dynamic addressing for IPv4 and IPv6, new network design and management tools, Ethernet scalability options (including 10-Gbps Ethernet, Metro Ethernet, and Long-Reach Ethernet), and networks that carry voice and data traffic.Top-Down Network Design, Second Edition, has a companion website at http://www.topdownbook.com, which includes updates to the book, links to white papers, and supplemental information about design resources.