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Routing First-Step Review by S. Scheiderer
Routing First-Step may be Second-Step
Routing First-Step
(Your first step into the world of routing)
Reviewer Name: Steve Owen Scheiderer, Network Administrator
Reviewer Certification: MCSE NT 4.0, CCNA
ISBN: 1-58720-122-4
To earn my CCNA it took a year's worth of time in Cisco Academy modules, numerous labs,
two 990+ page books, a test study guide, and the Cisco Simulator (which I also reviewed).
Bill Parkhurst did an excellant job of summarizing basic concepts in under 400 pages. I
would recommend Chapters 1 - 6 and 9 for those pursuing CCNA certification.
What is difficult to understand, from the perspective of Cisco Academy material, is why
topics like IS-IS and GP are included in this book. Even some of the OSPF discussion
seems advanced (pp. 217-227). As a mere, humble CCNA, these sections were somewhat hard
to follow and at times produced more questions than answers. On the other hand, the
introduction to these topics was appreciated and could be helpful to some who want a quick
overview of how more advanced protocols work.
Those just starting out in routing may wish to skip some of Bill's discussion. For example,
a lot of space is devoted to the "Octal Numbering System" which Bill explains "is not used
much" (p. 45). Some of the discussion was tedious and more advanced topics seemed out of
place in a book for beginners. The time spent in the practice Bill recommends would have
been better spent with the numbering systems more widely used.
While I follwed his analogy of post offices and phone systems as they parallel ip addressing,
a novice might actually find the parallels hard to follow. This is particularly true where
there are points when the analogy breaks down. At times I wished summary statements at the
end of a discussion had been put up front to help with focus (p. 90, ip headers; p. 103,
subnets and masks take time to master). At other times, concepts were mentioned prior to
their main treatment (TCP/IP Layered Model on p. 83, then explained on p. 90; VLSM on p.
142 under Rip 1, then explained as working only under Rip 2 on p. 150).
While there are many things which commend this book as a "first step into the world of
routing," I believe it is more of a mid level book. The information above is offered to
the beginner as a way to start using this as a "first step" book.