Don't Be Surprised

This book is targeted toward network service provider engineers. It is "cutting edge" in that some parts of it deal with technology that is not only not deployed in production yet, but is only in draft form in the standards community. Also ambitious enterprise network administrators may want to stretch their understanding of the next generation global transport protocol. Deploying IPv6 Networks is both an exhaustive analogy of the many uses of IPv6 and also a how-to manual with many configuration examples.

Chapters 12 through 15 are dedicated to deployment Case studies for both ISPs and company networks. The book became most interesting to me in Chapter 8, Advanced Services - Ipv6 Mobility. This chapter covers the challenges of keeping a globally unique address while roaming to different parts of the planet. There is a thorough explanation of the roles that Cisco routers can play in relaying traffic to the ever changing location of mobile users. Chapter 2 is a good refresher of the basics of IPv6 as described in the RFCs. The author gives good reference throughout the book for further research on each topic, such as RFCs and other books that specialize on topics like VPNs and Security. The diagrams, that are spaced every few pages, give clarity to the subject. Finally, the book is balanced and realistic in its philosophy of the technology. That is the writers are not naïve about the problems with implementing IPv6 and they address this in every chapter.
Technology usually changes so rapidly we spend all our time just trying to catch up. The slow start of IPv6 gives us no excuse for being unprepared when the next killer application or device demands its implementation in our network. Reading Deploying IPv6 Networks is sure to pay off.

Other Reviews

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• Nice to have for a professional, but not for a newbie
• Don't Be Surprised