The Bottom Line
An excellent reference guide for anyone involved with ISP networking.
Pros
- Explains the do's and dont's of ISP network setup
- Excellent coverage of ISP security issues
- Collects information that's hard to find elsewhere
Cons
- Doesn't compare ISP networks with other LANs/WANs
Description
- Chapter 1 describes ISP software and router management including SNMP, NTP, and HTTP server.
- Chapter 2 covers general features of a good ISP network from the router perspective, including DNS.
- ISP routing protocols, particularly IGP and BGP, are discussed in Chapter 3.
- Chapters 4 reviews ISP network security issues and solutions, including access control lists (ACL).
- ISP operational practices such as IP addressing and multihoming are reviewed in Chapter 5.
- Appendices contain reference configuration documents and templates.
Guide Review - "Cisco ISP Essentials" by Greene and Smith
Network engineers and others involved with Internet Service Provider technology will want a copy of "Cisco ISP Essentials." It's a compilation of the best practices and wisdom of ISP networking.
This book looks at ISP networking from the router perspective -- specifically the point of view of Cisco router hardware and the Cisco Internetwork Operating System. Nevertheless, the authors do not reflect a vendor bias and avoid diving into too much product-specific detail.
Highlights of the book include an in-depth discussion of ISP tools and ISP network security. Proactive issue prevention as opposed to reactive troubleshooting is emphasized. Many of the principles and techniques covered also apply to other types of LAN and WAN internetworking.
