Network Administrators Survival Guide

Product Description

The all-in-one practical guide to supporting your Cisco network

• Provides detailed tips for using freeware and open-source tools readily available from the Internet, including the reasons behind choosing a particular tool
• Refer to a single source for common Cisco network administration issues
• Dedicated section for network security aids administrators in effectively dealing with security issues
• Deploy fully functional RADIUS and TACACS+ for servers for controlling access to Cisco devices
• Deploy Linux- and Windows-based syslog servers to centrally collect syslog information generated by Cisco devices
• Deploy Linux- and Windows-based network monitoring systems to monitor interface traffic through Cisco devices including routers, switches, VPN concentrators, and Cisco PIX® firewalls
• Use the trending feature of network monitoring systems for long-term network analysis and capacity planning
• Automatically detect and report configuration changes on Cisco IOS® Software-based devices and Cisco PIX firewalls
• Deploy Cisco-based VPNs in mixed environments using Linux- and Windows-based VPN servers

 Network Administrators Survival Guide solves many common network administration problems by providing administrators with an all-in-one practical guide to supporting Cisco® networks using freeware tools. It is a single reference source that explains particular issues, their significance for administrators, and the installation and configuration process for the tools. The solutions are Cisco centric and provide detail not available in generic online information. Network Administrators Survival Guide emphasizes solutions for network managers and administrators of small to medium-sized businesses and enterprises.

Each chapter is broadly based on a network administration function, starting with an overview of the topic, followed by the methodology involved to accomplish that function. This includes the tools available, why they are the right choice, and their installation, configuration, and usage methods. For any given function, Network Administrators Survival Guide covers both Windows- and Linux-based tools as appropriate. Most of the Windows-based tools offer the advantage of GUI for ease of use, whereas the Linux-based tools are command-line based and can be used in automated scripts. Both are significant for network administrators.

Based on author Anand Deveriya’s extensive field experience, this practical guide to maintaining Cisco networks will save you significant time and money. Any network administrator—beginner or advanced—will find this book useful. The solutions to practical aspects of network administration make Network Administrators Survival Guide a must-have reference for supporting your Cisco network.

Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful Great Time/Money Saver, October 20, 2005 By  John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews    This review is from: Network Administrators Survival Guide (Paperback) The growth of the open source software community in recent years has been nothing less than amazing. And it should be no surprise that software to run on or in conjuction with Cisco products is available as well. The problem is to find, evaluate and decide which open source products are worth taking your time to learn. The time it takes to download, install, and learn enough about the software to begin to get useful information from it is often daunting. Mr. Deveriya is a network engineer who sets up networds using Cisco technology and products. He says, 'Due to the high cost of commercial tools and the crippling post-dot-com economy, I was forced to look for freeware tools to help me admisnister my network. I spent a lot of time on the Internet searching for the right tool and then even more time trying to configure it to suit my needs. Some tools offer too much information, while others provide too little. Realizing my plight, and that of my fellow Netadmins, I decided to... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink  Comment Common Knowledge, April 25, 2011 By  BilHerd "bilherd" (Blackwood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Network Administrators Survival Guide (Kindle Edition) No depth and no plan for how to cover the bases of network admin. Basically a pseudo-random list of opensource programs with really going into any details of application and configuration. Read any Linux magazine to get more detail. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink  Comment Everydaymust have book!!, September 22, 2010 By  Largo_Reader - See all my reviews This review is from: Network Administrators Survival Guide (Paperback) This book is very well written and a great reference guide to hve with you all the time... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink  Comment

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Praise For Network Administrators Survival Guide

Network Administrators Survival Guide
Reviewer Name: John Ainsworth, Network Administrator
Reviewer Certification: CCNP

Network Administrators Survival Guide, by Anand Deveriya is part of a new trend from Cisco Press I have been noting: they are pushing more hands-on usefulness. This book is intended for the person who has to support a network for a living. However, the reader does not need to be a Cisco expert to read this book. In fact, anyone who would be in a position to need its advice would be astute enough to implement it.

Don't expect the author to explain all of the concepts behind every IOS command given. Deveriya is giving you a quick example of what works to get you going. This book is written for people who need to get things done in a hurry and don't have time to get their Ph.D. in a technology before implementing it. That doesn't mean there is no depth behind this writing. The author is a CCIE and the reviewers include William Parkhurst, Ph.D., author of some of the most technical books on Cisco. In fact there must have been a great deal of laborious rewriting to get it so brief.

Deveriya has practical examples of how to set up several different brands of terminal emulation clients on both windows and Linux workstations. The entire book obviously comes from real world experience. The author not only reveals the diverse diagnostic functionality built into the Cisco IOS, he also demonstrates the tools that can be used on Windows and Linux workstations. The author walks the reader through a case study troubleshooting a BGP meltdown problem on a perimeter router by simply using different ping diagnostics along with show processes cpu. "We" were able to determine the cause and enabling ip route cache on the router solved the problem. "Once again super ping saves the day!"

Index

Download - 86.5 KB -- Index

Table of Contents

Chapter 2   Basic Network Connectivity

                 Basics of Network Monitoring Tools: ping and traceroute

                 Verifying Network Connectivity Using traceroute

                 Case Study: Using ping and traceroute to Isolate a BGP Meltdown Emergency

                 Observation

                 Conclusions

                 Actions

                 Advanced Network Connectivity Testing Tools

                 Using whois Lookup for Domain Registration Information

                 Using nslookup to Find DNS Information

                 Using netstat for Port and Connection Information

                 Using the MS Windows–Based netstat Command

                 Using the arp Command to Trace Layer 2 Issues

                 Summary

Chapter 3   Access Control

                 Overview of AAA Technology

                 TACACS+

                 RADIUS

                 RADIUS and TACACS+ Comparison

                 Using TACACS+ for AAA

                 Deploying a Linux-Based TACACS+ Server

                 Configuring Cisco Routers for TACACS+

                 Configuring a Cisco Switch for TACACS+

                 Configuring Cisco PIX Firewalls for TACACS+

                 Configuring a Cisco VPN Concentrator for TACACS+

                 Using RADIUS for AAA

                 Deploying a Linux-Based RADIUS Server

                 Configuring a Microsoft IAS Server as a RADIUS Server

                 Configuring a Cisco Router for RADIUS

                 Configuring a Cisco Switch for RADIUS

                 Configuring Cisco PIX Firewalls for RADIUS

                 Commercial Products

                 Summary

Chapter 4    Using Syslog

                 Overview of Syslog

                 Deploying Syslog Servers

                 Deploying the Default Syslog Daemon

                 Deploying a Linux-Based Syslog-ng Server

                 Configuring a Windows-Based Syslog Server

                 Securing Syslog Servers

                 Configuring Cisco Devices to Use a Syslog Server

                 Configuring Cisco Routers for Syslog

                 Configuring a Cisco Switch for Syslog

                 Configuring a Cisco PIX Firewall for Syslog

                 Configuring a Cisco VPN Concentrator for Syslog

                 Commercial Cisco Products

                 Summary

Part II          Network Management Systems (NMS)

Chapter 5   Monitoring Network Availability

                 Network-Monitoring Fundamentals

                 Network-Monitoring Terms

                 Network-Monitoring Techniques

                 Deploying a Network-Monitoring System

                 Deploying a Linux-Based Big Brother Network-Monitoring System

                 Deploying a Windows-Based Big Brother Network-Monitoring System

                 Deploying Nagios for Linux-Based Network Monitoring

                 Adding Redundancy and Security to Network-Monitoring Systems

                 Commercial Cisco Products

                 Summary

Chapter 6   Network Performance Monitoring

                 Performance-Monitoring Overview

                 Deploying Network Performance—Monitoring Tools

                 Deploying a Linux-Based Performance-Monitoring System–MRTG

                 Deploying a Windows-Based Performance-Monitoring System–MRTG

                 Performance and Scalability Enhancements

                 RRDTool

                 Cricket

                 Deploying a Windows-Based Performance-Monitoring System–Cacti

                 Configuring Cisco Devices for Performance Monitoring

                 Enabling the SNMP Agent on Cisco Routers

                 Enabling the SNMP Agent on Cisco Switches

                 Enabling the SNMP Agent on a Cisco PIX Firewall

                 Enabling the SNMP Agent on Cisco VPN 3000 Concentrators

                 Securing SNMP

                 Commercial Cisco Offerings

                 Summary

Part III         Security

Chapter 7   Network Security Testing

                 Network Security Testing Overview

                 Bootable CD-ROM—Based Tool Kits

                 Network Scanners

                 Nmap Scanner

                 Nessus Scanner

                 Packet Analyzers

                 Preparing the Network

                 Using Packet Analyzers

                 Summary

Chapter 8   Router and Switch Security

                 Router and Switch Security Overview

                 Securing Cisco Routers

                 Best Practice Recommendations

                 Summary

Chapter 9   Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

                 IDS Overview

                 IDS Classification

                 IDS Placement

                 IDS Tools

                 Snort

                 Rancid

                 IDS Sensors Using Common Cisco Devices

                 Router IDSs

                 PIX IDSs

                 Commercial Cisco Products

                 Summary

Chapter 10 Virtual Private Networks (VPN)

                 VPN Overview

                 IPSec Overview

                 Linux-Based VPNs

                 OpenSWAN

                 Interoperating OpenSWAN with Cisco IOS

                 Interoperating OpenSWAN with a Cisco PIX Firewall

                 Interoperating OpenSWAN with a Cisco VPN Concentrator

                 Windows-Based VPNs

                 Windows/Cisco Interoperability

                 Summary

Part IV         Network Documentation

Chapter 11 Documentation Tools: Network Diagrams

                 Network Diagram Overview

                 Topology

                 File Formats

                 Features

                 Linux-Based Graphic Design Tools

                 Deploying Dia

                 Creating Diagrams with Dia

                 Viewing Sample Dia Diagrams

                 Windows-Based Graphic Design Tools

                 Deploying Network Notepad

                 Creating Diagrams in Network Notepad

                 Viewing Sample Diagrams Created by Network Notepad

                 What’s Next

                 Summary

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Downloadable Sample Chapter

Download - 1.8 MB -- Chapter 4: Using Syslog