IP Routing

By Ravi Malhotra

Book Overview

This concise guide offers the basic concepts of IP routing, free of hype and jargon. It begins with the simplest routing protocol, RIP, and then proceeds, in order of complexity, to IGRP, EIGRP, RIP2, OSPF, and finally to BGP. New concepts are presented one at a time in successive chapters. By the end, you will have mastered not only the fundamentals of all the major routing protocols, but also the underlying principles on which they are based. The basic information in IP Routing is designed to help you begin configuring protocols for Cisco routers. Although author Ravi Malhotra assumes that readers have a basic understanding of TCP/IP and are somewhat familiar with Cisco router configurations, he also assumes that you find some or all of these protocols difficult to work with. His book presents concepts simply, as nuts and bolts. Malhotra's use of plain language, analogy, and the recurring example of an imaginary network, which grows in complexity as the book progresses, will help you understand fundamental concepts behind each protocol. Once you master these concepts, you will benefit from the detailed information contained in Cisco manuals and web pages (such as bug lists, new features, design guides, etc). Depending on your skill level, you can either read IP Routing from cover to cover or use it as a reference for any of the protocols presented. The book describes administrative tools available to all the routing protocols, including those that block the advertisement of routing updates, and those that set up preferences for one routing protocol over another. Honed by years of teaching Data Communications at major universities and managing IP networks in production environments, Ravi Malhotra's knowledge of this subject makes IP Routing is the ideal primer to Internet routing protocols.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0596002750
• ISBN13: 9780596002756
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Under the Hood of IP

Mr. Malhotra's book offers an exceptionally clear look under the hood of IP technology. As a director of the Center of Computer Technology in NYC, I am continually reading large numbers of books in many areas of the computer world. I only wish that all these books were as clarifying and effective as this one. The author knows how to communicate the methodology of IP technology in a way that offers insight to its workings. This book takes one deeper than the step-by-step approach, and advances the kind of substantial understanding that would benefit anyone desiring to become a valued professional. While this first edition has several typographical errors, they are insignificant beside the indisputable value of its top notch content, and its colorful, insightful delivery. This is easily a five star choice!

Excellent breakdown for all technical levels.

In the world of networking, both local and wide area, a good network administrator must understand what it takes to perform IP routing. The understanding of dynamic routing versus static routing, defining route and setting up the optimal network. In this manual you have over 200 pages to help that task. I found that section for RIP, with convergence and route summarization to very helpful in my current job and it also gave me several tips and tricks to enhance my current network, which I have installed. The book also covers IGRP, EIRGP, VLSM, BGP as well as explaining in good detail RIP2 classful versus classless routing techniques. In the OSPF protocol a breakdown of stub, totally stub and not so stubby have excellent breakdowns and for the first time I have a better understanding of the concepts. The author breaks the book down into how the protocols work, what happens when they run, how to setup them up and troubleshooting in case of errors or failures by use of screen shots and commands. There are some typos but that is normal with any manual, overall any network or router technician should be able to find useful information throughout the book.

Another gem from O'Reilly

Technical books are often more difficult to understand than the topics they intend to explain. Frequent readers of computing manuals have learned that O'Reilly's books are clearer in organization than others without sacrificing detail. The manual on _IP Routing_, written by Ravi Malhotra, is one of the best manuals that O'Reilly has put out yet. Malhotra's writing is personable yet clear, his use of analogies abundant, and his topic organization impeccable. Malhotra is able to provide enough detail in the book to remain useful to an experienced network administrator while still appealing to those of us with only the most casual interest in Internet Protocol Routing. I found the chapter on "Border Gateway Protocol" especially well done. This book is a gem.

Quality descriptions of the IP Protocols

This book describes the various Internet protocols available for routing of data between various points or hops on a network. It describes each protocol, the differences and advantages and disadvantages of each one. Chapter one offers an overview of what is involved with routing, and subsequent chapters discuss Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), RIP-2 (an updated RIP protocol), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), and finally Border Gateway Protocl (BGP-4).Each protocol is described in terms of how it is used in routing, what header fields they contain, and what its best uses are. There are also numerous examples in each chapter that further illustrate what role each protocol plays in routing data from one hop to the next. Any system administrator wishing to know more about the inticacies of Internet routing should pick up this book.

Review of "IP Routing" by Ravi Malhotra

As a professional engineer, it is important for me to keep up to date with the latest in technology. For a learning tool to be effective not only is the subject matter important but the way in which the material is presented. I need to grasp the concepts quickly and retain that knowledge. I found Mr. Malhotra's "IP Routing" to be an excellent example of a well written learning tool. The subject matter is presented in a clear, articulate manner that was easy to follow and retained my interest from start to finish. I would highly recommend this book.