Authorized Self-Study Guide

Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESGN)

Second Edition

Foundation learning for CCDA exam 640-863

Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESGN), Second Edition, is a Cisco®-authorized, self-paced learning tool for CCDA® foundation learning. This book provides you with the knowledge needed to design enterprise networks. By reading this book, you will gain a thorough understanding of designing routed and switched network infrastructures and services within a modular architecture.

In Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESGN), Second Edition, you will study a broad range of network design principles and guidelines. You will learn about network design in the context of the Cisco Service-Oriented Network Architecture (SONA) framework and the Cisco Enterprise Architecture. Specific topics include campus and data center infrastructure, remote connectivity, IP addressing design, routing protocol selection, voice network design, wireless network design, and including security in your designs. An ongoing case study plus chapter-ending review questions illustrate and help solidify the concepts presented in the book.

Whether you are preparing for CCDA certification or simply want to gain a better understanding of network design principles, you will benefit from the foundation information presented in this book.

Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESGN), Second Edition, is part of a recommended learning path from Cisco that includes simulation and hands-on training from authorized Cisco Learning Partners and self-study products from Cisco Press. To find out more about instructor-led training, e-learning, and hands-on instruction offered by authorized Cisco Learning Partners worldwide, please visit www.cisco.com/go/authorizedtraining.

Diane Teare is a professional in the networking, training, and e-learning fields. She has more than 20 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting network hardware and software and has also been involved in teaching, course design, and project management. She has extensive knowledge of network design and routing technologies and is an instructor with one of the largest authorized Cisco Learning Partners.

• Understand the Cisco vision of intelligent networks and the SONA framework

• Learn how to structure and modularize network designs within the Cisco Enterprise Architecture

• Design basic campus and data center networks

• Build designs for remote connectivity with WAN technologies

• Create IPv4 addressing schemes

• Understand IPv6 design

• Select the appropriate routing protocol for various modules in the Cisco Enterprise Architecture

• Design basic VoIP and IP telephony networks

• Understand wireless design principles

• Build security into your network designs

This volume is in the Certification Self-Study Series offered by Cisco Press®. Books in this series provide officially developed self-study solutions to help networking professionals understand technology implementations and prepare for the Cisco Career Certifications examinations.

Category: Cisco Press—Network Design

Covers: CCDA Exam 640-863

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 4 Ratings

Too wordy - 2008-06-30
Reviewer Rating:
I really have some difficulty with this book. I have a lot of network design experience and a CCNA, but I need to learn the "Cisco way" of network design. This book is 930 pages long, but I think with a little effort the information within it could have been condensed into under 100 pages. there's so much to read to get to the meat of the subject. And when I look back at the pages I earmared for re-reading later, there are many pages each with just a small amount of info I want to go over again before the exam.

In at least one case, each bullet point in a list was a paragraph long, and the summary at the end of the bullet list was simply a repeat of the last bullet point. It seems that there was a concious effort to "pad out" the book.

The book does not cover all the information needed to pass this intro-level course in design (it refers you out to texts for the next level course up: eg. Building Cisco Multilayer Switch Networks). To my mind, one should not have to purchase reference material for the advanced courses in order to be able to get through the introductory courses.

All in all an overly-hard read and, at times it seems, more focussed on advertising Cisco product and positioning Cisco as a locked-in solution than on helping one through the CCDA exam.

After 570 pages of text, I have little clue as to what kinds of questions will be on the exam to come (at least in terms of the design questions).

It's a good book to prepare the CCDA exams. - 2009-11-02
Reviewer Rating:
There are lots of information in this book. Although it looks heavy and thick, I think it will help me to prepare an exam. Good luck, everybody!

Lengthy, covers many topics, not enough exam prep by itself - 2009-10-21
Reviewer Rating:
I've been studying this book now for several weeks, and have made a couple attempts at taking the 640-863 test. This book covers many topics to some depth and includes a lot of useful information around modern networking design, from a Cisco viewpoint.

It is, in my opinion, not in and of itself enough to pass the exam. There are many places which are confusing - some of which have direct consequences when it comes to taking the 640-863 exam. Many sections appear to be little more than bulleted lists yanked from product marketing papers.

The section explaining PPDIOO, for example, first lays out the PPDIOO methodology and then a few pages later lays out a similar or overlapping methodology having two parts with three numbered steps each. The author then references the similar but not exact mappings to PPDIOO. Why does the world need 2 different similar six step methodologies to memorize? Worse, this confusing mess specifically contradicts itself in a number of places, which may or may not be (ok, they will be) later included as questions on the test. As well, there are also a few topics which show up on the exam that simply don't appear to be well covered by this text.

Overall - I have accumulated a bunch of network design knowledge, some of which may well be useful for my job, but as far as being able to pass the exam, I find myself more confused, more frustrated and more broke. This book needs a good editor and/or a rewrite. If it is going to be an Authorized Self Study guide, it should illuminate, not confuse and confound. Perhaps it should be sold as a companion to the Official Self Study Guide?

Great for Professionals Wanting to Break Into Design Field - 2008-08-14
Reviewer Rating:
Diane Teare does a great job of providing necessary information and case studies to a networking professional wanting to get into the network design field. This is an associate level certification and thusly the information provided is spoon-fed to what is considered a design associate or below design associate-level person with a CCNA certification. The information is a bit wordy, but I think it lends well to learning the material and is relevant to every situation where something is repeated.

The cases are a great way to practice the theory you've learned in the chapters. Overall, a great book on Cisco network design theory. A+.

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