IP Routing : Help for Network Administrators

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.

You've seen the bumper stickers: "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Simply put, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity is the mama of nearly everything that goes on in information technology. If it's not working right, pretty much nothing else will be working right. IP Routing helps you understand how packets get from one IP address (on one network) to another (on a separate network). This is what the Internet--not to mention all medium-sized and large corporate intranets--is all about. If you're a router technician, you need to understand what's in these pages. That's especially true if you use Cisco Systems equipment. Ravi Malhotra spends time on standard protocols that are used by all router makers, but he devotes significant space to Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) and Enhanced IGRP (EIGRP), which are Cisco proprietary. He shows how to do configuration work in Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) exclusively.

In attacking each of the protocols he covers, Malhotra divides his exposition into several parts. First, he explains how to get the protocol running--he provides IOS listings that show how to bring it up on an example network (which he illustrates graphically). He then explains how the protocol assigns metrics to routes, and how it goes about evaluating metrics and choosing routes on the fly (this includes a look at the protocol's routing table structure). There's also coverage of any special features (such as virtual links under Open Shortest Path First--OSPF) and of troubleshooting strategies. Throughout, the author writes clearly, making effective use of graphics and realistic examples. --David Wall

Topics covered: Protocols for finding efficient routes between Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, as those protocols are implemented by Cisco routers. Covered protocols include both versions of Routing Information Protocol (RIP and RIP-2), Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), Enhanced IGRP (EIGRP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), and Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-4).