The problem, generally speaking, with books about Cisco Systems data-networking equipment is that they're organised around passing the Cisco certification exams, and that kind of organisation differs from what working professionals need on the job. Cisco Switching Black Book gets right to the point, emphasising practicality over theory and how-to procedures over academic platitudes. If you want to know how to reconfigure ports on static virtual local area networks (VLANs) on a Catalyst 5000, the command to enter and the router's response are right there on a single page. The book also usually points out pitfalls--a quick warning such as, "If you do A, don't forget to do B," calls attention to problems other books might explain with multiple pages and diagrams. That's not to say that this book is all recipes. There are background and explanatory material in the "In Depth" sections that follow the "Immediate Solutions" segments, in which the snappy procedures appear. Some readers might like to see more frequent links between the procedures and the relevant background material ("For more information on what's happening here, refer to..."), but the omission is not a big deal. Those who read the material will find that it's decent preparation for parts of the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam, despite its general-interest design. --David Wall
Topics covered: Configuration of local and wide area network (LAN and WAN) switching equipment sold by Cisco Systems; more specifically, switching as it applies to virtual local area networks (VLANs), IP multicasting, multilayer switching, and LightStream switches; Hot Standby Routing Protocol (HSRP), Internetwork Operating System (IOS) variations among Cisco products, and troubleshooting. A brief but praiseworthy appendix offers some advice on freelance Cisco consulting. (Review copyright Amazon.co.uk)
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