Designing Large Scale Lans

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Designing Large Scale Lans

By Kevin Dooley
November 2001
Pages: 400
ISBN 10: 0-596-00150-9 | ISBN 13: 9780596001506
(Average of 4 Customer Reviews)

Book description

This unique book outlines the advantages of a top-down, vendor-neutral approach to network design. Everything from network reliability, network topologies, routing and switching, wireless, virtual LANs, firewalls and gateways to security, Internet protocols, bandwidth, and multicast services are covered from the perspective of an organization's specific needs, rather than from product requirements. The book also discusses proprietary technologies that are ubiquitous, such as Cisco's IOS and Novell's IPX.
Full Description

This unique book offers a vendor-neutral approach for designing large local area networks according to business or organizational needs, rather than from a product perspective. Author and independent network design consultant Kevin Dooley outlines "top-down network design" for building a technological infrastructure to fit your organization's requirements, a process far more effective and cost-efficient than fitting the organization to the parameters of a shrink-wrapped proprietary solution. Dooley argues that the design of a network is largely independent of the products used. Whether you use a Cisco or Juniper router, the same security issues and protocols apply. The questions he addresses in this book are need-specific: Do I use a router or a switch? Should I route between switched areas or switch between routed areas? Designing Large-Scale LANs covers everything from security, bandwidth and scalability to network reliability, which includes backup, redundancy, and points of failure. Specific technologies are analyzed in detail: network topologies, routing and switching strategies, wireless, virtual LANs, firewalls and gateways, security, Internet protocols, bandwidth, and multicast services. The book also discusses proprietary technologies that are ubiquitous, such as Cisco's IOS and Novell's IPX. This complete guide to top-down network design will help you choose the right network solutions. If you're designing large scale networks and need expert advice and guidance, look no further than Designing Large-Scale LANs.

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Cover | Table of Contents | Index | Sample Chapter | Colophon

Book details

First Edition: November 2001
ISBN: 0-596-00150-9
Pages: 400
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 4 Reviews)

Featured customer reviews

Designing Large-Scale LANs Review, January 15 2004

Rating:

Submitted by Jeff [Respond | View]

It began by covering basic networking concepts (OSI model, bus/ring/star topologies) but then it hit a harder subject: STP, Spanning Tree Protocol. Here the book failed miserably. The book states that when given two possible paths to root the switch will pick one at random (page 63, last paragraph, "But wait--it gets worse."), which is absolutely incorrect. STP defines a very explicit comparison for choosing one path over another based on the Bridge ID and path cost. Anyway, at that point I had to stop reading for fear of reaching material I did not yet know and then learning something that could be so incorrect.

Designing Large-Scale LANs Review, January 21 2003

Rating:

Submitted by irfan [Respond | View]

Designing Large scale LAN

Designing Large-Scale LANs Review, April 09 2002

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Submitted by David Toye [Respond | View]

Creating a large scale WAN is not an easy subject to tackle. Dooley's accessible writing style helps the reader to understand the basic concepts first, before explaining higher level counterparts. In this age of CCNA's, MCSE's, and other acronyms, it is refreshing to see a vendor neutral approach to the subject. Not only does he use real world examples, but he shares some of his own experiences and info on best practices, which is invaluable for a network designer.

I found Dooley's use of mathetical equations over the top but I'm sure that there are some geeks out there who would love them. Too bad he did not include some samples of his documentation as an appendix. Overall a decent practical read.

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Designing Large-Scale LANs Review, March 07 2002

Rating:

Submitted by Charles Hare [Respond | View]

There isn't an original thought or idea in this book. It is not written for a "Network Designer" as the cover purports, but rather for a Network Novice. Explanations about the OSI model, Basic Topologies, and such don't belong in a book aimed at a higher audience.

Media reviews

"A very readable text with good illustration, I would recommend this book to general networking practitioners and those with growing networks of their own who want to be aware of the benefits of good design."
--Raza Rizvi, News@UKUUG, October 2002

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