Book Description
The complete guide to the most popular Cisco PIX®, ASA, FWSM, and IOS® firewall security features
- Learn about the various firewall models, user interfaces, feature sets, and configuration methods
- Understand how a Cisco firewall inspects traffic
- Configure firewall interfaces, routing, IP addressing services, and IP multicast support
- Maintain security contexts and Flash and configuration files, manage users, and monitor firewalls with SNMP
- Authenticate, authorize, and maintain accounting records for firewall users
- Control access through the firewall by implementing transparent and routed firewall modes, address translation, traffic filtering, user authentication, content filtering, application inspection, and traffic shunning
- Increase firewall availability with firewall failover operation
- Understand how firewall load balancing works
- Generate firewall activity logs and learn how to analyze the contents of the log
- Verify firewall operation and connectivity and observe data passing through a firewall
- Control access and manage activity on the Cisco IOS firewall
- Configure a Cisco firewall to act as an IDS sensor
Every organization has data, facilities, and workflow processes that are critical to their success. As more organizations make greater use of the Internet, defending against network attacks becomes crucial for businesses. Productivity gains and returns on company investments are at risk if the network is not properly defended. Firewalls have emerged as the essential foundation component in any network security architecture.
Cisco ASA and PIX Firewall Handbook is a guide for the most commonly implemented features of the popular Cisco Systems® firewall security solutions. This is the first book to cover the revolutionary Cisco ASA and PIX® version 7 security appliances. This book will help you quickly and easily configure, integrate, and manage the entire suite of Cisco® firewall products, including Cisco ASA, PIX version 7 and 6.3, the Cisco IOS router firewall, and the Catalyst Firewall Services Module (FWSM). Organized by families of features, this book helps you get up to speed quickly and efficiently on topics such as file management, building connectivity, controlling access, firewall management, increasing availability with failover, load balancing, logging, and verifying operation. Shaded thumbtabs mark each section for quick reference and each section provides information in a concise format, with background, configuration, and example components. Each section also has a quick reference table of commands that you can use to troubleshoot or display information about the features presented. Appendixes present lists of well-known IP protocol numbers, ICMP message types, and IP port numbers that are supported in firewall configuration commands and provide a quick reference to the many logging messages that can be generated from a Cisco PIX, ASA, FWSM, or IOS firewall.
Whether you are looking for an introduction to the firewall features of the new ASA security appliance, a guide to configuring firewalls with the new Cisco PIX version 7 operating system, or a complete reference for making the most out of your Cisco ASA, PIX, IOS, and FWSM firewall deployments, Cisco ASA and PIX Firewall Handbook helps you achieve maximum protection of your network resources.
“Many books on network security and firewalls settle for a discussion focused primarily on concepts and theory. This book, however, goes well beyond these topics. It covers in tremendous detail the information every network and security administrator needs to know when configuring and managing market-leading firewall products from Cisco.”
—Jason Nolet, Sr. Director of Engineering, Security Technology Group, Cisco Systems
This security book is part of the Cisco Press® Networking Technology Series. Security titles from Cisco Press help networking professionals secure critical data and resources, prevent and mitigate network attacks, and build end-to-end self-defending networks.
Customer Reviews:
A excellent, detailed book on PIX Firewall configurations.......2007-05-02
The Cisco ASA and PIX Firewall Handbook by Dave Hucaby is an excellent book on PIX firewalls and covers versions 6.x and 7.x, including FWSM configurations. There is negligible coverage of ASA and readers looking for a detailed ASA book best look elsewhere. The cream of this book is really Chapter 6 - Controlling Access Through the Firewall. A detailed chapter of running the Pix in Transparent mode, Address Translation, ACL's, Content filtering, Modular Policy Framework, along with Application Inspection. The section on the Modular Policy Framework is very good and detailed. I plan to refer to this book often when troubleshooting PIX's.
There were hardly any errors or issues with this book. For example, in Chapter 7: Increasing Firewall Availability with Failover, the author writes that Stateful firewall failover packets are sent using IP Protocol 8 (EGP). I presume they meant IP protocol 105.
The authors list configuration commands for FWSM , 6.x and 7.x versions of the PIX. Personally, I'm not too fond of this approach and would rather read commands pertaining to a single version. Commands of other versions are available at the Cisco Documentation site.
More detail, please.......2007-01-12
While the book was rather detailed in several areas, I was hoping it would be more detailed on the subject of VPN. While most of it is straight forward, configuring VPN on the 5520 was a pain. Someone reading this book should be from a large enterprise, using failover, etc. Someone from a small company that is not using these features might find it to be overkill, and start looking for other books to meet their specific needs.
Complement to other sources available.......2006-08-26
I think author did a wonderful job filling in where other popular litrature about PIX left off. I read the CCSP book, and leared alot. This book filled in stuff that CCSP book just does not talk about. Not to knock the CCSP book; each auther can only fill in so much. It is a difficult decision on what to keep and what to leave off. I find the PIX and ASA book is very practical. If you want a good understanding of this platform, then you want this book as the pliers in your tool box of knowledge. Do not expect it to be swiss army tool though. I think author was especially considerate to the reader's needs to publish items that other litrature just does not cover. There is alot of good information. Nice pictures which addressed questions I had and even posted to some CCIE sites and there was no answer. Definately worth buying.
Very little on ASA.......2006-06-26
This book is very helpful for PIX firewalls, but is mislabeled for ASA. There is very little on the ASA product. Usually just a mention of command differences between ASA and PIX. If you are looking for a book on ASA do not buy this book.
One point makes this book a must have.......2006-05-27
Most commands explained have three lines:
PIX 6.3
PIX 7.0
FWSM
This allows you to work on multiple platforms easily with one handbook. Also tells you when something ISN'T supported so you don't have to go digging on the web.
Book Description
Identify, mitigate, and respond to network attacks
- Understand the evolution of security technologies that make up the unified ASA device and how to install the ASA hardware
- Examine firewall solutions including network access control, IP routing, AAA, application inspection, virtual firewalls, transparent (Layer 2) firewalls, failover and redundancy, and QoS
- Evaluate Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) solutions including IPS integration and Adaptive Inspection and Prevention Security Services Module (AIP-SSM) configuration
- Deploy VPN solutions including site-to-site IPsec VPNs, remote- access VPNs, and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
- Learn to manage firewall, IPS, and VPN solutions with Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM)
Achieving maximum network security is a challenge for most organizations. Cisco® ASA, a new unified security device that combines firewall, network antivirus, intrusion prevention, and virtual private network (VPN) capabilities, provides proactive threat defense that stops attacks before they spread through the network.
This new family of adaptive security appliances also controls network activity and application traffic and delivers flexible VPN connectivity. The result is a powerful multifunction network security device that provides the security breadth and depth for protecting your entire network, while reducing the high deployment and operations costs and complexities associated with managing multiple point products.
Cisco ASA: All-in-One Firewall, IPS, and VPN Adaptive Security Appliance is a practitioner’s guide to planning, deploying, and troubleshooting a comprehensive security plan with Cisco ASA. The book provides valuable insight and deployment examples and demonstrates how adaptive identification and mitigation services on Cisco ASA provide a sophisticated security solution for both large and small network environments.
The book contains many useful sample configurations, proven design scenarios, and discussions of debugs that help you understand how to get the most out of Cisco ASA in your own network.
“I have found this book really highlights the practical aspects needed for building real-world security. It offers the insider’s guidance needed to plan, implement, configure, and troubleshoot the Cisco ASA in customer environments and demonstrates the potential and power of Self-Defending Networks.”
–Jayshree Ullal, Sr. Vice President, Security Technologies Group, Cisco Systems®
This security book is part of the Cisco Press® Networking Technology Series. Security titles from Cisco Press help networking professionals secure critical data and resources, prevent and mitigate network attacks, and build end-to-end self-defending networks.
Customer Reviews:
Very Helpful.......2007-07-03
Excellent reference book. I wouldn't want to curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and read it from beginning to end, but it was an essential tool in a recent firewall migration at my workplace. It also seems to be just about the only book about the relatively new asa platform.
Great book........2007-05-08
This book has been very helpful for me. The only issue that I ran into was that the VPN section was a little outdated.
Excellent book.......2006-11-03
This manual was excellent! Definitely something to keep at your desk as a reference.
Good reference.......2006-01-27
This book helped me a lot. I recently deployed over 250 ASAs and was running into a lot of problems with the IPS SSM and VPN features. I got most of my answers from this book.
Very Amatuer.......2006-01-19
What a waste of time it was reading this book. If you are not very familiar with FW/IPS or VPN then this may be helpful, but if you have been working with this technology and Cisco's products that address these technologies (ASA, PIX, IPS, VPN3k) then please don't refer to this joke. Go online to cisco.com and do the research. Sometimes it felt as if whitepapers were copied and pasted.
Very dissapointed.
Book Description
Whether you're a beginner, power user, or seasoned professional,
Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide has everything you need to customize the operating system, master your digital media, manage your data, and maintain your computer -- regardless of which Windows Vista edition you're using.
Why this book and not some other resource? Bestselling author and Windows expert William Stanek doesn't just teach you the steps you need to follow, he also tells you how features work, why they work, and how you can customize them to meet your needs. You'll learn how to squeeze out every last bit of power out of Windows Vista, and how to make the most out of its features and programs, including how to:
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Set up, customize and tune Windows Vista - Optimize its appearance and performance; install, configure and maintain software; customize your hardware; and install printers, scanners and faxes
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Manage your files - Search your computer more efficiently; secure your files and data; share and collaborate; and get the most out of accessories such as the Mobility Center
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Master your digital media - Create media libraries with Media Player; manage digital pictures and videos with Photo Gallery; make DVDs with DVD Maker; and create movies with Movie Maker
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Get connected and start networking - Set up a home or small-office network; learn to use Windows Mail, Calendar, and Meeting Space; conquer Internet Explorer 7; and master on-the-go networking
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Protect your computer - Keep your family safe while on the Internet; set up parental controls and content ratings; navigate the computer security maze; configure Windows Vista's security features
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Manage and support Windows Vista systems - Deal with user accounts, disks and drives; handle routine maintenance and troubleshooting; and resolve advanced support and recovery issues
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Learn advanced tips & techniques - Manage the Windows boot environment, explore Group Policy, discover keyboard shortcuts, and much more
Customer Reviews:
Better than "Vista Missing Manual".......2007-10-09
Vista Definitive Guide is a 922-page Vista bible, much better than Vista Missing Manual in my opinion. I got this after having excellent success with the author's other computer books. Extremely complete and full of answers. Kudos to the author for writing such an excellent book!
An Excellent Guide and information source.......2007-08-12
I have been using windows at home now for 14 years and with each operating system upgrade there's more to learn. I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to Windows. So what if some people say "it's not definitive by any means," I find that it covers so much and even some things I won't need. I LOVE this book. It is not hard on your eyes, has plenty of diagrams and something I found especially interesting is how virus's, malware and all the nasties can enter your computer and the damage they can cause. I'm the type of woman who is not just satisfied with the "just do it this way" kind of help. I want more meat in the WHY I should do it this way. I use this book along with "Windows Vista: The Missing Manual" That books gives lot's of tips and stuff that has saved me much work and headache. These books work well together
The Only Book Most Windows Vista Users Need.......2007-06-28
Windows Vista: The Definitive Guide is an excellent book. Every Windows Vista User should purchase this book to learn Windows Vista. The book covers everything most users want to know and should know about Windows Vista.
This book is clear and to the point with comprehensive coverage of Windows Vista. It covers all versions of Vista and the many included programs and utilities as well as new security features. It covers Internet Explorer 7 and how to make your own audio CDs and DVD movies. There is an extensive discussion on installation and advanced issues. At a hefty 921 pages it makes a thoroughly detailed reference.
Plus this book is written for easy reader understanding and for enjoyable reading. Great book if you really wish to learn Windows Vista. For administrators, I'd also recommend Stanek's Windows Vista Administrator's Pocket Consultant.
920 pages packed with excellence!.......2007-05-29
William Stanek's pocket consultants are excellent - I've been a reader for years. In looking for a large reference for home, I saw this one - the definitive guide and chose it over Vista Inside Out and Vista Missing Manual. Stanek has a better style, and he understands the software better.
He once again is able to take technical topics and infuse clarity and depth while staying clearly focused. I have been running Vista since beta one, and this book is an excellent reference for those of us already familiar with the Windows operating systems.
In my opinion, this is an excellent book for all skill levels. Beginners will appreciate Stanek's ability to clearly and concisely explain even the most complex topics. The fact the book jumps right into the most important topics for home and office users doesn't hurt either.
Advanced users will find this book makes it easy to quickly get up to speed and to learn the new topics fast. Plus he writes in a friendly easy to understand language, so that you don't get lost in computer jargon. At the same time, he has a very organized and clear style. His details are never off topic and that's refreshing. His sense of what's important and what's not makes it possible for you to actually read the whole book and get all of the useful information out of it.
Pro users will find this book to be an excellent reference and regular reference. This isn't a book for administration though. Stanek's Vista ADministrator's Pocket Consultant is the best one for that.
This is THE MUST HAVE VISTA manual for the home and office. Thank you William Stanek for helping me get the most out of Vista!
Truly the definitive guide.......2007-05-25
Should be the #1 choice for all user levels from beginner to pro! Stanek's Windows Vista Administrator's Pocket Consultant is the book I use every day for admin work. When I'm wanting to play with Windows Vista's multimedia features or tweak the interface, this is the book I reach for. I have a copy at home too. At 900+ pages, it is the best all-around guide I've found.
Book Description
There are many ways that a potential attacker can intercept information, or learn more about the sender, as the information travels over a network. Silence on the Wire uncovers these silent attacks so that system administrators can defend against them, as well as better understand and monitor their systems.
Silence on the Wire dissects several unique and fascinating security and privacy problems associated with the technologies and protocols used in everyday computing, and shows how to use this knowledge to learn more about others or to better defend systems. By taking an indepth look at modern computing, from hardware on up, the book helps the system administrator to better understand security issues, and to approach networking from a new, more creative perspective. The sys admin can apply this knowledge to network monitoring, policy enforcement, evidence analysis, IDS, honeypots, firewalls, and forensics.
Customer Reviews:
Light Face of the Dark Side.......2007-07-16
The Global Network is not a battle ground. It is a play ground.
This book although it covers security issues is great insight into the mentality that the security geeks can have. For them the security of platforms and networks are faulted and the hackers task is to disclose that.
A Wonderful Treatment of Network Security.......2007-06-12
At a conference I was at some time ago, a fellow mentioned to me that one person he would probably not want to play poker with is Michal Zalewski. I didn't really get his statement at the time, but after reading this book, I can now wholeheartedly understand his reluctance.
Although only 260 pages long, Michal's book covers an incredibly wide range of topics, pinpointing numerous areas in which incredible amounts of information about you and your computer are available, even though it may not seem that way at first blush. From the keyboard, to the processor, to the operating system, to the network wire, Michal points out the many holes from which this information is leaking from. His writing style gives rise to an entertaining narrative where a high-level picture makes the main concept available to everyone, while at the same time providing citations in the footnotes that let you delve into the details at a later point.
Silence on the Wire impressed me in so many ways that it's difficult to list them all here. Michal's understanding of so many areas in computer security is simply astounding. He covers each topic in just enough detail, not bogging down the reader in lots of technical jargon, but also not doing an inordinate amount of 'hand-waving'. His movement through the various components of the computer and the network is very well done; it ties together in a nice progression that the reader can follow easily.
I enjoyed the a nice selection of papers Michal discusses in which many ingenious attacks were described (timing attacks on RSA, SSH password recovery through timing analysis, TEMPEST, etc.). But one thing that truly stood out in this book is Michal's own contribution, which includes his work with p0f, the analysis of various ISN generators, and his work on identifying various web browsers through timing analysis. I was just amazed at how easily Michal pulled these 'fingerprints' out of seemingly random and/or innocuous data sets.
I had actually read about much of the work that Silence on the Wire covers beforehand, but in spite of that I learned a great deal from this book, and I know that many others can too. If you only read one book on network security, make it this one!
super.......2007-03-08
Thanks a lot, we are very happy to have this book in our library!
New look at the (in)security of networked computers.......2007-01-13
I am a student studying information security and I've read many books lately on the subject. Silence on the Wire is truly a unique book, and a nice change from the conventional reading material. Michal is a known expert in his field, and you can find many of his works and research in a simple search. His book focuses on the basic, yet most overlooked computer and network designs that can be attacked. In Silence on the Wire, Michal takes us on a long, treacherous journey of a packet, from when the data is first entered to its final destination. Along the way, we look at flaws in the design of computers and networks and how they are eventually exploited.
I held off reading this book all summer, after trying to read through the second chapter and finally getting frustrated with it. Chapter two is the book's downfall, as it spends entirely too much time getting to "the point" (as Richard Bejtlich puts it). Michal's explanations here were too confusing and will lose almost any reader. I think the section on the Turing Machine can be skipped over, unless you slow down and take notes and draw yourself diagrams of the information. Only then, will you probably understand what it's getting at. I'm happy to say though, reading the rest of the book was fairly easy; anybody with a background in network computing and security will be able to follow along.
Silence on the Wire is a fascinating read and I definitely recommend it to anybody who is interested or responsible for information security. Michal hopes his book will give you a new perspective on security and explore the relationships and interactions between components. I am glad I got to read this book and hope one day to contribute my own research to the topic.
Something to have in mind.......2006-11-10
Maybe not all of the possible threats described are real today, but one really get a glimpse into a world where the major objective is to exploit possibilities not intended to be there. People populating this world think differently than the rest of us, and an explanation of how they think is both scary and enlightening. Michal Zalewski walks us through various scenarios in an easy to understand and an often humorous way.
Book Description
Juniper Networks family of NetScreen and SSG Firewalls are second only to Cisco in worldwide unit sales. These devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated as threats to networks continue to grow exponentially. This is the essential reference for any IT professional responsible for configuring and managing the devices.
Configuring Juniper Networks NetScreen & SSG Firewalls is the only complete reference to this family of products. It covers all of the newly released features of the product line as highlighted by Juniper Networks, including:
Deep Inspection firewall extends stateful inspection to detect application level attacks and stop them at the network perimeter.
Integrated Intrusion Prevention for unmatched application-level protection against worms, Trojans, Spyware and malware in the enterprise, carrier and data center environments.
Centralized, policy-based management minimizes the chance of overlooking security holes by simplifying roll-out and network-wide updates.
Virtualization technologies make it easy for administrators to divide the network into secure segments for additional protection.
Built-in high availability features allow pairs of devices to be deployed together to eliminate single points of failure
Rapid Deployment features help minimize repetitive tasks and administrative burden associated with wide spread deployments.
* All you could need to know on Juniper Networks NetScreen and SSG devices
* Covers the materials found on the NetScreen NCSA exam
* Provides clear configuration examples that help simplify an otherwise complex process
Customer Reviews:
great.......2007-07-18
Book is easy to read and understand. Most books like this are so technical that they dont make any sense. Has some repitition to burn important things into your head. I wish more networking books were like this.
Broad coverage - poor in the details.......2007-06-11
Definitively one of the worst technical publications I've ever bought.
This book will be useful only if you want to gain a general understanding on how netscreen firewalls work, but under no circumstance this should be considered a technical reference, or configuration guide.
HUGE lack of examples, and those present are extremely simplistic. Just driving through clicking on the NetscreenOS interface is not an example. The book is also plagued of grammatical inconsistencies.
After having read each one of its 743 pages I'm still on the same place I was before starting.
If you need a little more detail on what's behind the NetScreen & SSG architecture, use the Reference Guide from Juniper (more than 2,000 pages of rich examples, scenarios, and explanations... and the best... FREE!!!). That's exactly what I'm doing now.
To the publishers: thank you for making me post my first review ever.
A Golden Opportunity.......2007-03-28
Really good Juniper Networks security documentation is still lacking and the free info is typically better. There is still a golden opportunity for a technical author to write a really good book on best-practice design and implementation, to effectively leverage and integrate Juniper technology -- not just more reference material.
Helpful.......2007-03-10
Got this for a friend so that he could use it to learn and increase his knowledge of the products to further his career. He said its a very helpful book.
Broad coverage, but limited by production nits.......2007-01-02
Juniper NetScreen firewalls have become a market leader for performance and features, and it's no wonder: they really are that good. As such, more people need to learn how to use them and configure them to do a wide range of activities. With this in mind, "Configuring Juniper Networks NetScreen & SSG Firewalls" attempts to fill that gap.
This book is similar to the well known and respected books from Cisco Press, and is basically a large scale product manual. As such, it's important to compare it both to the Cisco Press books in terms of production quality and clarity, and also to the docs that Juniper provides for free on their website. When you make this comparison, you find that "Configuring Juniper Networks NetScreen & SSG Firewalls" comes up short in both areas. That's not to say it isn't trying, but there are enough problems to make it just an average book.
Chapter 1 is the common basic firewall and Internet threat overview. Nothing too groundbreaking, and probably included for completeness. Chapter 2 is a nice overview of the Juniper Netscreen product line, and some of the basic concepts and technologies within them. Again, useful and probably included for completeness.
Chapter 3 covers "Deploying Juniper firewalls", focusing on basic options and introducing you to the web-based UI. Most of the material here is available in the online help or the free Juniper docs. Most of the instructions in this chapter are clear. Chapter 4 focuses on policy configuration and uses both the UI and the CLI to do so. Again, stuff that you can pick up with the free docs (granted the CLI help isn't as rich as docs, but the help is there nonetheless, especially for the UI), and again the presentation and examples are pretty clear.
Chapter 5 covers advanced policy configuration ideas, but focuses on bandwidth management. Some decent material here, but some of the CLI stuff gets a bit long and you can start to drown in it if you're not careful. Chapter 6 covers user authentication, and by this point the book (which, admittedly, is a reference book at heart) gets to be mind numbing. I started noticing some production errors here, usually in the typeface and presentation of the material. Some of the "settings" stuff gets to be a bit unclear to me at times, perhaps I need to study it more closely.
Chapter 7 covers routing (ie RIP, OSPF, BGP) and virtual routers. The size of this chapter and its examples is huge (100 pages), and if you're not careful you'll go blind. Again, this doesn't have much over the free Juniper docs, which are a bit better organized. Chapter 8 is a bit more managable (50 pages or so) and covers address translation (NAT, PAT, etc). at times it just becomes a series of examples, but the presentation is similar to the previous chapters. Not much over the free Juniper docs. Chapter 9 is another similar chapter and covers transparent mode. Decent presentation and examples, a few nits here and there that I find in this set of chapters.
Chapter 10 covers attack detection and defense, and I think the material is better organized than the more traditional networking materials. The examples are fewer and more focused.
Chapter 11 covers VPNs and was surprisingly short. The configuration stuff is either surprisingly simple and foolproof to set up or this chapter was very hit and run. The screenshots in this chapter are probably the weakest in the whole book, but in general they suffice. I'd probably say hit the Juniper docs, instead. Chapter 12, covering high availability (failover, redundancy, etc) is better, and has more examples and material. I think this is one of the better chapters balancing presentation and examples.
Chapter 13 covers troubleshooting, but I would have expected a bit more material. Perhaps if you pair it with the previous chapters on specific matters and features it would help. Chapter 14 ends the book with a tidy, concise and pretty clear unit on virtual systems (ie sub-interfaces).
Before you buy this book, you should look at the free documentation for ScreenOS and many Juniper products. I suspect that you'll find that their quality meets what you want, and they're clear and concise. That said, review this book (see if you can look inside and flip through it), seeing if it's worth the price for you. "Configuring Juniper Networks NetScreen & SSG Firewalls" attempts to be the authoritative source of information on NetScreen devices and does OK, but there are enough nits in the presentation and production to warrant any potential buyers to really compare it to the existing docs.
Average customer rating:
- Buy the Northcutt book instead
- Don't be fooled by the name of the book.
- Jarringly unfocussed and inaccurate...
- Rambling and fragmented - of little use to novice or expert
- Valuable help to the data security professional.
|
Intrusion Detection: Network Security Beyond the Firewall
Terry Escamilla
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0471290009 |
Amazon.com
This superior text on computer security is extremely rich in information, based on experience, and a pleasure to read. In addition, the author is donating part of his royalties from this book to various charities--initially, a foundation that fights child abuse.
Escamilla begins by exploring intrusion prevention systems--firewalls, user authentication routines, and access controls--and telling how to properly set up such systems. He then describes mechanisms that identify and minimize damage caused by electronic break-ins once they occur. The author covers both system-level and network-level intrusion-detection systems, describing tools that attempt to catch not only outsiders who have broken in, but also legitimate system users who are up to no good.
Escamilla details several anti-intruder tools, including packet sniffers and vulnerability scanners. He describes a lot of Unix hacks and tells what you can do to prevent them from taking place on your systems. Other chapters focus on intrusions in Windows NT environments and what to do when your system is under attack. Escamilla closes with references to other sources. --David Wall
Book Description
A complete nuts-and-bolts guide to improving network security using today's best intrusion detection products
Firewalls cannot catch all of the hacks coming into your network. To properly safeguard your valuable information resources against attack, you need a full-time watchdog, ever on the alert, to sniff out suspicious behavior on your network. This book gives you the additional ammo you need. Terry Escamilla shows you how to combine and properly deploy today's best intrusion detection products in order to arm your network with a virtually impenetrable line of defense. He provides:
* Assessments of commercially available intrusion detection products: what each can and cannot do to fill the gaps in your network security
* Recommendations for dramatically improving network security using the right combination of intrusion detection products
* The lowdown on identification and authentication, firewalls, and access control
* Detailed comparisons between today's leading intrusion detection product categories
* A practical perspective on how different security products fit together to provide protection for your network
The companion Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/escamilla features: White papers
* Industry news
* Product information
Customer Reviews:
Buy the Northcutt book instead.......2000-01-30
This is just not a useful book. Half of the book is not about intrusion detection at all--it consists of an uninspiring general introduction to computer security.
The author apparently has no actual experience in the subject. It is filled with innaccuracies. Confusing 'hash value' with 'digital signature' is a common rookie mistake, but it is typical of the inexcusable lack of precision in this text.
Besides being misleading, off-subject, and out-of-date, it is deadly boring. If you want a hands-on book, get the Northcutt text. If you want an academic and useful theoretical approach, get Amoroso's book. If you want an introductory text on information security, why would you buy a book on IDS?
It is apparent that Wiley badly wanted to publish a book on intrusion detection, and the author was all too willing to squeeze his existing square peg of a security text into an ill-fitting IDS round hole.
Don't be fooled by the name of the book........1999-10-20
Look for somewhere else if you are serious about network security. The content of the whole book is just too superficial !
Jarringly unfocussed and inaccurate..........1999-08-13
I wanted to like this book, seeing as how I've made intrusion detection an important part of my career (the book spends a few pages discussing a paper I wrote), and there are no good offline resources on the subject. Unfortunately, I found little to appreciate in this book, which could have benefited greatly from better technical editing, a sharper concept of what its audience is, and (unfortunately) a better grounding in the subject matter.
The most important problem with this book will be obvious to most readers. Escamilla doesn't address the subject of intrusion detection until midway through the book, opting instead to fill the first half of the book with background information about computer security. This information is presented poorly (and with glaring inaccuracies). Almost all of it is covered better in other books, which readers unfamiliar with network security will need to buy anyways to make the intrusion detection concepts discussed in the latter half of the book accessible.
Unfortunately, the relevant half of the book isn't much better. A confused mish-mash of technologies are presented under the banner of I-D (I know of very few people in the security industry who consider security scanners to be I-D systems), and the most widely used forms of I-D are given scant coverage.
Worse still, the author profiles real commercial I-D systems (towards the end of the book). Apart from the fact that this information was unsalvageably outdated before the book made it to the press, it's also biased. Descriptions of one system span 3 pages, while another merits a single paragraph. Many important systems (which were widely known at the time of this book's release) are not covered at all. And, predictably, most of the details about the commercial systems covered read like marketing material, with almost no comparisons to the other systems covered.
Although this book is a mess, it's not an unrecoverable one. The authors descriptions of Do-It-Yourself intrusion detection on Unix systems is competant, if not revolutionary, and is almost reminiscent of Cheswick and Bellovin's work in _Firewalls_and_Internet_Security_. A better informed, more coherent second revision of this book would be worth looking at.
Unfortunately, there's very little to recommend this book. A critical and informed reader might get some value out of it, but nothing that couldn't be obtained more easily from the Internet. At its worst, however, this book can be misleading, and is thus an inappropriate introduction to its subject. Overall, a deeply flawed book. Steer clear.
Rambling and fragmented - of little use to novice or expert.......1999-04-16
Computer security is a subject that one either loves or loathes. To the lover, it is a stimulating, intellectual challenge. To the loather, it is based on boring, complicated maths with the sole aim of preventing users doing their job.
In such a world, any author of a book needs to decide whether to write their work at the techies, thus jumping straight in at the deep end, or the novice, offering a gentle primer that attracts the reader into the subject. The very best computer security books (Schneier; Stoll; Garfinkel and Spafford) have clearly attacked one path. The worst have headed off somewhere in between.
Escamilla has chosen the latter - with the usual, dire consequences. Aimed at `any computer literate person' the book is notionally divided into two parts, one to introduce basic concepts of computer security, and another to describe intrusion detection systems. However, neither part meets it aim. The first occupies more than 150 rambling and often inaccurate pages. Moreover, it strays into territory well beyond `any' person. For instance, ten pages are devoted to the Kerberos authentication protocol. Indeed, so long is the `introduction' that the author, almost apologetically, has to keep reminding the user that the book is about intrusion detection.
The second part fares little better. It forages around scanners, network sniffers, covert channels, Unix and NT adminstration, again under the apologetic guise of intrusion detection. Some intrusion detection systems are described - RealSecure, NetRanger and so on - but in a brief and fragmented manner, which offers little in the way of practical, consumer guidance. Possibly the worst aspect of the treatment is that no coverage is given to what a typical audit log looks like - which would at least help justify why intrusion detection systems are needed.
The most useful piece of advice offered in the book is not to consider buying an intrusion detection system if you haven't invested in more basic tools like a firewall. The most useful piece of advice that can be offered about the book is not to consider buying it.
Valuable help to the data security professional........1999-04-08
This is a book with a lot of content, capable to give valuable help to the data security professional. As often happens today, the title is somehow misleading, being in this case reductive in relation with the actual content. In fact, the first of the three parts the book is made of (half of the total 348 pages) is a good recap of traditional protection models. Identification, authentication, access control and auditing are covered, both conceptually and with reference to market available tools. The idea is to let the reader have a sound grasp of traditional devices before showing, in the second and third part, how Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are a complementary must to the traditional protection models. Both UNIX (various flavours) and NT operating systems are taken in account. The second part introduces IDS both working philosophy and practical usage. They are divided in three main categories: vulnerability assessment scanners, system level devices and network sniffers. Also in this case UNIX and NT scenarios are considered and several market leader tools are devised with a certain detail. Integration of IDS with traditional security functions (discussed in part 1) is covered. Despite all your accuracy in deploying a protection system (including IDS), you could be hit! The third part of the book introduces you in the incidents handling phase of the story, giving you advises about what to do and not to do in such not desirable event.
Average customer rating:
- Almost perfect....
- A valuable source of information
- excellent resource
- Great PIX reference
- A good book on Pix Platform
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Cisco(R) PIX (TM) Firewalls
Richard Deal
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Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Cisco Security Specialist's Guide to PIX Firewall
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Cisco PIX Firewalls: Configure, Manage, & Troubleshoot
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Cisco Cookbook
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Cisco Routers for the Desperate: Router Management, The Easy Way
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The Complete Cisco VPN Configuration Guide (Networking Technology)
ASIN: 0072225238 |
Book Description
Secure your mission-critical networks with the #1 leading firewall and this definitive guide. Featuring in-depth coverage of installation, configuration, and maintenance this book will show you how to protect your data from unauthorized users and hackers.
Customer Reviews:
Almost perfect...........2007-01-05
I bought this book because I needed to learn how to use the PIX Firewall for my company. My experience with configuring firewalls (Or any Cisco device) is extremely limited, so I needed a basic book that explains how to configure a PIX firewall (what the commands do, how traffic flows, and the consequences of your actions when configuring a firewall)
This book has helped me greatly in understanding how the PIX firewall works. After reading through it and using it as a study aid for my job, it has given me the knowledge to know what I need to look for when configuring my PIX Firewall.
Unfortunately, this book has many grammatical errors that leave you confused as to what the author is trying to describe. Also, alot of the errors make you question the validity and integrity of the author's knowledge on some of the configuration examples.
Example: The author has diagrams that lay out the network design of certain scenarios, using the diagram to explain what a company's public IP address is. Unfortunately no where on the diagram does it show the public IP address. In fact, in some examples, the IP address is completely different from what the author is describing.
In summary...
If you can except that there are going to be grammatical errors and possibly even conflicting examples described in the book. Then this book will help you greatly.
After reading this book and using it to take notes and actually 'study' for it, it has helped me greatly in understanding how to configure my PIX.
Personally.... I wish there was a book that simply layed out the commands needed to configure your PIX firewall a specific way. I'd rather get the firewall configured now, and then understand how it works later.
A valuable source of information.......2005-09-12
Its contents is the best I was able to find for a relatively novice. It covers all areas with examples and diagrams that complement the explanations. A must have for newbies.
excellent resource.......2005-07-29
It gave a great for overview for beginners and yet still has good information to be kept as a reference. He also has over 100 additional pages of info on his website. Great Buy
Great PIX reference.......2005-02-07
This is a great book on how to use the Cisco PIX firewall.
Even though Cisco has great documentation, there is still a lot you can learn about PIX, and this book show you how.
A good book on Pix Platform.......2004-04-14
Complete strudy on Pix platform but there isn't a part on the Blade in Cat6500 Device based on pix tech.
Book Description
Harden perimeter routers with Cisco firewall functionality and features to ensure network security
- Detect and prevent denial of service (DoS) attacks with TCP Intercept, Context-Based Access Control (CBAC), and rate-limiting techniques
- Use Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR) to detect and filter unwanted and malicious traffic
- Use router authentication to prevent spoofing and routing attacks
- Activate basic Cisco IOS filtering features like standard, extended, timed, lock-and-key, and reflexive ACLs to block various types of security threats and attacks, such as spoofing, DoS, Trojan horses, and worms
- Use black hole routing, policy routing, and Reverse Path Forwarding (RPF) to protect against spoofing attacks
- Apply stateful filtering of traffic with CBAC, including dynamic port mapping
- Use Authentication Proxy (AP) for user authentication
- Perform address translation with NAT, PAT, load distribution, and other methods
- Implement stateful NAT (SNAT) for redundancy
- Use Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to protect against basic types of attacks
- Obtain how-to instructions on basic logging and learn to easily interpret results
- Apply IPSec to provide secure connectivity for site-to-site and remote access connections
- Read about many, many more features of the IOS firewall for mastery of router security
The Cisco IOS firewall offers you the feature-rich functionality that you've come to expect from best-of-breed firewalls: address translation, authentication, encryption, stateful filtering, failover, URL content filtering, ACLs, NBAR, and many others. Cisco Router Firewall Security teaches you how to use the Cisco IOS firewall to enhance the security of your perimeter routers and, along the way, take advantage of the flexibility and scalability that is part of the Cisco IOS Software package.
Each chapter in Cisco Router Firewall Security addresses an important component of perimeter router security. Author Richard Deal explains the advantages and disadvantages of all key security features to help you understand when they should be used and includes examples from his personal consulting experience to illustrate critical issues and security pitfalls. A detailed case study is included at the end of the book, which illustrates best practices and specific information on how to implement Cisco router security features.
Whether you are looking to learn about firewall security or seeking how-to techniques to enhance security in your Cisco routers, Cisco Router Firewall Security is your complete reference for securing the perimeter of your network.
This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent reference for securing Cisco Routers.......2006-02-23
The two things I like most about this book are the lack of typos, and the chapter structure, in which each successive chapter builds on the security and lessons preened from previous chapters. A great Cisco router security reference.
Best-of-class book at implementing security on Cisco routers - check it out for the CCIE!.......2006-02-06
CiscoPress's "Cisco Router Firewall Security" by Richard Deal is designed as a book to secure perimeter routers. It is both a practical (and much needed) CiscoPress guide on how to harden a key piece of the network AND an excellent tool for any potential CCIE candidate (either for the Security and R&S lab). On pretty-much every page are either detailed diagrams or complex configurations discussing the topic at hand.
The other reviews of this book all comment from a security perspective, and I cannot hope to add anything new to these reviews (especially Richard Bejtlich's review). I can comment from the perspective as someone studying for the CCIE. In Parts 3 and 4, the book dives into the different types of ACLs that you may encounter on the lab. Reflexive ACLs, CBAC (Content-Based Access Control), and NBAR (Network-Based Application Recognition) are each given their own chapter and fully explained in depth (something not replicated in other CiscoPress books - I own over 50 CiscoPress books). I particularly like the discussion on page 308 on how best to counter a Smurf Attack. Chapter 13 on Lock-and-Key ACLs is also a valuable must-read for any potential CCIE candidates. In chapter 17, on page 679, is a great discussion on how to counter a TCP SYN flood attack.
Overall, I think "Cisco Router Firewall Security" is the best CiscoPress book published that discusses best-practices for securing Cisco routers. Too be honest, I am kind of surprised I do not see more 'noise' on this book (either from reviews here or on the CCIE list at Groupstudy.com). I have to believe it is from the title, as the title almost implies that this is a firewall book. That is too bad, as this is an excellent book for any network admin concerned about security. Weighing in at over 850 pages, this book will take some time to digest, but will be well worth the effort!
I give this book 5 pings out of 5:
!!!!!
An indispensable instructional reference.......2005-10-06
In Cisco Router Firewall Security, computer security expert Richard Deal provides truly indepth, step-by-step coverage on just how to configure a Cisco router to secure access to it. Cisco Router Firewall Security deftly explains how to use IOS routers as a firewall solution for protecting a data network from outsiders, especially hackers. Each part of Cisco Router Firewall Security addresses a specific type of technology or security issue and covers the IOS features both old and new that can be used to implement each security feature. Cisco Router Firewall Security is an indispensable instructional reference.
Just what a technical Cisco book should cover.......2005-05-19
I really enjoyed reading Cisco Router Firewall Security (CRFS) by Richard Deal. This book delivers just what a technical Cisco book should: discussion of concepts, explanation of command syntax, and practical examples. The author offers several ways to solve a security problem and then recommends his preferred choice. He correctly leans towards applying cryptography when available and avoids clear-text authentication methods or control channels. If you avoid the first chapter and keep a few minor caveats in mind, I would consider CRFS to be a five-star book.
CRFS covers all of the major technologies I hoped to see in a book on Cisco security functions. Though published in August 2004, it manages to provide details on the newest Cisco IOS features that contemporary books often ignore. For example, the author emphasizes the benefits of configuring SSH access, and not only SSHv1; he explains that SSHv2 is preferred. I found the book's coverage of access control lists to be very clear, and I appreciated the author's discussions of strengths and weaknesses of different ACL types. Mr. Deal is also very conscious of the load placed on the router whenever higher-end security features or traffic inspection is invoked. His warnings provide operational insights to using IOS security features. Beginning with chapter 3, each section presented just the information I needed to implement various security features.
I gave CRFS four stars, and not five, because I found some of the author's perceptions of security to be confusing or sometimes wrong. He repeats at least five times the oft-quoted but never substantiated myth that "70 percent of network attacks" are internal. This is completely backwards, according to CSI/FBI and Secret Service studies that say around 70 percent of attacks are caused by outsiders. While some of the most devastating incidents are indeed perpetrated by insiders, the majority of attacks continue to be launched from outside the security perimeter. While this point may not seem that significant, it is not a solid footing on which the author can justify certain security recommendations.
While reading CRFS I also sensed that neither the author nor his technical editors were security professionals. I do not mean that they do not or have not handled security incidents. In fact, several of Mr. Deal's stories explicitly and properly address intrusions and other events. Rather, I sensed the author and his team were networking professionals first, with security duties tacked on. For example, p. 8 lists applications, the OS, and network infrastructure as "threats to your company's network." These have vulnerabilities -- they are not threats. On p. 28 Mr. Deal says "SSL can protect only web application traffic," but this is wrong. Pages 31-33 lists "some of the most common" DoS attacks, but the explanations there of chargen and ping of death attacks are wrong. WinNuke, a Windows DoS exploit from 1997, is also listed! Page 94 says "IDS solutions are still in their infancy," although they have been deployed for over 10 years. These and related security misperceptions made me believe a person with a primary security role should have reviewed CRFS.
It is easy to overlook these security faux pas, however. CRFS does a better job describing some security issues than other security-focused books. For example, I found the coverage of the effects of DoS attacks upon a router to be better than books specifically written about DoS! Mr. Deal frequently advocates monitoring as a way to know what is happening on the network, and I found his IDS deployment guidance to be sound.
To the extend I could evaluate Mr. Deal's discussion of Cisco features, I believe they are correct. One notable exception involves using the established keyword with ACLs. On p. 269 and elsewhere, the author claims "the established keyword looks to see if the ACK, FIN, PSH, RST, SYN, or URG TCP control flags are set. If they are, the TCP traffic is allowed in." This is incorrect; established looks for only the ACK or RST flags. This is not a major concern as other filtering options provide better defense anyway.
Overall, I consider CRFS to be an excellent piece of work. I am adding it to my recommended reading lists and I strongly suggest than anyone using Cisco routers in their perimeter read and heed this book. Keep an eye out for Mr. Deal's next book on building VPNs with Cisco gear.
Arm yourself--secure and defend your network!.......2005-04-03
Cisco Router Firewall Security by Richard A. Deal is one firewall security book no networking professional should be without. The book begins with an overview on network security and firewalls, and continues with a showcase of Deal's extensive knowledge and experience configuring the Cisco IOS Firewall. Now, rather than re-inventing the wheel or relying on trial and error practices in configuring your Cisco IOS firewalls, you too can incorporate Deal's extensive Cisco Router Firewall Security expertise into your network security plan, or environment. In each chapter of the book, Deal walks you through best practice Cisco Router Firewall Security configuration as he explains and demonstrates, step-by-step, how to program the Cisco IOS Firewall feature set-from router security management to virtual private networking.
Networking professionals having an intermediate to advanced knowledge of Cisco routers, or at least a Cisco CCNA certification will benefit immensely from reading and applying the Cisco IOS firewall security features discussed in the book. All concepts and examples, such as configuration command files, are clearly explained against the backdrop of example network illustrations and thus easy to follow. Deal reinforces each and every illustration with appropriate, well-executed discussions for you to follow as he pin-points the reasons for implementing, or applying, Cisco IOS firewall security and how best to configure it for maximum advantage.
For networking professionals interested in pursuing a Cisco security certification, Cisco Router Firewall Security provides a wealth of tips, recommendations, considerations and cautions. While there is no CD-ROM included with the book, an abundance of configuration command file listings provide network administrators and engineers the opportunity of a virtual experience in the nuts-and-bolts of configuring Cisco IOS firewalls in a secure manner. Networking professionals will develop an unparalleled depth of understanding in best practice network security-such as properly securing the various modes and methods of accessing Cisco routers as well as the Cisco IOS firewall.
On a scale of 1 - 5, 5 being the highest, and in terms of usefulness and practical application, Cisco Router Firewall Security easily rates a 5. Network engineers and administrators will benefit immensely from this handbook of network security: from the illustrations showing where and why network security should be applied, the index which is strictly focused on cross-referencing network security topics, and the solid network security advice that reaches beyond Cisco-centric networking environments. Future books by Deal, as well as his previous book, PIX Firewalls, will undoubtedly prove to be excellent reading for the networking community at large seeking to increase the security of their networks and to ward off ever-increasing network attacks and intrusions.
If shooting from the hip in dealing with network security issues is your stick, Cisco Router Firewall Security is the book for you. Cisco Router Firewall Security provides a smorgasbord of tried and tested network security process, procedure and application-providing a comprehensive set of tools and case study material that can be either adapted in whole or in part when making your case, or justifying, how you intend to protect or defend your network against attacks.
Without question, you absolutely must add Deal's Cisco Router Firewall Security-a stellar treatise on both applied network security and applied firewall security-to your networking bookshelf. Arm yourself with the necessary knowledge, skills and practical application to secure and defend your network-and in essence your job-or else, you're fired!
Book Description
Assessment, review, and practice for CCSP SNPA exam 642-522
The official study guide helps you master all the topics on the SNPA exam, including:
- Firewall technologies
- Cisco Security Appliance translation and connection
- Access control configuration
- Modular policy framework
- Security contexts
- Syslog
- Routing protocol support
- Failover
- Virtual private networks (VPN)
- Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM)
- Content filtering
- Authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) configuration
- Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) and advanced protocol handling
CCSP SNPA Official Exam Certification Guide, Third Edition, is a best-of-breed Cisco® exam study guide that focuses specifically on the objectives for the Securing Networks with PIX and ASA (SNPA) exam. Network security consultant, Michael Gibbs, shares preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve your knowledge of firewall and Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) security. Material is presented in a concise manner, focusing on increasing your understanding and retention of exam topics.
This guide presents you with an organized test preparation routine through the use of proven series elements and techniques. “Do I Know This Already?” quizzes open each chapter and allow you to decide how much time you need to spend on each section. Exam topic lists and Foundation Summary tables make referencing easy and give you a quick refresher whenever you need it. Challenging chapter-ending review questions help you assess your knowledge and reinforce key concepts.
The companion CD-ROM contains a powerful testing engine that allows you to focus on individual topic areas or take complete, timed exams. The assessment engine also tracks your performance and provides feedback on a module-by-module basis, presenting question-by-question remediation to the text.
Well-regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, and challenging review questions and exercises, this book helps you master the concepts and techniques that will enable you to succeed on the exam the first time.
CCSP SNPA Official Exam Certification Guide, Third Edition, is part of a recommended learning path from Cisco Systems® 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, visit www.cisco.com/go/authorizedtraining.
Companion CD-ROM
The CD-ROM contains an electronic copy of the book and more than 200 practice questions for the SNPA exam, all available in study mode, test mode, and flash card format.
This volume is part of the Exam Certification Guide Series from Cisco Press®. Books in this series provide officially developed exam preparation materials that offer assessment, review, and practice to help Cisco Career Certification candidates identify weaknesses, concentrate their study efforts, and enhance their confidence as exam day nears.
Customer Reviews:
A worthwhile study guide.......2006-11-29
People studying for Cisco certification exams have always been able to get solid study guides directly from Cisco Press. Like its brethren, the third edition of the CCSP SNPA will give the student a well-mapped path for preparing for the certification exam.
The book, like the exam, covers the configuration and functionality of PIX 500 series firewalls and the ASA 5500 series Adaptive Security Appliances. It begins with chapters in network security and firewall technologies in general, then describes Cisco's technologies in particular. Subsequent chapters deal with controlling access; failover; VPNs; authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA); and intrusion protection functions together with rarer protocols. The book teaches concepts and CLI commands first and only gets to the use of the GUI, the Adaptive Security Device Manager (ADSM), later. It ends with a case study that brings everything together.
Each chapter begins with a set of multiple choice questions to enable readers to determine whether they know the material well enough to skip the chapter. Each chapter ends end with a summary section and another set of questions to reinforce what the student has just learned. These require short answers rather than simply choosing or guessing the right one. Students who can provide the answer to these without looking them up can be confident that they have mastered the material.
The book is not perfect. The vocabulary used for the overview of network security will be strange to many: how many people refer to vertical and horizontal scans, for instance? That may be less a problem with this book than with Cisco, but the difficulty created is needless.
One chapter, on VPNs, has a scenario, complete with fill-in-the-blank configurations, that may be as close to hands-on as a reader can get without opening a command prompt. Similar exercises to accompany other chapters would have been useful.
Some concepts could use fuller explanations. RIP and OSPF and the differences between link status and distance vector routing protocols in an early chapter, and then voice over IP protocols later are only touched on. As this is not a book on routing or VOIP, the editors may have considered it wasteful to spend more ink on these topics, but at least a reference or two to go to for fuller explanations would be welcome to many readers.
As with most Cisco books, the prose style is serviceable and generally clear. It gets the job done. Unfortunately, the text is marred by sporadic explosions of typos, which occur just frequently enough to be slightly jarring.
The CD-ROM contains an electronic copy of the book, copies of chapters of other Cisco Press books, a printable version of the appendix with the questions that appear in the text with their answers, and a test engine with 281 questions. The last is from BOSON, long the standard for CISCO practice tests. The questions include those from the text and 98 more. With the questions divided among 19 categories, this is a minimal amount that many will find inadequate, but more questions can be purchased through a link found on the CD.
Full disclosure compels me to note that I received my copy of this book as part of the Cisco Press Reader Review Program.
Good book with tons of errors.......2006-10-22
It's a very good written book, but the shame is: too many errors in the book. And the worse part is, in ciscopress site, the errota didn't include any of them. The "Do I know This already Quiz" is terriblly written, and the answer keys are wrong all the time. Very funny the end of Chapter Q&A, same question, but the answer is one that's deemed to be wrong in the "Do I know this Already Quiz". The end of Chapter Q&A normally is the right answer.
Another ridiculous part is: For example, a question with for choices, A state this, B state that, D says both A and B correct. for this kind of question, the answer key sometime is ABD, sometime is AB, sometime is D. You got the point both A and B are right, but when you check the keys, you found you got wrong answer, it's super annoying.
Another major drawback of the questions is: too many trivial questions, like which model has how many interfaces etc. Is this really the purpose of this exam? and the answer seems to be yes. Because I just took the exam, passed it, and I saw a lot of such questions in real exam. Why should we mechanically memorize those models?
Title........2006-09-06
This book only seems to prepare for about half the SNPA test and offer a lot of other information that's nice to know but not needed. One thing people might want to study is the stuff that has only one sentence written about it. For instance, that's great 5 pages might be written on phase 1 and 2 for VPN set up, but if there's one sentence written about how the "nat" command affects anything at all to do with VPN, study that.
A top pick students will appreciate.......2006-07-03
The updated third edition of the Cisco Press edition of CCSP SNPA Official Exam Certification Guide (1587201526 $59.95) is a 'must' study guide for any interested in the exam. Network security consultant Michael Gibbs shares preparation tips and test-taking tips and points out common areas of weakness and places where refresher information comes in handy. The companion cd-rom offers a testing engine for either individual topic areas or the overall, timed exams and allows readers to self-test their knowledge, while chapters survey VPS remote configuration, Cisco access control servers, and more. A top pick students will appreciate.
New Third Edition Covers the Latest Test.......2006-05-19
As anyone who has ever experienced a virus or network break in clearly understands, network security has become a major part of the management of any network that is exposed to the outside world. And I doubt that there is a major network anywhere that doesn't have at least some Cisco equipment. To go with the Cisco equipment has come an examination based certification procedure. This began with the CCSP (Cisco Certified Secure PIX firewall). As the equipment has progressed so has the examination. This book covers the current SNPA (Secure Network PIX ASA) exam, 642-522.
This third edition of this book builds on the successful format established with the earlier editions. Each chapter begins with a 'Do I Know This Already?' quiz. If you know the answers to these questions, you can skip or at least minimize your study of this chapter.
If you decide to study the chapter it is organized with a tell them what you're going to tell them, then tell them, then, tell them what you've told them and conclude with another quiz.
The CD supplied with the book contains an electronic copy of this book. (which I find very helpful to use on airplanes where I have to carry a laptop PC but can leave the heavy book at home.) There is also an electronic testing engine with a sample of the exam with more than 200 questions in various formats to prep you for the real test.
The earlier editions have develped an excellent reputation for successfully passing the exam. There is every reason to believe that this will continue with the current book.
Average customer rating:
- If you only get one book on Squid, ...
- Guides this good are extremely rare
- This book is awesome!!!
- "The" book for Squid
- Well Worth The Wait
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Squid: The Definitive Guide
Duane Wessels
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
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ASIN: 0596001622 |
Book Description
Squid is the most popular Web caching software in use today, and it works on a variety of platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows. Squid improves network performance by reducing the amount of bandwidth used when surfing the Web. It makes web pages load faster and can even reduce the load on your web server. By caching and reusing popular web content, Squid allows you to get by with smaller network connections. It also protects the host on your internal network by acting as a firewall and proxying your internal web traffic. You can use Squid to collect statistics about the traffic on your network, prevent users from visiting inappropriate web sites at work or school, ensure that only authorized users can surf the Internet, and enhance your privacy by filtering sensitive information from web requests. Companies, schools, libraries, and organizations that use web-caching proxies can look forward to a multitude of benefits. Written by Duane Wessels, the creator of Squid, Squid: The Definitive Guide will help you configure and tune Squid for your particular situation. Newcomers to Squid will learn how to download, compile, and install code. Seasoned users of Squid will be interested in the later chapters, which tackle advanced topics such as high-performance storage options, rewriting requests, HTTP server acceleration, monitoring, debugging, and troubleshooting Squid. Topics covered include:
- Compiling and installing Squid
- Running Squid
- Using Squid's sophisticated access controls
- Tuning disk storage for optimal performance
- Configuring your operating system for HTTP interception
- Forwarding Requests to other web caches
- Using redirectors to rewrite user requests
- Monitoring Squid with the cache manager and SNMP
- Using Squid to accelerate and protect HTTP servers
- Managing bandwidth consumption with Delay Pools
Customer Reviews:
If you only get one book on Squid, ..........2007-08-12
then get this one. I learned enough about the reasons for using it and also how to configure it to authenticate against an LDAP server.
Well worth getting and keeping on your shelf.
Guides this good are extremely rare.......2006-01-14
This guide will pay for itself many times over. If you are considering a caching server for home, office or business you need this book.
My previous experience with proxies was MS proxy server 2.0 and I was a little apprehensive of this project; not to worry. Forty six pages into the book, squid was running; total time invested including installation of the program was about 2 hrs.
Another two hours of reading and precious few changes to config files and my log files are rotating, all ports I need exposed are open and the rest are hidden. I have already been able to tune squid to accelerate delivery of content using *only* this book as a guide. I haven't even had to look at the online documentation for squid (the first time I ever recall that happening).
Not only is my internet connection now available to all users, but also every one is browsing faster than they were before on single dedicated dial ups.
I can't say enough good things about the book or the program. In 14 years of networking I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. This is one of those rare guides whose author is extremely knowlegable and the material presentation is flawless. I have a large computer science library and in my experience, it doesn't get any better than this.
Bravo Mr. Wessels!
This book is awesome!!!.......2005-01-28
For the new comer I recommend to buy this book if your finding an alternative for Microsoft box like ISA or MSProxy 2.0.
Squid is robost and a very stable Proxy Server, you can use it even in Entreprise consumption..trust me I use it since 2001.
If your looking for technical books or documents about Squid, this is the one your looking for...
"The" book for Squid.......2004-05-25
Squid: The Definitive Guide by Duane Wessels is a great book for someone with aspirations of setting up and getting the most out of Squid. It is lengthy at just over 400 pages, but that is to be expected and desired in O'Reilly's "The Definitive Guide" series. One point worth mentioning is that Duane Wessels (the author, for those with short synaptic cycles) is the one who started Squid and still works on it today. Each chapter builds nicely on subsequent chapters, so there isn't any skipping around. If you're just looking to set it and forget it, this book is probably not for you. Otherwise, read on.
The first three chapters are pretty basic: history of Squid, downloading then installing. For those with no concern of going through downloading and installing, there is a nice section describing each configure switch and, while weighing in at a healthy 48 options, it may be helpful to have this as a reference.
Chapter Four, Configuration Guide For the Eager, is an often desired, but often left out chapter in technical books. By just reading chapters one through four, it is possible to have a fully functional setup of Squid, albeit not very secure or ready for the pounding of the masses. You will, however, begin to understand how Squid operates. This chapter discusses the most often used settings, such as: minimum/maximum size of cached objects, log files and ACLs to restrict addresses, etc.
Chapter Five, Running Squid, covers what you expect. It includes such topics as, boot scripts, chrooting and rotating log files. Again, basic stuff, but necessary for the sake of completeness.
Chapter Six, All About Access Controls, covers one of Squid's major powers and attractions, access controls. ACLs give the administrator extremely fine-grained tuning. Some of the choice highlights for limiting access to addresses/domains include, but not limited to: filter by subnet, MAC, IP address or administrator assigned group. Furthermore, regular expressions can be used to filter URLs or URIs. A most likely seldom used, but very cool, feature is the ability to filter by BGP AS (Border Gateway Protocol Autonomous System) numbers. HTTP request methods such as POST, PUT, DELETE, etc. can also be filtered. Filtering by time or restricting access by user name is also supported. Each topic is assiduously explained and leaves little to be desired.
Chapters Seven and Eight cover disk caching with chapter Seven being basic material and then Eight covering more advanced topics. Discussions on object pruning, size limits, cache replacement policies and many other cache optimizations are covered in these chapters and are necessary to thoroughly understand if you are situated in a relatively large environment or just want to squeeze every bit of performance from your Squid.
Chapter Nine, Interception Caching, covers transparent proxying. This chapter discusses the benefits (no need to configure clients) and drawbacks (cannot do user authentication) of implementing such a system. It then goes on to discuss how to configure Alteon/Nortel, Foundry, Extreme Networks, Arrowpoint, iptables, pf and ipfw to perform the routing to the Squid box.
Chapter ten, Talking to other Squids
Scalability is another favorable attribute of Squid. Running in parallel with previous chapters, this chapter details the advantages (load balancing and increasing your cache hits) and the disadvantages (security problems with having to trust neighboring Squids) of a caching hierarchy. In addition, it explains how to configure connect timeouts and other tweaks to keep Squids aware of when their siblings are down.
Chapter eleven, Redirectors, covers another great attribute of Squid. Redirectors can be used, among other possibilities, to remove advertisements in web pages or rewrite client requests based on their given URL or URI. This chapter details how they work, from a protocol level, and provides example configuration settings such as sending only specific users through the redirector or conversely, letting specific users bypass the redirector altogether.
Squid can be configured to use various user authentication methods to allow or deny access. Chapter Twelve, Authentication Helpers, covers these options. Squid can talk HTTP Basic, HTTP Digest and NTLM. Each type is well explained in how it works and detailed in how to setup.
Chapter Thirteen and Fourteen fully explain logging and monitoring. The logging chapter explains the type of information each log file catches, a full description of each error or information type (which is a great reference that I made full use of) and configuration directives that change what is logged or how it is logged. Monitoring Squid covers the Squid Cache Manger (A web front-end to many great statistics), a brief mention of using Squid-RRD and using SNMP. Such monitoring statistics include, file descriptor allocation, byte hit ratios, cache hits and cache misses and a wealth of other useful information.
Chapter Fifteen, Server Accelerator Mode, explains Server Accelerator Mode, which is also known as Surrogate Mode. It is a neat trick where Squid stills runs as a proxy, however, the Squid server is proxying the world (or a select few) to your server. One obvious advantage includes performance (or Slashdot hardening if you will). There are several config directives explained here as well as some gotchas.
Chapter Sixteen, Debugging, is the is one of the few chapters that I did not need to reference. Although, if you need to, there is some good information provided.
Appendix A comes with a config file reference that actually provides more information then the comments in the configuration file (Holy moley!...they better trademark that idea before other authors catch on!).
Appendix B briefly covers memory caching and optimization.
Appendix C shows how to use delay pools to limit user bandwidth.
Appendix D details file system performance benchmarks to show you filesystem and operating system differences.
Appendix E discusses running Squid on Windows using Cygwin.
Appendix F covers auto configuration of Squid clients to avoid needing to physically visit the many machines you administer.
In conclusion:
Pros: This is "The Book" for Squid. No skipping from chapter to chapter, the author was also the designer and still one of the maintainers, fuller descriptions of the configuration file directives that the configuration file comments. It is a great reference.
Cons: Really the only thing that I didn't like was that he only discussed HTTP proxying. There is a brief mention of FTP and SMTP, but only a couple of sentences. To be fair, in the preface he did mention that he would would of liked to written on these topics but didn't have time.
Well Worth The Wait.......2004-03-02
Back in 1998 when I was running my own ISP, Squid was a lifesaver because it allowed me to provide excellent web response to customers over a very modest upstream connection.
When I moved on to consulting Squid was the answer to a wide variety of client problems from employee Internet access control (Redirectors) to company website performance (Server Accelerator Mode) to plain old web page load times (Proxy Cache).
Now that I've moved in-house in a large corporation (30,000+ employees) and I've found out what commercial vendors are charging for their solutions to each of these problems, I have gladly used my knowledge of Squid to save us money.
Of course, that knowledge was not easily won, at least not for me. Because Squid was an open source project there was a lot of information available on the Web, but, of course, because Squid was an open source project, it was hard to find a definitive answer to my particular problem without asking a lot of dumb questions on newsgroups or making a lot of trial and error attempts tweaking compile time options, system changes and configuration file settings.
I have waited for this book for a long time.
I was concerned that it might be too detailed to be readable. Thankfully, Duane Wessels, the primary architect of Squid , has laid out this book to provide simple access at the Macro level. The chapter arrangement and organization are very intuitive. And yet the book still contains enough information to satisfy almost every question.
The one caveat I would make to a reader is to maintain situational awareness while delving into a chapter because, without noticing it, you can suddenly be confronted with pages and pages of configuration file details. There's no avoiding it, when a book says `Definitive Guide' on the cover you expect to have full coverage. It's just that the book is so lucidly written that the transition from high-level discussions to detailed facts might catch you un-aware.
And, really, it's that kind of feeling that lets you know that you're reading a very valuable text. I spent the first hour after I got this book skimming each chapter, happy at each additional topic I discovered. Then I went back and asked it the two hardest questions I have faced using Squid over the past year, in each case the answer was easily found and fully explained (Mr. Wessels deserves an award for making transparent proxying understandable).
The wait for this book was well worth it. I highly recommend it to any person working with, or thinking about working with, Squid.
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