High Availability Networking
with Cisco

Authored by Vincent C. Jones
Published by Addison-Wesley

This book is now out of print. To purchase a copy you can follow this link to Amazon.com or ask your favorite bookseller for ISBN 0-201-70455-2. We also try to keep a few extra copies on hand here, so if you would like a personally inscribed copy contact the author directly at his email address below.

Follow these links to see a picture of the Front Cover, the Table of Contents, and the Preface. Also available are a Detailed Table of Contents and plain text Listings of all the example configurations in the book (plus a few that are not in the book).

The Errata page contains important information on typographical and other errors found in the text. It also inlcudes reader suggestions for improvements to the designs presented in the book.

Your feedback on the book is welcome. Comments and suggestions can be emailed to the author at v.jones@NetworkingUnlimited.com. Questions are best answered on USENET in news group comp.dcom.sys.cisco.

About the book

Keeping a network continuously available despite the many potential hazards that can shut it down is a job that network implementors and technical managers struggle with every day. High Availability Networking with Cisco shows those charged with that increasingly important task how to achieve higher network availability both in theory and in practice. Using a divide-and-conquer approach, each chapter dissects the general need of high availability network design. The specific challenges and available solutions for each need are first discussed on a theoretical level. When appropriate, one or more implementation examples are presented, showing how the theory translates into working Cisco router configurations.

Although the examples use Cisco routers, the underlying theory is vendor-independent, and most of the solutions presented easily can be adapted to routers and switches from any vendor. Similarly, the theoretical aspects discussed in this book can be applied to networks of all sizes and technologies. Sample solutions focus on the needs of moderately sized extended corporate networks using IP version 4.0 and stable performance technologies such as frame relay, ISDN, and Ethernet. Readers will find an invaluable survey of all aspects of high availability network design, including the following:
    Network vulnerabilities and appropriate counter measures
    Selecting and tuning bridging and routing protocols for higher availability
    Multihomed hosts from individual client-to-server clusters
    Dial backup over asynchronous and ISDN links
    Single points of failure despite multiple routers at a single site
    Hub and spokes design approaches that scale
    Linking to another private network
    Multiple links to one or more Internet service providers
    Alternate routing through redundant firewalls without sacrificing security
    Supporting legacy systems using Data Link Switching (DLSw)
    Disaster-recovery options, including hot backup and load sharing approaches
    Management considerations ranging from status monitoring to total quality control