Ten (10) Must read books for Network Design Professionals

Everybody believes and says that books are your best friends and trust me, if you are on the path doing something or anything into solutions arena. Definitely books are going to be your best friend. In 10 years of my career, I got a chance to read around 700 books (See I have a good library) - Technology, Business case studies, my course books, Novels, Fiction whatever... and every time I finish a book, It definitely carries something worth learning.

While pursuing my solutions designing career, I got lucky to read plenty of books and today I am sharing the list of books which really added more than value to my knowledge and my life.


Top Down Network Design
I would call this book as a starter before your main course but this book has the capabilities to satisfy your hunger for the Network Designing knowhow. This books tells you everything about basic of network designing to advances of network designing, questions to be asked before designing a solutions, formats to record the answers, ways to perform your analysis and formats to record their answers to. I personally learnt solution designing from this book. This book will truly serve you as a "Swiss Army Knife"

Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures (ARCH)
If you are a Cisco fan boy/Girl and networking means Cisco to you. This could be a very good book for you. This provide with something of everything sort of information and this will also prepare you for the CCDP certification.

Optimum Routing Designs
I read a management book called “Good to Great by Jim Collins” and he said good is enemy of great. In the similar way Sub-Optimal is enemy of Optimal. Russ White had tried to put in everything, what he could to explain the working of all of the routing protocols, various use cases, there pros & cons and lot more. If you love playing with traffic and routing is your passion. Trust Me, This book is going to your new Bible.

Definitive MPLS Network Designs
Definitive MPLS Network Designs provides examples of how to combine key technologies at the heart of IP/MPLS networks. Techniques are presented through a set of comprehensive design studies. Each design study is based on characteristics and objectives common to a given profile of network operators having deployed MPLS and discusses all the corresponding design aspects. Following these are details of all aspects of the network design, covering VPN, QoS, TE, network recovery, and—where applicable—multicast, IPv6, and Pseudowire.

Routing TCP/IP Vol II (CCIE Professional Development)
This book has been around for years now and is an obvious first choice for anybody appearing for CCIE exams. This book is a very close competitor of “Optimum Routing Designs” but it focuses more on the working & behavior of protocols rather than their use cases. This book can turn you a hardliner.

BGP Design & Implementation

Those who love BGP will love this book too. This provides you with the practical guidelines for designing and deploying a scalable BGP routing architecture.  Starting with basics of BGP this book finishes up by closely looking at the more recent extensions to BGP through Multi-Protocol BGP for MPLS-VPN, IP Multicast, IPv6, and CLNS. Also this book had contributed in most of my articles on BGP.

Building Resilient IP Networks

This book has everything to get you thinking & talking about Availability, Uptime, IP SLA, Mission Critical Data, Quality of Service etc. Building Resilient IP Networks is relevant to both enterprise and service provider customers of all sizes. Regardless of whether the network connects to the Internet, fortifying IP networks for maximum uptime and prevention of attacks is mandatory for anyone’s business.

OSPF Network Design Solutions, 2nd Edition

OSPF is technology suite in itself. I personally believe that OSPF is the most complex routing protocol I had ever studied but you don’t have worry because this book has the capabilities to simplify it for you. This book will make you understand how OSPF operates, how to configure and troubleshoot this important protocol, and most importantly how to design a network that uses OSPF.

Layer 2 VPN Architectures

Atom, L2TPv3, MPLS. LDP, ISP/CLEC, pseudowire etc. were the terms which use to scare me prior to reading this book. This book has enormous potential to simplify complex architectures and contains amazing case studies all Layer 2 technologies transported using AToM and L2TPv3 pseudowires, including Ethernet, Ethernet VLAN, HDLC, PPP, Frame Relay, ATM AAL5 and ATM cells, and advanced topics relevant to Layer 2 VPN deployment, such as QoS and scalability.

Advanced MPLS Design and Implementation

As the name suggests Advanced MPLS Design and Implementation is your guide to understanding, designing, and implementing MPLS VPNs, WAN-switched MPLS VPNs, MPLS traffic engineering, and MPLS QoS.

Few more recommended reads -

• Fault-Tolerant IP and MPLS Networks
• Troubleshooting IP Routing Protocols
• End-to-End QoS Network Design: Quality of Service in LANs, WANs, and VPNs 
• Network Management Fundamentals
• Voice-Enabling the Data Network: H.323, MGCP, SIP, QoS, SLAs, and Security (IP Communications)

Apart from all these books, one should always use SRND guides & product specific solution guides provided by Cisco. These guides are really amazing and open your mind toward using the products in unexplored avenues.

Guys “sharing is caring”, Please do share the names of the books which helped you enhance your skills.

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Aruba Instant Overview (Autonomous AP)

Aruba Instant uses Virtual Controller technology to deliver enterprise-grade WLAN capabilities — including robust security, performance, and scalability.. It is easily deployed  to an existing wired LAN in just a few minutes, eliminating the need for IT to redesign or modify the wired infrastructure.The Aruba Instant WLAN is comprised of multiple 802.11n APs – which offer greater speed, coverage and reliability.

A group of up to 16 Aruba Instant APs can be managed by a single Ap designated as a Virtual Contoller. Multiple Virtual Controller networks can be centrally managed with Aruba AirWave management System.

The Aruba Instant product family consists of seven different APs – IAP-134, IAP-135, IAP-104,

IAP-105, IAP-92, IAP-93 and the outdoor IAP-175.

• IAP 134-135 :- For Extreme high Density Environments
• IAP 104-105 :- For Moderate high Density Environments
• IAP 92-93     :- For Low Density Environments
• IAP 175         :- For Outdoor High Density Environments

Aruba Instant Configuration:-

Aruba Instant Offering over-the-air provisioning, there’s no need to modify an IP address to configure Aruba Instant. Just power up and connect an Aruba Instant AP to the LAN, and open a PC browser to automatically access the Aruba Instant user interface login page.

From this web-based interface, the user can assign SSIDs, and select authentication mechanisms. The entire set up takes less than five minutes.

To configure additional Aruba Instant APs, simply connect and power them up. The first configured AP automatically becomes a primary Aruba Instant Virtual Controller and configures all the other APs.

Aruba Instant is a fully distributed architecture. In the event of a primary Virtual Controller failure, another Aruba Instant AP automatically takes on the role with no disruption. The primary Virtual Controller operates like any other Aruba Instant AP with full WLAN functionality

Aruba IAP functionality :-

Aruba Virtual Controller technology centralizes the functionality needed to configure and manage the Aruba Instant network. Aruba Virtual Controller technology delivers a wide range of enterprise-class WLAN capabilities required by enterprises that have multiple remote locations

Reliability – Aruba Instant is resilient to failure. If an Aruba Instant AP functioning as the primary Virtual Controller fails, another Aruba Instant AP automatically inherits the role of the primary Virtual Controller with no service disruption.

 Mobility – Users on Aruba Instant WLANs can roam campus-wide within the same Layer 2 domain in a Virtual Controller and across multiple Virtual Controllers. This is enabled by firewall and authentication-state synchronization across all Aruba Instant APs, as well as coordination of DHCP address allocation for NAT clients.

 Guest access – Aruba Instant provides automatic security classification for guests, eliminating the need to set up a guest VLAN. It automatically sets up a subnetwork to act as a DMZ that isolates the internal network from external networks and the Internet. 

 Scalability – Offering self-organization and auto-configuration, adding Aruba Instant APs through a mesh or expanding to the outdoors is easy. At the same time, AirWave management lets IT centrally control thousands of Aruba Instant WLANs across multiple 

locations.

Cloud-based firmware server – Aruba Instant receives firmware updates through the cloud server without the need for manual or laborious firmware updates. When a new image is available, the Aruba Instant user interface will indicate that an update is available.

 Built-in migration path – Aruba Instant offers a built-in migration path for organizations that want to transition to a centralized controller-based architecture. Aruba Instant APs easily convert to high-performance 802.11n campus APs that are managed by a central Aruba Mobility Controller.

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Cisco Training & Other Helpful Resources

Cisco has done a fantastic job in developing online tools to help their partners and other registered users on their website. These tools can boost your performance and productivityto a great extent but only a few of us knows about the availablity of these tools. Today I had tried to bring them all on a single page. You would be prompted for a valid cisco.com username & password to access these tools.

Training Resources 

Cisco offers training resources, career certifications and events to help you improve your skills and keep up with new technologies.
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/index.html

Cisco Networking Academy
Global e-learning program offers students an opportunity to pursue IT curricula through online instructor-led training and hands-on lab exercises.
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html

Cisco Learning Network
The widely respected Cisco Career Certifications and Training programs bring valuable, measurable rewards to network professionals, their managers, and the organizations that employ them. 

http://www.cisco.com/go/learnnetspace

Cisco Community Central
Cisco Community Central website is a group of communities designed to foster collaboration between Cisco employees, customers, users, and Cisco Partners.
http://www.myciscocommunity.com/

Cisco Design Zone 

Consolidated resource for design guides, application deployment guides, white papers, videos, and other technical reference materials. 

http://www.cisco.com/go/designzone

Cisco SMB Smart
Designs Cisco Smart Designs are pre-tested networking solutions that enable partners to deliver the benefits of Cisco products and technologies to SMB customers.
http://www.cisco.com/go/partner/smartdesigns

Cisco Marketplace 

The one stop shop for Cisco merchandise, including Cisco collateral and product documentation, logo merchandise, Cisco Press books, and software.
http://www.cisco.com/go/marketplace

Cisco Press Bookstore 

The only authorized publisher of Cisco, giving you access to industry experts and educators. Provides networking, business,and certification titles for your unique learning needs. 

http://www.cisco.com/go/marketplace

Product Advisor 

The interactive Product Advisor tool provides a list of product recommendations based on your preference and highlights a list of products that meets your needs. Available for the following technologies: routing, switching, wireless, and security.
http://www.ciscowebtools.com/productadvisor/index.asp

Cisco Support Community
Share information and collaborate in real time with users around the globe. Find the most up-to-date information on Cisco products and services. 

http://supportwiki.cisco.com

Cisco Support Online 

Easily access online documentation, technical tools, and resources from Cisco Support Online. 

http://www.cisco.com/go/support

Cisco Service Finder 

Match the right support service to the right product with the Cisco Service Finder.
http://www.cisco-servicefinder.com/

End-of-Sale and Endof-Life Products
Stay up-to-date on products that are no longer being sold and might not be supported.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/prod_end_of_life.html

Hope this list would help you. Please do let me know your views on this and also tell me what else information can I compile and share to help everyone here.

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Cisco NX-OS - Not everybody is ready to accept Happily

Last week I got lucky to be a part of discussion with a customer about Cisco Nexus range of switches and new NX-OS from Cisco. Our customer was not happily ready to accept Cisco Nexus as a new member to his network. His concerns were somewhat genuine, Let me tell you what did he exactly said -  

" I cannot hire someone just to manage a nexus switch while I have complete team already managing my entire network and If I have to train my team for this new thing, then I would not like to pay Cisco a premium on pricing just because its a global brand name. I would rather buy something equally good from Juniper or HP and have my team trained on it. Atleast I would save some money"

This made me think what had gone wrong with Cisco NX-OS and this took me back into the basic when we start learning our networking. When we study CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate), we are basically learning the IOS. The command line remains same on almost all products from Cisco, whether you are configuring 1600 & 1700 Series or MSR series or ISR G1 or even ISR G2 and 6500 series, Its all the same command line and if it is not, There is very very little learning curve which actually doesn't bothers anybody. 

With the release of NX-OS, Cisco had tried to bring all the good things into single package. Though it is a robust modular platform but the command line had changed to a great extent which is disappointing for lots of Cisco fans. Lets have a look at OSPF configuration on both the platforms. 

The way we do it on IOS

interface e0
 ip address 192.168.2.1 255.255.255.0
!
router ospf 1
 network 192.168.2.1 0.0.0.0 area 0
!

The Way we do it on NX-OS 

interface e1/2
 ip address 192.168.2.1/24
 ip router ospf 201 area 0.0.0.0
!

(To me the later one seems quicker & easier) 

But its not about me. The guys who had been working on Cisco IOS for years now 

and not ready to move away from it, Instead they are willing to settle down for 

Cisco 6500 series switches.

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Datacenter Fabric & Multipathing - Its Proprietary stuff raining

During last one year, almost all switching vendors had either launched or are planning to launch multipathing technology or ECMP into Datacenter Fabrics but the irony is, In this era of consolidation and convergence every OEM had launched something proprietary in this domain. 

TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) & SPB (Shortest Path Bridging) seems to have emerged like a savior but both of these technologies are in there draft version. Most of the OEMs had either adopted TRILL or SPB for their Datacenter switches. Cisco's Fabricpath is a customized TRILL based technology. Brocade again had used TRILL for their technology called VCS but it too is the highly customized version, where they are using their experience from fiber channels and used the same technology. 

Juniper on top of all of them had designed and released another impressive technology called QFabric. Which can provide you any to any direct connectivity in the network and still keeping down the latency to maximum of 5 Ms and not to forget QFabric is purely a Juniper developed technology and it doesn't uses either of the ECMP technology (Neither TRILL nor SPB)

On the other hand, OEMs like Avaya, Huawei, Extreme and Alcaltel-Lucent are widely supporting and adopting SPB. They had implemented more or less customized versions of SPB into their Datacenter products. 

Vendors and pundits often gloss over the intricate differences between the two standards, probably because most of us lack the technical knowledge to grasp the finer points involved. Vendors are embracing one standard or the other and it remains to be seen what the consequences of this divergence will be. Today it seems like every OEM is trying to take the entire pie of the Datacenter switching and want to bind the customer with their patented and proprietary features. 

Now the only question remains is - How do they plan to provide inter-operability with other vendors ? Will it be a layer 3 protocol doing it or STP would still be the necessary EVIL.

Sources - 

http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/datacenter/will-trill-or-shortest-path-bridging-win-out.html

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/networkhub/trill-versus-shortest-path-bridging-hard-feelings/

http://www.networkcomputing.com/next-gen-network-tech-center/229501929?pgno=1

http://www.nanog.org/meetings/nanog50/presentations/Sunday/IEEE_8021aqShortest_Path.pdf

http://www.brocade.com/downloads/documents/white_papers/Introducing_Brocade_VCS_WP.pdf

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HP OpenFlow capable firmware GA is now Available

OpenFlow capable firmware for HP switches is now available without requiring special license. It can be downloaded by customers/partners from HP’s website.

Current version is K.15.05.5001(for OpenFlow researchers only) as Early Availability and here is how I downloaded it:

• Go to http://www.hp.com/networking/support
•  You will be required to sign-in to download the firmware. If you have your account, go to the next step. Otherwise, create it now and come back. To crate your account, place the mouse pointer over the “Sign-in” link on top right corner. Another menu pops up and click “Create new account” and follow the instruction.
• In Auto Search text-box, type the part of the product name (e.g., 5400 or 6600)
• Select appropriate product (check the check box)
• Click “Display Selected” button
• Click “software downloads” link (a bit hard to find.. look for light-blue link on the right side)
• Find the proper firmware and click the link shown as “>>”. As of the timing of this blog post, “K.15.05.5001 (for OpenFlow researchers only)” in Early Availability is the one.
• You’re required to sign-in. Click “Sign-in with HP Passport” button.
• Sign-in
• Finally. Click “Download” button (Read the SUPPORT CAUTION first).

Sources - 
http://www.hp.com/networking
http://www.openflow.org

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OpenFlow Based Forwarding - Described

Few days ago I talked about a website name packetpusher.net, The same guys Greg along with Ivan had prepared this wonderful video about the OpenFlow based forwarding. I found it worth sharing -

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Finally Cisco ends the suspense on SDN/OpenFlow

At long last, the wait - and suspense - is over.

Cisco today rolled out its vision and architecture for instilling programmability throughout a Cisco network - a blueprint the company says goes far beyond the OpenFlow and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) schemes most competitors are proposing.

Cisco's strategy is called the Open Network Environment, or Cisco ONE, previously referred to as Cisco OPEN or COPE. Cisco ONE is designed to enable Cisco networks to be flexible and customizable to meet the needs of newer networking and IT trends such as cloud, mobility, social networking and video.

Cisco unveiled the architecture at the CiscoLive! user conference here this week.

Cisco ONE includes APIs, agents and controllers, and overlay network technologies designed to make each layer of a network - from the transport layer up through the management and orchestration layers - programmable in order to make it adaptable and extensible to changing needs.

This differs, Cisco says, from more commonplace approaches to SDNs in which the control plane is decoupled from the forwarding plane and OpenFlow is used as an API, agent and protocol to command switches from an external controller.

Cisco says Cisco ONE complements this approach by opening up areas above and below the control and forwarding planes addressed by OpenFlow. This allows customers to program the network using a variety of protocols - not just OpenFlow - and further customize it according to their usage patterns and deployment models.

Cisco ONE includes the One Platform Kit (onePK) which provides APIs for developers across Cisco's routing and switching operating systems: IOS, IOS-XR and NX-OS. Cisco onePK support will roll out on Cisco platforms in phases, with initial support on the ASR 1000 and ISR G2 routers. The Cloud Connector software that Cisco unveiled this week for those routers supports onePK APIs for third-party development, the company says.

Cisco also unveiled proof-of-concept controller software and proof-of-concept OpenFlow v1.0 agent for its Catalyst 3750-X and 3560-X switches for SDN research.

Cisco last fall promised to support OpenFlow on its Nexus data center switches but found in the ensuing months that OpenFlow has less appeal in the data center and more in academia and research, company officials said.

Other components of Cisco ONE include its Nexus 1000V virtual switch, which the company says can be used as the basis of virtual overlay networks for multi-tenant cloud deployments. Nexus 1000V now supports OpenStack Quantum and REST APIs for multi-tenant orchestration, open source hypervisors and a VXLAN gateway connecting physical VLAN and virtual networks. 

VXLAN is a network encapsulation technique with segment identifiers for creating millions of logical networks and for enabling workloads to move across data centers and cloud infrastructures. The networking segments will support multitenant cloud infrastructures that require segmentation for security and compliance, Cisco says.

The Nexus 1000V will also now support policy-based, per-tenant virtual security services on VXLAN-based overlay networks.

Cisco ONE is designed to support a variety of deployment model for programmability, including network partitioning, or 'slicing,' in universities and research using OpenFlow agents and controllers; network flow management for massively scalable data centers; automated provisioning and programmable overlay networks for the multi-tenancy requirements of cloud providers; programmatic policy and analytics for service providers; and private cloud automation for virtual workloads in enterprises, including desktop virtualization. 

Beta trials and phased general availability are scheduled to begin the fourth quarter of 2012.

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