I faced a very tough decision when writing the second edition of this book. Should I
keep the CatOS commands or discard them in favor of newer Nexus NX-OS examples?
This decision was tough not only because my inclusion of CatOS resulted in some praise
from my readers, but also because as of this writing in early 2011, I’m still seeing CatOS
switches running in large enterprise and ecommerce networks. As such, I decided to
keep the CatOS examples and simply add NX-OS commands.
I have added many topics in this book based mostly on feedback from readers. New
topics include Cisco Nexus, wireless, MPLS, IPv6, and Voice over IP (VoIP). Some of
these topics are covered in depth, and others, such as MPLS, are purposely light for
reasons outlined in the chapters. Topics such as Nexus and VoIP are vast and added
significantly to the page count of an already large and expensive book. I have also
removed the chapters on server load balancing, both because I was never really happy
with those chapters and because I could not get my hands on an ACE module or ap-
pliance in order to update the examples.
On the subject of examples, I have updated them to reflect newer hardware in every
applicable chapter. Where I used 3550 switches in the first edition, I now use 3750s.
Where I used PIX firewalls, I now use ASA appliances. I have also included examples
from Cisco Nexus switches in every chapter that I felt warranted them. Many chapters
therefore have examples from Cat-OS, IOS, and NX-OS. Enjoy them, because I guar-
antee that CatOS will not survive into the third edition.
Who Should Read This Book
This book is intended for anyone with first-level certification knowledge of data net-
working. Anyone with a CCNA or equivalent (or greater) knowledge should benefit
from this book. My goal in writing Network Warrior is to explain complex ideas in an
easy-to-understand manner. While the book contains introductions to many topics,
you can also consider it a reference for executing common tasks related to those topics.
I am a teacher at heart, and this book allows me to teach more people than I’d ever
thought possible. I hope you will find the discussions both informative and enjoyable.
I have noticed over the years that people in the computer, networking, and telecom
industries are often misinformed about the basics of these disciplines. I believe that in
many cases, this is the result of poor teaching or the use of reference material that does
not convey complex concepts well. With this book, I hope to show people how easy
some of these concepts are. Of course, as I like to say, “It’s easy when you know how,”
so I have tried very hard to help anyone who picks up my book understand the ideas
contained herein.
If you are reading this, my guess is that you would like to know more about networking.
So would I! Learning should be a never-ending adventure, and I am honored that you
have let me be a part of your journey. I have been studying and learning about com-
puters, networking, and telecom for the last 29 years, and my journey will never end.
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