SNMP MIB Handbook Review

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(More customer reviews)Let me start simple: I'm neither a book author nor a professional "reviewer".
The only reason for this review -- and yes, this is my very first one -- is that I'm truly impressed with "SNMP MIB Handbook". Let me try to explain how did I happen to find it -- and why do I consider it "The Bible of MIB Design".
My recent task was (well, still is :)) to design an architecture for Enterprise Infrastructure Management, where the term "Infrastructure" is broad and a little bit vague (or should I say: "yet to be defined"? :)) -- but at the very least it includes hardware, software and essential business processes. SNMP, by no surprise, is one of several "ways to go" -- so I decided to refresh my SNMP knowledge.
After reading some introductory tutorials and not-so-introductory books, it occurred to me that something is missing, while 80% of information is "covered" again and again. Everybody talks about familiar subject: SNMP history, the fact that SNMP is based on UDP -- and how it is encapsulated; differences between SNMPv1, SNMPv2c and SNMPv3, the internal format of different types of SNMP messages, what is MIB, the concept of TRAP (notification), how to configure and use various commercial or freeware SNMP tools, etc.
What's missing then? Here is the short answer: nobody tells you how to DESIGN *your* MIB.
Let me make an analogy: there are plenty books on English Grammar; there are also quite a few on different reading "techniques". But how many books will teach you writing? Not writing in general, but writing *good prose* or *nice poems*? There you are!
Does it matter? Well, as usual, it depends. If your job is to *use* already existing MIBs -- that's one thing. But what if you have to *create* (i.e. design and implement) a MIB of your own -- the one that *others* will have to use? How would you do that? Where to start? What to cover - and what to omit? What are current design practices? What are the most typical mistakes?
Try to "google" on a topic of MIB design -- you'd be surprised with the results.
That being said, what's so special about this book?
It has answers to all of the questions above -- and goes far beyond.
Without further ado let me provide brief highlights about what I like most:
-- Not only it teaches you SMI (v1 and v2) syntax but also tells *how to read* MIBs, how to tell whether a particular MIB is good or not - and why;
-- While most other SNMP books fall short on advanced MIB objects (telling you about MIB tables at most), this one goes deep into the world of complex MIBs: you'll know about tables with multiple INDEX objects (and about different types of INDEX objects themselves), about row-create tables (and different scenarios of using them), about object identifier POINTERS, INDEX pointers, etc.
-- MIB Design Patterns: this part alone justifies the price! All-in-One vs. Product-specific MIBs; why SMI registration MIBs are important (and what to put inside); how to design TRAPs *properly* (different models for TRAP design, best practices, typical mistakes, consequences for end-users (e.g.: network engineers)); what objects are essential for Enterprise MIB design; how to *partition* you MIB properly (for example, how to model Product Options, how to account for future versions of the Product, how to model new/modified/deprecated functionality of the Product, the importance of state information -- and the difference between dynamic and static state info). And on top of that the book provides real-world *full* Enterprise-level MIB examples -- to read and learn from!
-- References (Appendix A) are really useful. Ever tried to figure out what RFCs define SNMPv3 (and what are *current* ones)? What SNMP Validation compilers are available? Where to look for various Enterprise MIBs?
-- Did I mention short quiz-type exercises after each chapter? You'll have a chance to grade yourself: Appendix F has correct answers.
To sum it up: this book is brilliantly written, easy to read and comprehend -- and *incredibly* useful.
It fills-in an important gap in today's SNMP literature: MIB Design Patterns and Practices.
Second to none, it establishes a Gold Standard on the subject -- for years to come.


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Essential Guide to SNMP MIB Development, Use, and Diagnosis. The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) allows Managers (software) to communicate with Agents (also software) on network-managed devices, to collect status, for configuration and control, and to receive unsolicited events (traps). A MIB (Management Information Base) is a file containing syntax defining data objects to be managed and traps to be sent. MIB objects and their values are the focus of the protocol. Simplicity of SNMP is the reason for its initial and continued success -- simple MIB objects define information sent using a simple message set. Yet it is flexible and scalable, used to manage small networks as well as large, distributed networks. This handbook is intended for developers (MIB and agent designers) and end-users (network engineers and IT-management specialists). It serves as an instructional manual and as a reference, and contains case descriptions, examples, practical advice, clear descriptions of standards, user exercises and quiz questions. It is an important book for anyone involved with SNMP, suitable for those new to the protocol as well as for experienced practitioners.

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MPLS VPN Security Review

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(More customer reviews)MPLS VPN Security (Paperback)
by Michael H. Behringer, Monique J. Morrow ISBN 1587051834
As Multiprocotol Label Switching (MPLS) is becoming widely deployed for providing virtual private network (VPN) services. Security becomes a major concern for companies planning to migrate from the legacy VPN's to MPLS VPN's. This book provides an indepth look at what are the real security issues that both service providers providing MPLS VPN's and companies utlizing such services face. The authors provide a clear understanding of how the MPLS VPN's work differently from other VPN technologies.
The book is divided into four parts MPLS VPN and Security Fundamentals form Part One. The first part of the book provides an excellent overview on the three basic components of security: the architecture, design and operations and defines the "zones of trust" for an MPLS VPN environment. It provides an excellent Security Reference Model for MPLS VPNs. The various threats to a VPN are broken down into parts for better understanding, like threat, intrusion, Denial of Service against a VPN. Threat against an Extranet site. Threats against the core, and from within a Zone of trust.
Part Two of the book provides an analysis of Advanced MPLS VPN Security Issues like VPN Seperation (Address Space and traffic), Robustness against attacks (where and how), protection against spoofing, Specific Inter-AS considerations and comparisons. And other issues not addressed by the MPLS Architecture. It examines in detail Secure MPLS VPN designs and shows how to design a DOS resistant network and the tradeoffs between DOS resistance and network cost. The security recommendations provide tips on general router security, basic templates and ACL Examples. CE-Specific router security and topology design considerations. LAN Security Issues. CE-PE routing Security Best Practices. IPSec both CE to CE and PE to PE. And a comprehensive checklist for securing Core and Routing.
Part Three provides practical guidelines to MPLS VNP Security and shows how IPSec complements MPLS. It explains the deployment of IPSec on MPLS and use of other encryption techniques. It underlines the importance of security of MPLS Layer 2 VPNs and the various generic Layer 2 security considerations. The section ends with providing a plan for the operation management and maintenance of a MPLS core. It deals with the secure management of CE devices, management of VRF and VRF details.
Part Four provides deployment examples and lessons learned, highlighting theoretical discussion points from the previous chapters. It also provides various scenarios for internet access and points out security considerations for each example.
The coauthor Michael H. Behringer is an active member of the IETF and has published work on MPLS VPN security since 2001.
The coauthor Monique J. Morrow (CCIE # 1711) is active in both IETF and ITU-T SG 13 with a focus on OAM. She is currently engaged in MPLS OAM standards development.
I feel this book would be extremely useful for security and operations staff of enterprises that deploy MPLS or subscribe to a service based on MPLS.
I give this book 5 stars on a scale of 5, 5 being the highest. I strongly recommend this book.
Niloufer Tamboly, CISSP



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A practical guide to hardening MPLS networksDefine "zones of trust" for your MPLS VPN environment Understand fundamental security principles and how MPLS VPNs work Build an MPLS VPN threat model that defines attack points, such as VPN separation, VPN spoofing, DoS against the network's backbone, misconfigurations, sniffing, and inside attack forms Identify VPN security requirements, including robustness against attacks, hiding of the core infrastructure, protection against spoofing, and ATM/Frame Relay security comparisons Interpret complex architectures such as extranet access with recommendations of Inter-AS, carrier-supporting carriers, Layer 2 security considerations, and multiple provider trust model issues Operate and maintain a secure MPLS core with industry best practices Integrate IPsec into your MPLS VPN for extra security in encryption and data origin verification Build VPNs by interconnecting Layer 2 networks with new available architectures such as virtual private wire service (VPWS) and virtual private LAN service (VPLS) Protect your core network from attack by considering Operations, Administration, and Management (OAM) and MPLS backbone security incidentsMultiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is becoming a widely deployed technology, specifically for providing virtual private network (VPN) services. Security is a major concern for companies migrating to MPLS VPNs from existing VPN technologies such as ATM. Organizations deploying MPLS VPNs need security best practices for protecting their networks, specifically for the more complex deployment models such as inter-provider networks and Internet provisioning on the network. MPLS VPN Security is the first book to address the security features of MPLS VPN networks and to show you how to harden and securely operate an MPLS network. Divided into four parts, the book begins with an overview of security and VPN technology. A chapter on threats and attack points provides a foundation for the discussion in later chapters. Part II addresses overall security from various perspectives, including architectural, design, and operation components. Part III provides practical guidelines for implementing MPLS VPN security. Part IV presents real-world case studies that encompass details from all the previous chapters to provide examples of overall secure solutions. Drawing upon the authors' considerable experience in attack mitigation and infrastructure security, MPLS VPN Security is your practical guide to understanding how to effectively secure communications in an MPLS environment."The authors of this book, Michael Behringer and Monique Morrow, have a deep and rich understanding of security issues, such as denial-of-service attack prevention and infrastructure protection from network vulnerabilities. They offer a very practical perspective on the deployment scenarios, thereby demystifying a complex topic. I hope you enjoy their insights into the design of self-defending networks."—Jayshree V. Ullal, Senior VP/GM Security Technology Group, Cisco Systems®

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Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies Review

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(More customer reviews)Network Management is crucial in the successful operation of a network. Over the years Network Management has changed dramatically. Early Management systems were nothing more than a process of pinging an IP address, when you missed a ping there could be something wrong!
Now we want to know what is wrong and preferable be warned before something goes wrong. And wouldn't it be nice or even required to see who or what is eating up our bandwidth or to have proof that we get the bandwidth we pay for? All these requirements have led to many protocols and standards over the years. Here is a book that organizes all this, brilliantly.
The book is organized in three sections that I would describe as follows: Part I, The theory, Part II, The tools, Part III, How we can use these tools in different scenarios.
Part I has three chapters and counts for almost a third of the book. The information contained in these three chapters alone make buying the book worthwhile. Part I is vendor neutral and would be excellent reading for network managers to quickly acquire a detailed overview of standards and technologies.
Chapter 1 describes the need for Accounting and Performance Management. Chapter 2 (Data Collection Methodology) describes the data you need to collect and the detail required, as well as how to collect the data and be sure of its integrity. This is the longest chapter in the book and one of my favorites.
Chapter 3 deals with standards and definitions. This is the chapter with the most abbreviations.
Part II outlines the most common network management tools available on Cisco IOS devices and how to implement them. Here we find SNMP, RMON, IP Accounting, NetFlow, BGP Policy Accounting, AAA Accounting, NBAR, IP SLA. Each implementation has its own chapter and follows the same procedure: first an explanation of the feature and then how to configure it. Configuration takes up most of the chapter and is very detailed with examples and many show commands. I found this very useful.
Chapter 12 (the last chapter in Part II) connects everything in tables - these tables have already proven very useful for me.
Part III (Assigning Technologies to Solutions) applies the tools from Part II to some real world scenarios like: Monitoring, Capacity Planning, Voice, Security and Billing scenarios. In each chapter the tools are identified that will help to achieve the goal.
Both authors are Cisco engineers specializing in accounting, performance and fault management and it shows! They really know their stuff!
In short, this is a very useful book; you learn and you apply what you have learned. What else could you wish for?


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Network Management: Accounting and Performance StrategiesThe definitive guide to collecting usage information from Cisco networksBenoit Claise, CCIE® No. 2868 Ralf WolterUnderstanding network performance and effectiveness is now crucial to business success. To ensure user satisfaction, both service providers and enterprise IT teams must provide service-level agreements (SLA) to the users of their networks–and then consistently deliver on those commitments. Now, two of the Cisco® leading network performance and accounting experts bring together all the knowledge network professionals need to do so. Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies imparts a deep understanding of Cisco IOS® embedded management for monitoring and optimizing performance, together with proven best strategies for both accounting and performance management. Benoit Claise and Ralf Wolter begin by introducing the role of accounting and performance management in today's large-scale data and voice networks. They present widely accepted performance standards and definitions, along with today's best practice methodologies for data collection. Next, they turn to Cisco devices and the Cisco IOS Software, illuminating embedded management and device instrumentation features that enable you to thoroughly characterize performance, plan network enhancements, and anticipate potential problems and prevent them. Network standards, technologies, and Cisco solutions covered in depth include Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Management Information Bases (MIB), Remote Monitoring (RMON), IP accounting, NetFlow, BGP policy accounting, AAA Accounting, Network Based Application Recognition (NBAR), and IP SLA (formerly known as SAA). For each, the authors present practical examples and hands-on techniques. The book concludes with chapter-length scenarios that walk you through accounting and performance management for five different applications: data network monitoring, capacity planning, billing, security, and voice network performance. Network Management: Accounting and Performance Strategies will be indispensable to every professional concerned with network performance, effectiveness, or profitability, especially NMS/OSS architects, network and service designers, network administrators, and anyone responsible for network accounting or billing. Benoit Claise, CCIE® No. 2868, is a Cisco Distinguished Engineer working as an architect for embedded management and device instrumentation. His area of expertise includes accounting, performance, and fault management. Claise is a contributor to the NetFlow standardization at the IETF in the IPFIX and PSAMP Working Groups. He joined Cisco in 1996 as a customer support engineer in the Technical Assistance Center network management team and became an escalation engineer before joining the engineering team.Ralf Wolter is a senior manager, consulting engineering at Cisco. He leads the Cisco Core and NMS/OSS consulting team for Europe, works closely with corporate engineering, and supports large-scale customer projects. He specializes in device instrumentation related to accounting and performance management.Compare accounting methods and choose the best approach for you Apply network performance best practices to your networkLeverage built-in Cisco IOS network management system components to quantify performanceUncover trends in performance statistics to help avoid service degradation before it occursIdentify under use of network paths, so you can improve overall network efficiencyWalk through hands-on case studies that address monitoring, capacity planning, billing, security, and voice networksUnderstand Cisco network performance, deliver on your SLAs, and improve accounting and billingThis 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.

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Network Management: Concepts and Practice, A Hands-On Approach Review

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(More customer reviews)This outdated text should be put to pasture. When was this thing written, 1995? In computer terms it may as well been written in Latin. Thanks for describing Win95 and all about 10base2 thin for us. Very helpful. The most recent "edition" was to inform us that our latest threat comes from "terrorism." Nice. If you want to know the history of network computing, buy another book. If you want to config your NT 4.0 network, buy another book. In short, buy another book.

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Especially designed for those with limited background in network management, this volume presents the standard networking concepts and provides readers with one of the only books available to demonstrate how to practice those concepts on a small LAN. The manual uses a network management application that enables users to focus on the fundamentals of network management rather than components important on large production networks. The author provides an overview of network management and network management strategies, networking components, configuration client/server components and infrastructure components, as well as SNMP, RMON, RMON2 and other network management tools and initiatives. For Network Administrators, Network Managers and Network Engineers.

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