http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1228062723
This is the best IOS & command reference I know of. I've purchased the
11.0(22) release a few years ago & now one of these 12.1's. I can think of
no better way to master Cisco IOS.
Phil
----- Original Message -----
From: "EA Louie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Control Program" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2001 7:33 PM
Subject: Re: Cisco IOS Documentation: How useful is it, really?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Control Program <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2001 8:36 AM
> Subject: Cisco IOS Documentation: How useful is it, really?
>
>
> > I'm interested in thoughts and opinions on the practical utility of the
> > official Cisco IOS Configuration Guides and Command References available
> in
> > print, on CCO, and on the documentation CD-ROMs that ship with Cisco
> > products. There have been a number of allusions on and off this list to
> the
> > importance (or even necessity) of studying the official docs if "you're
> > serious about CCIE preparation." I even recall seeing some advice given
> by
> > someone that one should read the entire set of configuration guides and
> > command references before attempting the lab exam.
> >
> First off, the "practical utility" for the IOS Config guides is in the
> configuration of the devices (duh), and not for light reading unless you
> have a photographic memory (which actually might be a detriment ;-)
>
> If you've ever put together a configuration for multiple routers (for
> example, even a small 5 site WAN), you discover that the parameters set on
> one device are dependent on its neighbors, and that if you don't get the
> commands right, the results that you want will not be realized. Sometimes
> it can be easy (point-to-point T1's and RIP all using fixed subnet masks),
> but the complexity rises as the routing protocol is implemented and
features
> required are added, and WAN technologies used.
>
> > How useful do you all find the IOS documentation, both with respect to
> CCIE
> > study, and in general?
> >
> VERY. You go to http://www.cisco.com and click on Training and
> Certifications. From there, there are links that take you to the CCIE
> Blueprint, which lists a plethora (ad nauseum) of the material that you
need
> to be familiar with, and it is NOT all Cisco documentation. But there are
> lots of links to Cisco IOS Documentation there, and some good white
papers,
> too.
>
> > Have you succeeded in using it to learn to configure services you were
> > previously unfamiliar with, or is it just useful as a reference once you
> > already mainly know what you're doing? Is it even useful as a
reference?
> >
> Yes - ergo ATM (LANE) and LECS/LES/BUS configuration at a router and ATM
> switch level (two different devices, two different IOSes). Also, the
> interface buffers (queuing commands), and it has really helped me in my
BGP
> configurations and in route redistribution. Again, if you haven't had
> experience on the console, its almost impossible to study the
configuration
> guides except to get familiar with how these device commands are entered.
>
> Many times, the configuration examples at the bottom of the Config Guides
> are good starting points, but don't provide sufficient detail to solve my
> particular problem. Knowing the context of a router (one big ARP table)
> helps alot, and knowing the capabilities and limitations of the router in
> terms of filtering and traffic movement also help. Interface-specific
> commands versus global commands also proves to be valuable, because it
gives
> me a reference point to search the documentation.
>
> >
> > My own thoughts:
> >
> > I ask because I find the IOS documentation hard to digest at best, and
> > actively confusing at worst. I use it frequently, but almost
exclusively
> as
> > a reference to look up command options and syntax details. Even then,
> half
> > the time I find that there either isn't enough detail in the manual to
> > answer the question I have, or there's so much detail that the
information
> > I'm looking for is buried in an avalanche of optional parameters and
> > unrelated features. The idea of resorting to the IOS documentation to,
> say,
> > learn how to set up async and ISDN interfaces using a combination of
> static
> > and dynamic addressing to support user dialin and backup/DDR functions
on
> an
> > access server makes my blood run cold. It could be done - eventually -
> but
> > it would require piecing the information together from eight different
> > chapters, one of which would provide 200 pages of information just on
PPP,
> > another of which would provide 150 pages of information on ISDN
signaling,
> > and so on.
> >
> If you're just reading the configuration guides without live equipment to
> see what the config command does, then it *is* confusing at best,
> frustrating at worst. I've studied the configuration guides without
> equipment around, but I also have the benefit of setting up lots of
> equipment, so when the config guide refers to a command, I know the basic
> context of why it needs to be done. Much of the configuration can be
trial
> and error, much like any other programmable device, as they don't put
every
> possible combination of every command into the config guides, but that's
why
> the TAC has resorted to providing sample configurations which are now very
> well documented:
> http://www.cisco.com/public/technotes/serv_tips.shtml
>
> As far as detail is concerned, I agree with you that there often is a big
> (sometimes HUGE) disconnect between the config guide and command
reference,
> and I've complained about it (and the poor quaility documentation on the
> output of the show and debug commands). You end up having to dig deeper
> than the documentation in the TAC area on CCO. And I'll allude to my
> disgust with the undocumented commands, but not expound on it here.
>
> Basically, what you're asking for is analogous to asking Intel to provide
a
> complete guide of applications for the Pentium processors, and giving all
> the various commands in a particular flow in the order that you need them.
> I doubt that would ever happen, which is why experienced CCxx's are in
such
> high demand.
>
> > I just can't imagine the official documentation as the preferred means
to
> > learn to do something new. Should you be familiar with the structure
and
> > contents? Of course. It's still the last word when it comes to
resolving
> > ambiguities or finding information on that one option you knew was there
> but
> > couldn't remember the keyword for. Is it time well-spent to sit there
and
> > study these manuals as an attempt to increase your knowledge and
> > proficiency? Not in my experience. That's not to say you won't learn
> > anything by doing it - just that there are better ways to use your time.
> >
> It isn't the preferred means to learn something new, but again, unless you
> have some experience in configuration of multiple devices (for example,
ATM
> LANE between a LS1010, LANE Module in a 5500, and 7x00 and 3600 routers),
> new is probably not the context that you'd be using. I'm unfamiliar with
> your level of expertise, but to try and read the manuals to learn to
> configure Cisco routers, you'd be very wise to have a router there with
the
> capabilities that you need to use.
>
> When I've had to configure something new (for example, ISDN DDR for serial
> circuit restoral, or PPP over X.25), I just had to use the documentation
> (ver 11.0) and fiddle with it until I got the configuration right. The
> Config Guide gave me a good starting point, but then I had to customize
the
> configuration for my own use. I had to learn how to generate a floating
> static route, which is not covered in the DDR part of the Config Guide
>
> > Comments encouraged! Maybe some of you have actually devised a way to
> > triage the documentation and learn a lot from it despite the way it's
> > organized. If so, I'd love to hear your strategies.
> >
> I actually feel that Cisco's attempt to change the documentation has been
> very positive, but I still use the basic 10.3 and 11.0 configuration
guides
> because it is what I "grew up" with, and if there is something that I
really
> don't know how to do with the new commands, then I'll open up the 12.0 and
> 12.1 documentation.
>
> >
> > --
_________________________________
FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
