Overview
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 spokesdesign 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
By using many examples drawn from working configurations proven to be successful in actual corporate networks, High Availability Networking with Cisco reflects the author's extensive experience helping clients minimize the impact of failure on network operations
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