Cisco Security Specialist's Guide to Pix Firewall

I wanted a book on PIX that was very detailed with lots of output, diagarams, examples, etc. and this book really delivered. The authors do a great job of covering the most current products and features, and also showing you how to use everything in production networks.

Over the years the PIX Firewall has come a long way. There is so much that it can do these days, from standard firewall filtering, to IDS, PDM, IPSEC, encryption, and various other VPN technologies, among others. Having such an extended feature set makes understanding it all a difficult proposition. That is where this book succeeds. First of all, the book is up to date on the latest version and feature set. There are few, if any books that are as recent. Furthermore, the book covers, in detail, all PIX features and gives clear examples. Even better, there is a definite undertone of real-world PIX experience built into the writing. I learned so many things from reading this book that I could not find on Cisco's website. I thoroughly enjoyed the side bars on "Configuring & Implementing" and "Designing & Planning". Overall I highly recommend reading this book. I find myself going back on a regular basis to consult a certain chapter to help me with my daily duties, which include managing various PIX firewalls. Good Stuff!

This is the most complete and up-to-date book on PIX firewalls I have read. I looked at the Cisco Press book, but it was way out of date. The Richard Deal book is missing some topics, and isn't enough to pass the exam. This one covers it all, and each topic is covered in detail. I passed 9E0-111 today. Two more exams to go to get my CCSP!!!

Our company uses all of the PIX models from the 501 to the 535s. We are also now using 6.2 I was looking for a book that had coverage on all the models and also was written to v6.2. I got this book, becuase it looked like it would cover all of this, and I just finished reading it last night. The stuff I learned in the book combined with my on the job experience, I now feel like I know just about verything there is. The book was well written with a good level of detail, and it also has lots of output and some pretty good diagrams that help to get the point across.

I read this book cover to cover and I learned a lot more than I thought I would. I have a fair amount of experience with PIX firewalls, and I just wanted something to review before taking the exam (I passed). I found there was a lot I didn't know, and all the configs reall helped. I'm not quite sure why the other reviewer would take the time to write a bad review if he hasn't even read the book yet.