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Rating: 
Summary: Very good GUIDE for the exam...
Review: CCSP SECUR Exam Certification is a member of the CCSP Self-Study series from Cisco Press. In the past I have read several of Cisco Press's self-study series books to prepare for the CCNA and CCNP certifications and found them to be very helpful. This book is geared towards those interested in preparing for the Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) certification and the SECUR exam in particular. This book pleasantly surprised me with its straightforward layout which makes the material easy to manage and digest. The chapters are distilled down to the core of the material you need to know for the SECUR exam. The included CD-ROM contains a PDF version of the manual which is very useful for performing free-text searches of the material. An electronic test engine is also included. However, the test module can only be installed once so be sure to consider this when selecting the system to install it on. Each chapter begins with a "Do I Know This Already?" quiz. A few of these quizzes have typos or formatting errors but this is a minor issue and does not prevent you from using these sections to gauge your knowledge prior to reading the chapters. The first three chapters of the book contain a review of network security essentials. While not directly tested on the SECUR exam, this material is essential knowledge for any network security professional. Even seasoned network professionals are wise to review this material occasionally to ensure it remains fresh in their minds. The book continues to build on this knowledge in later chapters. Chapters 4 and 5 cover management of Cisco routers. Basic yet important material is covered in these chapters. Those with CCNA/CCNP certifications or equivalent knowledge will largely find these two chapters to be a review of material they have previously mastered. However, there are tips and tricks included that I have not encountered previously. Chapters 6 through 10 cover Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA). A nice walk through of the components and configuration of Cisco Secure ACS is included for those who may not have access to it otherwise. Chapters 11 through 16 cover the Cisco IOS Firewall Feature Set. This includes securing the Cisco router, access lists, the IOS Firewall, Context-Based Access Control (CBAC), authentication proxy, and Intrusion Detection features. Benefiting from its recent publication date, this book includes coverage of some of the newer IOS features such as time-based ACL's. Chapters 17 through 20 cover Virtual Private Networks, including IPSec VPN's, Certificate authorities, Easy VPN, Cisco Works, and Router MC. VPN configuration can be complex and confusing but the authors outline step-by-step how to properly configure and troubleshoot VPN configurations on Cisco devices. The final chapter is titled Final Scenarios and ties all the material together with step by step explanations of how to configure Cisco equipment for each scenario. Overall, I found this book to be useful in my preparations for the SECUR exam. It is tightly focused on the concepts and commands needed to successfully pass the exam and I would recommend it to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as bad as the last two reviews make it seem
Review: CCSP SECUR Exam Certification is a member of the CCSP Self-Study series from Cisco Press. In the past I have read several of Cisco Press's self-study series books to prepare for the CCNA and CCNP certifications and found them to be very helpful. This book is geared towards those interested in preparing for the Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) certification and the SECUR exam in particular. This book pleasantly surprised me with its straightforward layout which makes the material easy to manage and digest. The chapters are distilled down to the core of the material you need to know for the SECUR exam. The included CD-ROM contains a PDF version of the manual which is very useful for performing free-text searches of the material. An electronic test engine is also included. However, the test module can only be installed once so be sure to consider this when selecting the system to install it on. Each chapter begins with a "Do I Know This Already?" quiz. A few of these quizzes have typos or formatting errors but this is a minor issue and does not prevent you from using these sections to gauge your knowledge prior to reading the chapters. The first three chapters of the book contain a review of network security essentials. While not directly tested on the SECUR exam, this material is essential knowledge for any network security professional. Even seasoned network professionals are wise to review this material occasionally to ensure it remains fresh in their minds. The book continues to build on this knowledge in later chapters. Chapters 4 and 5 cover management of Cisco routers. Basic yet important material is covered in these chapters. Those with CCNA/CCNP certifications or equivalent knowledge will largely find these two chapters to be a review of material they have previously mastered. However, there are tips and tricks included that I have not encountered previously. Chapters 6 through 10 cover Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA). A nice walk through of the components and configuration of Cisco Secure ACS is included for those who may not have access to it otherwise. Chapters 11 through 16 cover the Cisco IOS Firewall Feature Set. This includes securing the Cisco router, access lists, the IOS Firewall, Context-Based Access Control (CBAC), authentication proxy, and Intrusion Detection features. Benefiting from its recent publication date, this book includes coverage of some of the newer IOS features such as time-based ACL's. Chapters 17 through 20 cover Virtual Private Networks, including IPSec VPN's, Certificate authorities, Easy VPN, Cisco Works, and Router MC. VPN configuration can be complex and confusing but the authors outline step-by-step how to properly configure and troubleshoot VPN configurations on Cisco devices. The final chapter is titled Final Scenarios and ties all the material together with step by step explanations of how to configure Cisco equipment for each scenario. Overall, I found this book to be useful in my preparations for the SECUR exam. It is tightly focused on the concepts and commands needed to successfully pass the exam and I would recommend it to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the Meat, Wasted over 100 pages
Review: I know the exam series is not as in-depth as the regular type Cisco Press book; however this book is lacking the meat. It is a 528 page book of which only 225 pages directly try to teach you. Eleven percent of the book (52 pages)is nothing but blank pages or title pages with no value. There are 20 chapters averaging only 11 pages each of the topic. They waste 36 pages rehashing the chapter you just read. I could understand putting a summary in for long chapters; however this book has none. This is how the book breaks down in pages, 14 rear index, 8 glossary, 52 blank/title, 8 ads, 34 content index/forward 34 answers to chapter questions, 20 question, 36 foundation summary, 73 Did I know this already, 23 scenario, and only 225 foundation pages of meat. I am not going to get into the quality of the meat. Need to reformat book, get rid of fluff and add meat.
Rating: 
Summary: Purely for review
Review: I recently read the book titled "CCSP SECUR Exam Certification Guide (CCSP Self-Study)" by Greg Bastien and Christian Abera Degu. ISBN: 1587200724.
The book is designed to assist a person that is attempting to achieve the Cisco Certification CCSP or Cisco Certified Security Professional. This particular title assists in preparation for one of five tests required obtaining the said certification. Like most other Cisco Press titles that are designed to help with certifications, this book is very well laid out. The structure of the book allows for an individual to reinforce what is already known or to fill in the gaps to help a person better understand a particular subject relating to Cisco IOS Security. I found the book to cover the fundamentals of securing Cisco Routers and would have to believe that if a person was serious about achieving the CCSP and passing the test, then I would strongly recommend that other resources be used to augment for what content that this title doesn't cover. The book comes with a CDROM that has a really nice test engine. Cisco Press does a great and in my opinion has one of the best test engines on the market. Each answer to the test questions has a link that points the reader to the proper chapter in the book where one might find the supporting content for the question. Making this tool highly effective and easy to use. Most all of the topics covered in this book are very basic and the book doesn't go into much detail. Often times a chapter will just skim the surface of a given topic.
A broad range of information is covered in this title. Everything from securing access to a Cisco router, to setting up authentication mechanisms to further enhance the security of a Cisco Router. Most of the chapters have so little information that it really should be for review purposes only and not relied upon for learning the features in any detail. Granted there isn't much to configuring most of the features covered in this title, however I would expect that to obtain a CCSP that one would have an better understanding of the technologies and features that what is covered in this title. There's a chapter on IPSEC that is very well written. In my opinion the chapter is probably one of the best chapters in this book. The chapter goes through the detail of configuring an IPSEC tunnel, but more importantly explains the process of setting up the secured tunnel. The figures and diagram in the book help out quite a bit. There are several supporting diagrams. I would recommend this title for network professionals that are at Beginner and Intermediate levels. It's basic enough that beginners will learn from the explanations and simple examples. Intermediates may not find enough content to make this title a good reference. There are a few good chapters that cover best security practices. Reading these first few chapters really gets the reader into the mind set that is needed for a person to be affective administrating security.
Rating:
Summary: Purely for review
Review: I recently read the book titled "CCSP SECUR Exam Certification Guide (CCSP Self-Study)" by Greg Bastien and Christian Abera Degu. ISBN: 1587200724.
The book is designed to assist a person that is attempting to achieve the Cisco Certification CCSP or Cisco Certified Security Professional. This particular title assists in preparation for one of five tests required obtaining the said certification. Like most other Cisco Press titles that are designed to help with certifications, this book is very well laid out. The structure of the book allows for an individual to reinforce what is already known or to fill in the gaps to help a person better understand a particular subject relating to Cisco IOS Security. I found the book to cover the fundamentals of securing Cisco Routers and would have to believe that if a person was serious about achieving the CCSP and passing the test, then I would strongly recommend that other resources be used to augment for what content that this title doesn't cover. The book comes with a CDROM that has a really nice test engine. Cisco Press does a great and in my opinion has one of the best test engines on the market. Each answer to the test questions has a link that points the reader to the proper chapter in the book where one might find the supporting content for the question. Making this tool highly effective and easy to use. Most all of the topics covered in this book are very basic and the book doesn't go into much detail. Often times a chapter will just skim the surface of a given topic.
A broad range of information is covered in this title. Everything from securing access to a Cisco router, to setting up authentication mechanisms to further enhance the security of a Cisco Router. Most of the chapters have so little information that it really should be for review purposes only and not relied upon for learning the features in any detail. Granted there isn't much to configuring most of the features covered in this title, however I would expect that to obtain a CCSP that one would have an better understanding of the technologies and features that what is covered in this title. There's a chapter on IPSEC that is very well written. In my opinion the chapter is probably one of the best chapters in this book. The chapter goes through the detail of configuring an IPSEC tunnel, but more importantly explains the process of setting up the secured tunnel. The figures and diagram in the book help out quite a bit. There are several supporting diagrams. I would recommend this title for network professionals that are at Beginner and Intermediate levels. It's basic enough that beginners will learn from the explanations and simple examples. Intermediates may not find enough content to make this title a good reference. There are a few good chapters that cover best security practices. Reading these first few chapters really gets the reader into the mind set that is needed for a person to be affective administrating security.
Rating:
Summary: Purely for review
Review: I recently read the book titled "CCSP SECUR Exam Certification Guide (CCSP Self-Study)" by Greg Bastien and Christian Abera Degu. ISBN: 1587200724.
The book is designed to assist a person that is attempting to achieve the Cisco Certification CCSP or Cisco Certified Security Professional. This particular title assists in preparation for one of five tests required obtaining the said certification. Like most other Cisco Press titles that are designed to help with certifications, this book is very well laid out. The structure of the book allows for an individual to reinforce what is already known or to fill in the gaps to help a person better understand a particular subject relating to Cisco IOS Security. I found the book to cover the fundamentals of securing Cisco Routers and would have to believe that if a person was serious about achieving the CCSP and passing the test, then I would strongly recommend that other resources be used to augment for what content that this title doesn't cover. The book comes with a CDROM that has a really nice test engine. Cisco Press does a great and in my opinion has one of the best test engines on the market. Each answer to the test questions has a link that points the reader to the proper chapter in the book where one might find the supporting content for the question. Making this tool highly effective and easy to use. Most all of the topics covered in this book are very basic and the book doesn't go into much detail. Often times a chapter will just skim the surface of a given topic.
A broad range of information is covered in this title. Everything from securing access to a Cisco router, to setting up authentication mechanisms to further enhance the security of a Cisco Router. Most of the chapters have so little information that it really should be for review purposes only and not relied upon for learning the features in any detail. Granted there isn't much to configuring most of the features covered in this title, however I would expect that to obtain a CCSP that one would have an better understanding of the technologies and features that what is covered in this title. There's a chapter on IPSEC that is very well written. In my opinion the chapter is probably one of the best chapters in this book. The chapter goes through the detail of configuring an IPSEC tunnel, but more importantly explains the process of setting up the secured tunnel. The figures and diagram in the book help out quite a bit. There are several supporting diagrams. I would recommend this title for network professionals that are at Beginner and Intermediate levels. It's basic enough that beginners will learn from the explanations and simple examples. Intermediates may not find enough content to make this title a good reference. There are a few good chapters that cover best security practices. Reading these first few chapters really gets the reader into the mind set that is needed for a person to be affective administrating security.
Rating: 
Summary: A Highly Recommended Study Guide for Cisco SECUR 642-501
Review: Many publishers have produced various Cisco certification study guides for the CCNP/DP/SP tracks. So, why not get the exam prep materials straight from the source? With "CCSP Self Study: CCSP SECUR Exam Certification Guide" (ISBN: 1587200929), Cisco Press has successfully done just that.
First and foremost, the book is an exam study guide and not meant to replace the official SECUR course curriculum. If the reader does not have extensive, prior Cisco IOS experience or has not completed the SECUR course, he/she is advised to first review the Cisco Press book, "Securing Cisco IOS Networks (SECUR)" to take the course. However, if the reader already has the requisite experience, this book will provide the reader with enough information to conquer the SECUR exam.
The book layout is concise and straight-forward. Each chapter opens with a "Do I Know This Already" quiz. Each opening chapter quiz provides the reader the opportunity to test his/her existing knowledge to each chapter topic. While the book suggests the reader could skip the chapter materials if reader passes the opening quiz, why would you - you purchased this book for a reason. Each chapter succinctly reviews the exam topic and closes with a chapter Q&A. I also found each chapter's Foundation Summary extremely helpful as a review mechanism the night before the big test.
The book closes with a series of lab scenarios which reinforces not only the exam topics, but challenges the reader on the fundamentals of securing Cisco IOS routers. The reader can easily complete these labs on his/her own test-bed environment with three routers (requires 3DES!). Finally, the book includes a companion CD-ROM that includes a test engine as well the book in PDF format. For the frequent traveling consultant, such as me, the e-book format is an added bonus.
If I had to offer one drawback on the study guide, the book did not adequately cover the Cisco SDM. But, in Cisco Press's defense, the exam topics are always evolving and the reader is advised to always check with the Cisco website for the latest exam topics. I "blew-away" the exam after reading this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone planning to sit for the SECUR exam.
Rating:
Summary: another bad book from cisco press
Review: Once again, cisco press has enlisted people who should not be writing books to write books. The authors, reviewers, and the editors have no clue what they are writing. I can tell they don't even know the subject well. They copied and pasted from the cisco's website and it has typos everywhere. Shame on the authors, reviewers, and the editors. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Rating:
Summary: Very good GUIDE for the exam...
Review: The CCSP consists of 5 exams that focus on security. This first exam revolves around the use of security on Cisco routers. The exam itself has traditionally been one that requires a very high pass rate and leaves very little room for error. This book addresses all the exam objectives and goes into enough detail on each topic to provide a foundation and guideline for preparing for this exam.
The book is divided into six sections. The first section is unique to Cisco Press exam guides. It provides several chapters on security basic and theory. While these topics are not listed in the exam objectives on Cisco's Web site, these chapters provide the building blocks for the remaining chapters. They consist of the general attacks, defenses and policies that are required to begin charting a secure environment.
Section II goes over the management and security of routers. Section III tackles Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA). This section provides detailed instruction on setting up routers to use AAA. The last chapter of this section introduces Cisco AAA server called Cisco Secure Access Control Server. The author gives examples in the form of screen shots to illustrate the appropriate pages on the ACS for AAA router configurations. Section IV goes on to discuss access-list, IOS firewall, CBAC, and IDS on routers. Again, examples of configurations are provided for each command. Section V provides detailed instruction on setting up VPNs. This part of the SECUR exam can be the most difficult and the author clearly lays out the commands as well as the reasoning behind them.
Section VI provides scenarios that allow the reader to review the content of the book in almost a lab format. The scenarios are broken down into tasks and each task has several subtasks that instruct the reader on what needs to be configured. The book then gives examples of the commands required to complete each task. This section really pulls the book together. It provides examples of configurations that the reader may be presented with either during a Cisco written or lab exam or while on the job in his day to day network security.
Overall this book is an excellent addition to the resources required to successfully take and pass the SECUR exam. It gives a good guide of the test objectives and gives the reader the direction that needs to be taken when preparing for the test. Each chapters has excellent examples and illustrations for the reader to see implemented exactly was they have just read. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 and would highly recommend it to anyone who is preparing for this exam. I have read many Certification Exam guides and the common theme that most readers tend to forget is that it is a "guide". It is not the "answer guide". It is not going to give you the answers to the questions on the exam. It does provide the outline of what needs to be studied and gives the basics that you need to know, but you will need to study more than just this guide. I don't think Cisco has ever labeled these as an "all you ever need to know for the test" book. I have taken the SECUR exam and I can tell you that this guide is an excellent addition to your test preparation materials by providing you with a good guide for the exam.
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