Cisco Wireless LAN Security
Reviewer Name: Trevor Chandler, Wireless Network Consultant
Reviewer Certification: CCNA
Rating: ***** out of *****
The title is definitely in alignment with the content. A basic-to-intermediate discussion of security, as it applies to wireless LANs, is presented in this book. When I completed the book, I certainly had a much better understanding of wireless LAN security fundamentals – both generically and with a Cisco slant. The book has four co-authors; this may explain the healthy perspective given to the subject of wireless LAN security.
I know the number of chapters of a book can't always tell much of the story, but in the case of the 13 chapters contained in this book – spread out over almost 400 pages – I immediately felt that no single chapter would contain an amount of information that may be overwhelming as far as being able to retain my focus. The two final chapters comprised the greatest number of pages for any single chapter, and rightfully so. It would have been a compromise of the completion of the overall material to have limited the number of pages involving configuration examples and deployment scenarios.
I really appreciated chapter 2. This chapter was titled "Basic Security Mechanics and Mechanisms," and the content was just as the title suggested. The subject matter discussed security without any connection to wireless LANs. With "Security" being a complete topic all by itself, it was beneficial to have a little introduction to some generic security fundamentals before blending this topic with wireless networking. If the subject of computer/network security is not your forte, then you’ll be served well with this brief exposure.
Chapters 3 and 4 were a welcomed addition because they provided a "warm-up" to wireless networking. The authors, in my opinion, did a very good job in not assuming that the reader would be a seasoned veteran of wireless networking. With chapters 2, 3 and 4 leading the way, the groundwork was set for a solid comprehension for the remainder of the book.
So, it is in chapter 5, "WLAN Basic Authentication and Privacy Methods," where the discussion of security for wireless LANs really begins. Once again, the title of the chapter is in sync with the content. What’s provided is some light exposure to security methods. The information in the previous chapters really help to digest this chapter’s material. This chapter is one of the "key" chapters in the book’s presentation of wireless LAN security; the foundation to the discussion of wireless LAN security begins here.
The remaining chapters up to chapter 11 contained more in-depth discussion of security in the wireless LAN. I was pleased to see a discussion on the Wireless Domain Services (WDS), Wireless LAN Solution Engine, and Cisco Structured Wireless Aware Network (SWAN). While there's plenty of information at the Cisco website regarding these mechanisms, including the information in the context of the book content enhanced my understanding.
I don't believe this is a book that is intended to prepare for any Cisco-related certification; not that that was suggested anywhere to begin with. However, the reason for my comment is because there are none of the traditional questions at the end of each chapter to test chapter comprehension. So, if you want to test your understanding or memory, you'll have to create your own questions as you read through each chapter.
There will be a number of terms that may be unfamiliar to some readers, so I'll encourage you to note those as you read each chapter. The book contains no glossary for you to reference terms all nice and neat, in alphabetical order.
The book is for someone with at least a Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) level of knowledge. Certainly if the reader has a fair understanding of wireless networking, the focus can be exclusively placed on wireless LAN security. I would not recommend this book as a first-read to someone who doesn't have an understanding of wireless networking, unless they're going to read only chapters 3 and 4. Again, chapters 3 and 4 are very good for a first exposure to wireless LAN theory.
Using a rating scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the worst, and 5 being the best) I’d give the book a rating of 5. Even with the fast evolution of wireless networking technology, and wireless standards being in almost a constant state of flux, I can see how I'd still be able to refer to this book for many months to come.