learning network design

[ne0-reloaded]

what's the best way to learn network design from a hardware standpoint (ie switches, routers, vpn's etc). while studying for my ccna, i learned a little bit about the cisco 3 layer model (core, distribution, and access layer), and it always interested me on how someone would know where to put which peice of hardware in what location for optimal results. this diagram got me interested again in how the designers knew where to put what and why. i think the ccda exam covers this, but im not exactly sure if it only covers the cisco model or if it covers hardware design in general. basically if anyone could tell of some good books, websites, certs, or anything that would give me some more knowledge in this area id appreciate it. name all the books u can, cause i love to read and learn!

thanks

 

[GeForceX]

Ne0, sorry to get off-topic (well I have little experience in networking anyway) but how old are you? TY.

-J.

 

[JTY]

CCDA will cover network design.

 

[ne0-reloaded]

Ne0, sorry to get off-topic (well I have little experience in networking anyway) but how old are you? TY.

-J.

im 21

JTY does it cover cisco's network design or network design in general?

 

[niccoli]

neo-reloaded - I went to college to learn network design and have gone through a ton of books. Personally I have to recommend the network design books published by the Cisco Press, The CCDA would cover quite a bit and from there you could go for your CCDP as well if you wanted. Cisco Books are going to cover almost exclusively cisco equipment. However, once you have read 2 or 3 books you will get the general idea of network design/engineering and can then find other books that are non-cisco specific.

Hope that helps a little, if you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

 

[BobSutan]

Design books:
Cisco Network Design, ISBN 0-7645-4696-1
Designing Cisco Networks, ISBN 1-57870-105-8
CCDA Exam Certification Guide, ISBN 0-7357-0074-5

Design Certifications:
Cisco Certified Design Associate
Cisco Certified Design Professional

The CCDA includes lots of non-cisco stuff in it. That's one of the reasons the test is so hard for entry level people that don't have lots of experience with different things (aka AS400's). Yes its a Cisco cert, but network infrastructure design is more or less vender neutral.

If you'd like to get a leg up on others getting into design, start toying around with prototyping networks, designing pilot networks, and characterizing your home networks. Look at data flow, protocols, etc. My "12 step guide to characterizing a network" has got to be floating around out there somewhere. Once my site's DNS is resolved I'll be sure to host it for you.

 

[Boscoh]

There's a VERY good book by Cisco Press called "Top Down Network Design". I'd suggest getting it. It's a very good book for learning not only Cisco's design practices but network design in general.

If you check out www.cisco.com/safe you will see lots of blueprints about secure network design. The blueprints should help you out in visualizing where everything goes.

 

[BobSutan]

I'll second what Boscoh said. Its a good book. And the Safe blueprints are great for a bird's-eye-view of what Cisco deems appropriate in design terms. Good stuff indeed!