Cisco Self-Study: Building Cisco Metro Optical Networks (METRO)
Reviewer Name: Eric Chou, Network Engineer
Reviewer Certification: CCIE
The book Cisco Self-Study: Building Cisco Metro Optical Networks (METRO) by Dave Warren
and Dennis Hartmann is worth every penny of the price tag. A recent job change requires me to
grasp an in-depth understanding of optical networking fast. I was looking for a book with a good
overview of SONET and practical knowledge on the Cisco ONS boxes. In reading this book, I got
much more than what I bargained for.
The chapter on SONET alone was worth the bucks. It does a good job explaining the section,
line, and path layers without giving you a headache. The breakdown on framing overheads gives
you a good start when you need to troubleshoot an issue. The difference between 1+1 and 1:1
protection were often misunderstood, after reading the section the difference should be really
clear. Which also helps in understanding UPSR and BLSR. The different types of alarms and the
line of alarm indication signal (AIS) is now my desktop reference whenever there is a problem. In
fact, I used it the other day to quickly identify an issue and took action accordingly.
The overview and configuration of the ONS 15454 and 15327 product chapters provide a good
start when you need to work with those products. I do find the need to read the manuals on
Cisco’s web site when I was actually trying to implement them on the field. Every network is
different and the optical product line is pretty extensive, no one book can cover it all. The screen
shots were based on an older version of CTC, but the general layout is the same and you can still
get a good feeling of the configuration steps.
I do wish the book covers more ground on Metro Ethernet and DWDM. The chapters briefly
explain the concepts behind the two technologies and basic configurations. I think both parts can
be dug into a little further without making the head spin. The same can be said about Packet over
SONET. Depending on your own experience, the section on configuring PoS interfaces can be a
complete waste or very useful. If you have a solid background in Cisco gears and a good
understanding on SONET after reading chapter 3 of this book, you can probably configure PoS
interfaces using the question mark in Cisco IOS. But there is nothing wrong with reinforce those
commands by reading them again. Especially if you are an enterprise network support and only
deals with configuring WAN interfaces once in a while.
The book does a good job explaining dynamic packet transport. Even after working with SRP for
over two years, I still learned a few new things from the chapters on DPT. I wish this book was
available a few years ago when I was first introduced to SRP, it could have saved me a lot of
headache and a few trips to a remote hub site. If your company is thinking about implementing
DPT or SRP, I would jump right to the chapter on DPT after reading their SONET chapter. DPT is
a cool technology that addresses some of the deficiencies of a SONET ring topology and the
book does a good job explaining the inner workings of DPT.
The book is really an excellent investment if you want to learn more about optical networking. As
with any Cisco Press books, you get a Cisco-view on the technology. If you are thinking about
pursuing the Cisco certification in optical networking, this book is a must have. As with any book
that tries to cover a wide range of topics, it leaves out a thing or a two. But you can always start
with the book and choose the topic you want to explore more on the Cisco web site. It is both a
good learning tool and a desktop reference. In my opinion, it is the best 60 bucks I have spent on
learning optical networking.