Sponsoring Editor
Jane Brownlow

Editorial Supervisor
Patty Mon

Project Manager
Karen Berry, Pine Tree Composition, Inc.

Acquisitions Coordinator
Jennifer Housh

Technical Editor
Wes Noonan

Copy Editor
Lisa McCoy

Proofreader
Dolores Corson

Indexer
Kathy Whittier, Walsh Associates

Production Supervisor
Jean Bodeaux

Composition
Laserwords Private Ltd.

Illustration
Lyssa Wald

Cover Designer
Jeff Weeks

Information has been obtained by McGraw-Hill from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, McGraw-Hill, or others, McGraw-Hill does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information.

This book is dedicated to our Mothers, Fathers, Wives, and Children. They have truly brought us the greatest of riches.

About the Authors

Toby J. Velte , Ph.D., CCNA, CCDA, is an international, best-selling author of business technology articles and books. He is co-founder of Velte Publishing, Inc., and the co-author of several books published by McGraw-Hill and Cisco Press.

He is currently part of Accenture's North American Products practice.

Anthony T. Velte , CISSP, CISA, CCSA, CCNA, has over 16 years in the information systems industry. He is co-founder of Velte Publishing, Inc., and the co-author of several books published by McGraw-Hill and Cisco Press.

Mr. Velte holds several certifications including the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification and the Certified Information Systems Auditor certification (CISA). He is also a Secured Member of the FBI Infragard Minnesota Membership Alliance (IMnMA).

About the Technical Editor

Wesley J. Noonan (Houston, Texas) has been working in the computer industry since the mid-1990s, specializing in Windows -based networks and network infrastructure security design and implementation. He is a Staff Quality Engineer for Attachmate, working on the company's security solutions product line. Wes is the author of Hardening Network Infrastructure and is a contributing/co-author for The CISSP Training Guide by QUE Publishing, Hardening Network Security by McGraw-Hill, and Firewall Fundamentals by Cisco Press. Wes is also a contributor to Redmond magazine, writing on the subjects of network infrastructure and security. He maintains a Windows Network Security related "Ask the Experts" section for http://Techtarget.com (http://searchwindowssecurity.techtarget.com/ateAnswers/0,289620,sid45_tax298206,00.html).

Acknowledgments

The first edition of this book would never have taken off without the enormous contributions of author Tom Shaughnessy. To him we owe a wonderful basis from which to build. For the second, third, and now fourth editions, we called upon the talents of author Robert Elesenpeter. He corrected typos, edited, and reworked text and art so that it was clear and current, and contributed some original work to flesh out all three editions. We also acknowledge our technical editor Wes Noonan. He took the responsibility for ensuring this book's technical accuracy very seriously.

It was yet again a pleasure working with the team at McGraw-Hill. To this edition's Executive Editor, Jane Brownlow, and Acquisitions Coordinator, Jennifer Housh, and everyone else on the McGraw-Hill production team, we say thank you very much.

Finally, we'd like to extend a special thanks to Ian Stong at http://www.ccie4u.com. He set us up with online access to a variety of the Cisco gear used in completing this edition. There is no doubt that http://www.ccie4u.com and services like it are a valuable resource for the beginner, someone going for an advanced certification, and even for a couple of guys working on a Cisco Beginner's Guide . So if you need access to a bunch of Cisco gear for whatever reason, check out http://www.ccie4u.com.