Aun’s Blog

64-bit IPSec VPN client for *nix

Looking for a Cisco IPSec VPN Client to use on your 64-bit *nix OS? Well, for those of you who have already figured out that Cisco has not developed one for 64-bit OS’s, there is, however, a great alternative for people who use a 64-bit *nix OS. As mentioned in a previous post, there is a client developed by Maurice Massar that works with Cisco VPN Concentrators (ASA, 3000 Concentrator and IOS Routers), called vpnc that has worked well for me thus far. I have been using it on my 64-bit Ubuntu 8.04 desktop, and have yet to see any issues. You can use vpnc with Cygwin on Windows, however, I am not sure how well Cygwin works with 64-bit Windows.

Disclaimer: This client is not developed or supported by Cisco Systems. So, use at your own risk.

iPhone 2.0 and Cisco IPSec VPN

Looks like the new software will have the Cisco IPSec VPN Client built-in! People won’t have to do L2TP (over IPSec) any more! Yay!

Studying for the CCIE

And so the journey begins… after almost 5 years in the Networking field, I’ve finally decided to take on the CCIE. As a first step, I’ve bought most of the books required to prepare for it (around 8! Btw, thats not all of them). While these books were on their way, I finished reading another book most consider the bible of Networking, a must-read, called TCP/IP Illustrated Volume 1 “The Protocols”. This is the book that will make you realize how little you know about the foundation of the field you’re in. So read this book (even if you aren’t going for your CCIE) if you want to understand the internals of the TCP/IP Suite aka Internet Protocol Suite - it is packed to the brim with information, and can be an overwhelming first read, so unless you have almonds every morning, and your brain soaks up information like a sponge, I would recommend reading / skimming through it a second time. It’ll help quite a bit, and even help you understand some topics better.

The next book on the list is the Official Exam Certification Guide by Cisco Press. I plan on finishing it in a week… unrealistic some may say, but I have quite a few books to go through, and don’t have time to waste! I want to take the written exam asap, so I can start working on the lab, which is the real deal. Now I know absolutely no one reads this blog… but if anyone does… and has any advice on how to go about tackling this monster of an exam, feel free to post your comments. I will do my part by posting updates on the progress as I finish each book, with my thoughts and opinions… so if you do stumble upon this blog… add it to your favorite RSS aggregator / reader, and stay tuned!