Though sections in which the authors guide you through configuration wizards' steps add little to the wizards' simplified processes, coverage of the command-line interface should prove helpful during learning and study (the coverage amounts to directed exploration of the environment, which is always good for comprehension and retention). Theory coverage--complete with lots of network schematics, many of which appear on Cisco exams--helps boost your ability to diagnose and repair problems on your own. Some readers may consider the illustrations too large (it's not unusual for a simple dialog box to fill half a page), but everyone will like the labs. These give an instruction ("Create an IKE policy on PIX1 that uses preshared keys") and then, on the next page, give the explicit command-line syntax that does the required job. --David Wall