Inside Cisco IOS Software Architecture

Inside Cisco IOS Software Architecture is intended to be an IOS "shop manual" for network designers, implementers, and administrators. The objective of this book is to describe key parts of the architecture and the operation of the IOS software. This book also covers the architecture of some of Cisco's hardware platfo rms. Because IOS is a specialized embedded operating system tightly coupled to the underlying hardware, it's difficult to describe the software without also considering the hardware architecture. Note, however, that this book is not meant to be an exhaustive manual for Cisco hardware. The hardware descriptions are provided only to help illustrate unique features in the IOS software. You might notice that this book does not cover many of the Cisco platforms; in particular, this book does not cover any of the Catalyst switch products, and it omits many of the access routers. In most cases, the missing platforms either are similar to ones that are covered or, in the case of the Catalyst switches, would be best treated in a separate text of their own. rms. Because IOS is a specialized embedded operating system tightly coupled to the underlying hardware, it's difficult to describe the software without also considering the hardware architecture. Note, however, that this book is not meant to be an exhaustive manual for Cisco hardware. The hardware descriptions are provided only to help illustrate unique features in the IOS software. You might notice that this book does not cover many of the Cisco platforms; in particular, this book does not cover any of the Catalyst switch products, and it omits many of the access routers. In most cases, the missing platforms either are similar to ones that are covered or, in the case of the Catalyst switches, would be best treated in a separate text of their own.