About the Authors

Chris Carthern (CCNP, CISSP) is a senior network engineer for the US Department of Defense. He is responsible for analyzing, designing, installing, configuring, maintaining, and repairing Cisco network infrastructure and application components, and for training and mentoring junior network engineers and preparing them for Cisco and CISSP certification exams. Carthern took his BS (honors) in computer science from Morehouse College and his MS in system engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He holds the following certifications: Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), CompTIA Security+, Brocade Certified Network Professional (BNCP), and ITIL v3.

William Wilson is a senior network engineer with 20 years of information technology experience. He is responsible for design, implementation, and maintenance of campus, WAN, and data center networks. William completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics at University of Colorado, and obtained his MS and doctoral degrees in computer science from Colorado Technical University. He holds the following certifications: Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), CompTIA Security+, CompTIA A+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), and Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA). He passed the written portion of the CCIE certification and he is studying for the practical lab component.

Richard Bedwell (CCNP, CCDP, JNCIS) has worked for the US Department of Defense for more than 10 years, supporting network administration, security, and engineering in multiple environments and locations throughout the world. He has provided maintenance, configuration, operational support, and engineering in voice, video, and data networks using multiple vender solutions for LAN, CAN, MAN, and WAN networks, primarily using Cisco Devices. Richard has a degree in business administration (BA), with a focus on Management Information Systems (MIS), from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. He holds the following certifications: Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), CCNA Voice, CCNA Security, CCNA Wireless, Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP), CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Security+ CE, Juniper Network Certified Internet Specialist (JNCIS), and ITILv3 Foundations.

Noel Rivera is an IP lead analyst at CACI International, Inc. He was formerly a network systems engineer at Lockheed Martin and the US Department of Defense. Rivera has a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computing engineering from the University of Puerto Rico─Mayaguez, and master’s degrees in electrical, electronics and communications engineering and in computer science, both from John Hopkins University. He holds the following certifications: Cisco Certified Network Professional Routing and Switching/Security (CCNP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), VMWare Certified Professional 5─Data Center Visualization (VCP5-DC), CompTIA Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP), and Cisco ASA Specialist.