CCNA Routing and Switching 200-120 Official Cert Guide Library & CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-101 Official Cert Guide

Perfect self-study guide for the CCENT/CCNA! NOTE: You'll need to download the errata and updates from the Cisco Press website. Included software is not the best for practice exams.This is a perfect tool to add to your toolbox if you're going for the Cisco CCENT or CCNA. However, you'll probably need to supplement these books with additional study material. The books are very detailed and give a great explanation of the topics in the Cisco exams. You'll benefit from adding some additional training to supplement these books. I would suggest either a home lab with real equipment or a network simulator, this way you can fully experience IOS commands and configuration. I'd also suggest a video training course, such as CBT Nuggets.Be sure to go to the Cisco Press website and download the errata and updates for the books (mostly the ICND-2 book has many updates since being published.) This way you'll be getting the latest information and training. Specifically, the ICND-2 book is lacking in subjects such as Rapid Spanning Tree, First Hop Redundancy Protocols, and OSPF/EIGRP. The free download of the updated content from Cisco Press has these topics covered in more detail. Also the errata will help with the few minor typo's the books have. So be sure to download them!!!The included software leaves a lot to be desired. While it is handy having all of the book practice questions available on the computer, along with the chapter review quizzes, the included Practice Exams are not the greatest. I will say this, the practice exam and part-review quizzes are MUCH more difficult than the actual exam. Wendell Odom went out of his way to make the practice questions as literal as possible, so beware of several trick questions that you'll get wrong because you didn't pay attention to exactly how the answers are worded. This can be discouraging because you'll score low on the practice questions even though you think you know the content, in actuality it's a good thing. Once you can pass the practice questions with passing scores you should really know the content and be prepared for the real exam.I passed the CCENT exam using these books along with CBT Nuggets videos and equipment in my home lab. I'm almost ready to take the CCNA exam and feel confident that I'll do well. I decided to review these books now that I've read through both of them a few times and have already taken one exam. Just remember, unless you already have experience with Cisco IOS and networking, you'll probably want to supplement your training with study materials other than these books. It's doubtful that just reading these books alone will fully prepare you for the exams.Good luck!

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This book is nicely focused around what you will need to know about LAN and WAN technologies, and Cisco routing and switching in order to pass the CCNA cert exams. Most of the book is very well written and easy to understand. If you come to this with a background in networking, the materials will be familiar. My issue with this book, and the exam is how much it relies on antiquated technologies and concepts that have not been used in years. One example is Cisco's insistence in including Frame Relay networking. This technology has been dead for several years and you will most probably never run across it in a production network. The reasoning Cisco uses for keeping this material is that it enforces several standard concepts of WAN networking. I can see the difficulty moving to a common technology such as MPLS would bring, mostly that you would have a very hard time finding lab IOS to practice on. Cisco could get around this by including MPLS in the lab simulator. They don't have to make every CCNA candidate an SP expert on MPLS, but having CCNA's with no knowledge of the most common WAN technology is bad for CCNAs and bad for Cisco. Continuing to include Frame Relay is embarrassing.Several places in the book the author says something to the effect of "This is a dead subject but you need to know it for the test, or for history's sake". Cisco needs to get past this stuff.Overall the books are very high quality and if you want to be a CCNA, this is the way to go. Note that the Kindle version does not include the materials on the CDs that accompany the hardbacks.

After being certified several years ago and letting it lapse (bad idea, kids) I needed to re-start my certification track. Cisco has introduced the concept of technology trains into their certifications so all 3 levels - CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE - all now have technology specialization tracks. The CCNA Routing & Switching material here provides the training necessary to pass both of the "pre-cert" tests (which will wind up granting you the CCENT cert along the way, if you go that route) or to pass the 1 "combined" test that gets you straight to the CCNA R&S.These books are very well written with explanations about how the technology got to the point where it is today, lots of tips and techniques, and a full treatment of everything you would need to know to pass the exam. A study strategy of how to use the 2 books together to study in a coherent manner for the test is provided and I do recommend you follow it. I use these skills for my job and I held certifications previously, so this was more a matter of studying up on current approaches and reminding myself of technologies that I don't use daily than anything else, so I managed to get through all of this in about 4 days of serious study. That said, I think anyone with some basic understanding of the concepts of networking should be able to use this material to pass the certification test in 2-3 weeks if you put in the time to read it all.Cisco Press has released some serious dogs in their day but this set is definitely not one of those. It's worth the money and the time and I think you'll be well pleased.

The book is great if you want to study them separately ICND1 and ICND2. If you want to study for the CCNA then you have to use both books backwards and forwards which is a little bit confusing at times. The best part of the book is it does try to teach you about understanding Networking with CCNA in mind. The bad side is it can go on and on and this can be a little bit confusing at times. This book isn't for someone in mind who wants to go through it quickly and take the exam. This book is for someone who wants to learn but not going to take it for a very long time. The only bit I don't like is there are few videos examples and no PDF (unless you wish to purchase them separately) which is a great pity because overall the book is interesting. But big bucks is what its all about and unless you haven't got much then you could end up buying the book, additional PDF (for tablets etc) and additional labs as there are very few on the dvd. The bottom line you can achieve CCNA cert but its the experience that will always count in getting that job.

If you are expecting this book to actually follow the same flow as the CCNA stuff in the Cisco Network Academy then it doesn't. If you want something that includes in depth explanations and more content than you can find on line then this is for you.In the beginning I hated it as it didn't follow the same structure as the web site; but actually I now see that as a plus: it gives a different perspective and sometimes a clearer perspective. Sometimes it is more long winded but sometimes it provides the missing link.To the best of my knowledge everything for the new CCNA curriculum is included here.As for the comments about the eBook not having all of the additional content of the hardback version: I have to say I haven't really used any of the stuff on the DVD yet so I can't comment as to its usefulness: however the eBook is cheaper:)If I'm honest if I'd read some of the chapters in this book before trying stuff in my CISCO lab then things might have gone more quickly: then again I wouldn't have had so much fun :^)I seriously suggest you think about buying this hardback box set if you intend to study CCNA0-4 and become certified!

These two books are a good supplement to help with passing ICND1 and 2 to get your CCNA. They cover concepts in the right depth without including too much cruft. Sections are clearly explained and provided with multiple examples and command usage. A couple of techniques for revising are also talked about at the end of each chapter along with test type questions which is helpful. To make it easier on yourself also I recommended using a a simulator or some old Cisco gear to practice unless you work somewhere that has a test rig. I found just typing in the commands helped my memory. The CD's included in the books also have a load of questions and a couple of full tests to help you practice. Not bad for the price, good luck! :)

If someone wants to learn deep concepts regarding the topics covered in ccna exam. Then this book is a must have. The language is very easy understand. The book is divided in to several parts based on the topics. So its very easy to cover one topic and then move on. Good book....

This is a very well written book. It can be used as a reading material while following the CCNA course in a classroom.However, I do not believe that someone can just buy the book and start reading from scratch. You need to either attend a certified CCNA course or ask friends with experience in networking. There will be areas where the book or similar materials found at the internet will not be sufficient to answer difficult questions.Apart from the above, all the areas in the book are well explained in details with and examples, pictures and figures. The questions are similar to the real exam questions.