Reviews (36)

CCNA Study Guide
Very Information Study Guide for the CCNA Certification Examination. Alot of new material since I read the 3rd edition of the same Study Guide.

The best CCNA book for certification.
Although I am a reviewer for Cisco Press, I have found that the Sybex book series is much more understandable for the average person trying to achieve their CCNA certification.I teach the IT Mentor 2 Day CCNA Boot Camp and have used this book for the last 5 years.Over 5,000 of my students have used this book!
Just passed CCNA, I would recommend this book.
I just passed CCNA with 974/1000.I used this book, Cisco Flash Cards and Boson NetSim 6.0.I dont suggest you to use solely this book and expect to pass CCNA.I recommend you to do plenty of hands on labs along with this book.I found that a lot of questions from CCNA exam were from this book, some even word for word (I noticed that from ISDN chapter).Although this book done a great job explaining but I wouldnt have pass the test with this book alone.The there are a lot of drag and drop questions and three heavy weight sims on my test.I hope this help, and remember "Ping" and "show cdp neighbor details" is your best buddy :)Good luck. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer networks    6. Computers    7. Computers - Certification    8. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    9. Data processing    10. Electronic data processing personnel    11. Examinations    12. Networking - General    13. Networking - Network Protocols    14. Study Guides    15. Computer Communications & Networking    16. Computers / Technical Skills   

Reviews (18)

good for training, but seems incomplete
It is a good tool for exam practice, but doesn't seem too useful for practical network mapping, simulation, or planning.There's just too much that's incomplete.Commands are missing including some advanced routing protocol support, there's no support for larger switches, and some of the diagnostics are pretty kludgy.There is a CCNP version of the software that supposedly addresses these, but I haven't tried it.It may seem fairly expensive, but it is still a lot cheaper than buying an assortment of cisco gear to run through the exercises.

Too many mistakes
I read the other reviews on Amazon before purchasing this product.I saw some were good and some were bad.I thought, well, people have different opinions and I may like it.No.There are too many mistakes.Others have commented on VLAN issues with the 2950's.I had the same problem.Any more than 3 vlans and it just wouldn't work.It was very frustrating in that I wasted ALOT of time thinking it my configs at first.Then there is some kind of bug with pings.When you ping from one specific PC to another across your virtual network the entire application shuts down.This will consistently happen so you must remember which PC's you can and can't ping to and from safely and make sure to save everything before every ping.You will put in configurations then 5 minutes later do a "sh run" and they will mysteriously be gone.Or take a network statement out from under OSPF but it just will NOT remove it.Lastly there is the user friendly-ness.I rate this as a zero.It is the most cumbersome application I have ever used.It would have helped had I been able to open the user guide but that did nothing when I clicked on it.I lost many a network because I didn't save the topologies and configs correctly.So I called Boson for help.You have to leave your name and number and they will call back within 48 hours.That was 2 weeks ago.I have not heard from them.

Poor Implementation of ACL's
I sent the company some feedback last week and have heard nothing from them. Product does not apply ACL's properly to interfaces and has problems recording matches to outbound ACL's. Also there are problems with alternate vlans on 2950 switches. Numerous bugs running verion 5.07 with latest patch. Was a very disappointing purchase.
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Computers - Certification    3. Study Aids    4. Test Prep    5. Tests    6. Computer Communications & Networking    7. Study Aids / Tests    8. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Reviews (14)

Complement to other sources available
I think author did a wonderful job filling in where other popular litrature about PIX left off.I read the CCSP book, and leared alot.This book filled in stuff that CCSP book just does not talk about.Not to knock the CCSP book; each auther can only fill in so much.It is a difficult decision on what to keep and what to leave off.I find the PIX and ASA book is very practical.If you want a good understanding of this platform, then you want this book as the pliers in your tool box of knowledge.Do not expect it to be swiss army tool though.I think author was especially considerate to the reader's needs to publish items that other litrature just does not cover.There is alot of good information.Nice pictures which addressed questions I had and even posted to some CCIE sites and there was no answer.Definately worth buying.

Very little on ASA
This book is very helpful for PIX firewalls, but is mislabeled for ASA. There is very little on the ASA product. Usually just a mention of command differences between ASA and PIX. If you are looking for a book on ASA do not buy this book.

One point makes this book a must have
Most commands explained have three lines:
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Data Security    3. Computers    4. Computers - Computer Security    5. Computers - General Information    6. Internet - Security    7. Security    8. Security - General    9. Computers / Internet / Security    10. Network security   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (18)

Everything You Need to Know, Updated to Current Tests
Cisco Press has re-issued the complete Certification Library in a Third Edition. These four books cover:
Good value, good books
Overall, thought the BCMSN was best, then BSCI, then BCRAN, then CIT.
Excellent
Once you have achieved the CCNA certification, your natural path points toward the Cisco Certified Network Professional certification. This title from Cisco Press is a set consisting of one book for each of the four exams specific to the CCNP certification. This set includes the following books:Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Networking - General    8. Networking - Network Protocols    9. Computer Communications & Networking    10. Computers / Technical Skills   

Reviews (8)

You can't be talking about this book!
I checked twice to make sure I was reading reviews of the book I am currently reading(now on Ch 8), because this is an excellent book.Before I begin - one caveat - I have the the Networking Basic, CCNA 1 Companion Guide (cc 2006) not the CCNA 1 & 2 Companion Guide.However, judging by the contents and excerpt it appears that Part I of this book is the same as the book I am reading.
Crappy book
I am teaching a networking course and am using the CCNA 1 and 2 Companion Guide as the required textbook for the class. I am very surprised that I am presently on Chapter 8 and I am still talking about Ethernet. I know Ethernet is an important subject matter, but it could be reduced to two chapters at best. The book,thus far, is way too technical for the students in my class. Thus, it simply isn't for students who are beginning their journey into networking. For the bang for my buck, I would recommend Todd Lammele's CCNA book, something to the point. The instructor could expand on the important material that the students need to know and the book would stress key points. I am CCNA and CCNP certified with practical experience so I believe I am qualified to know what is needed for students wanting to enter the networking field and like I said, the book has good info, but it is spread so far apart and is too technical for someone with little or no experience. I have talked to the Dean about this book and have recommended that another book be used. Cisco books are usually good for experienced people in the field.

Be warned
Don't buy this book unless your instructor specifically requires it.Terribly written with virtually no sign of editing, it's a struggle to read and, when covering extremely technical issues, virtually incomprehensible.Worse, the content does not exactly match the on-line curriculum, meaning that Cisco on-line tests typically ask questions about topics not covered in the relevant book chapter.Even worse, the answers to the tests in the book don't match the questions being asked.Buy the Sybex CCNA book instead; although it's not written to match the on-line course, it will help clarify networking, and not leave the reader frustrated and feeling cheated.
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Computers - Certification    3. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    4. Networking - General    5. Study Aids    6. Study Guides    7. Test Prep    8. Tests    9. Computer Communications & Networking    10. Computers / Networking / General   

Reviews (6)

Practical Advice for Converting to IP Telephony
Switching to IP Telephony is one of those decisions that the CEO finds easy to make.Costs decline quite a lot and quality of performance is promised to be acceptable.
This will separate the successful from the failures!
Many of us have decided to put away our legacy PBX systems and install a VoIP based communication platform, and with all of the benefits clearly visible, we often jump into action without fully realizing the scope of what we are about to undertake.In a VoIP deployment, so many factors must be considered in the design, that often things are left out.In the deployments where QoS, switching infrastructure, and overall network design are ignored, you see problems with reliability and an overall bad taste left in the mouth of the end user.With proper planning, the problems experienced by these design flaws (or often lack of design) can be overcome, and the true glory of the VoIP system will be seen. Cisco has designed an awesome assortment of VoIP enabling technologies, that when used together can, and will, change the way we do business for the better, but only if you have a solid foundation of planning.
A very good book for design engineers.
If you design networks or just want to get a better understanding of Cisco IP Telephony technology pick up this book. Its a great reference and a daily problem solver for your job. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Communications / Networking    5. Networking - General    6. Networking - Network Protocols    7. Telephone Engineering    8. Computer Communications & Networking    9. Computers / Networking / General   

Reviews (8)

Network textbook
This is a great book for learning the CCNA material. It will teach you all of the major points that you need to study to pass the exam. Even if you are not taking the exam and just want information on how networks are designed, this is the book. I found it a good read and the practice CD was priceless in learning how to issue commands to the various Cisco routers. A great book and worth the money too!!!

Clearify something....5 stars not accurate...
Everyone here critizes<< typos here and there.. lacking this and lacking that... WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND if this book is so bad... remember that next time you write a negative review.. that will help us (the newbies) know where to get this right information....
Disappointingand frustrating
For the last 3 years I would have sworn by Todd Lammle's CCNA Study Guides; mainly do to his free-hearted writing style that seem to add an element of humor to complex reads.However, this book has far too many errors and lacked technical intensity.In the past, I used Todd's 607 Study Guide to pass the archived 607 exam on the first try.Two and half years later, I purchased the 801 Study Guide with the same enthusiasm.After reading this book twice, taking all 8 bonus exams repeatedly, and exhausting the capabilities of the simulation software, I took the comprehensive 801 exam this weekend and did not pass!My exam had multiple questions that were not covered in Lammle's book.Not to mention the lack of coverage of NAT, that seems to magically show up on my exam.None of which was covered with enough detail within this book.Moreover, the Virtual Lab was not exhaustive and far too basic (No OSPF, EIGRP or NAT simulation capabilities).In my opinion, this is not acceptable. Especially when I was faced with these topics through out my exam.I wish this book did a better job of pinpointing the areas that were and would be crucial on the exam.Although Todd Lammle attempted to do place emphasis on certain points, none of those points showed up on test day.Obviously, Cisco has made the exam harder to achieve by reading materials alone (even there own text).Therefore, accurate and thought-provoking supplemental materials are a must!!The bonus questions simply repeat themselves over-and-over again.The book as a whole lacked coverage on crucial technologies and is filled with confusing statements and answers that turn out to be mistakes- Go figure!All of which, led me to give this book 3 stars (maybe closer to 2 1/2). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Networking - General    8. Operating Systems - Windows    9. Study Guides    10. Computers / Technical Skills    11. Computing and Information Technology   

Reviews (11)

Excellent, as Expected
Routing TCP/IP, Vol 1 - 2nd Edition
Excellent Comparative Reference on OSPF and IS-IS (IPv4 and IPv6)
OSPF and IS-IS : Choosing an IGP for Large-Scale Networks is an excellent source for understanding the similarities and differences of IS-IS and OSPF all in one book.It is the only book available with such complete coverage comparing these two IGP routing protocols.
The best book to learn Routing Protocols for Cisco!!
Jeff Doyle's 2nd edition of his best-selling book - "Routing TCI/IP Volume 1" is a welcome revision to the cannon required for any CCIE Routing & Switching candidate.Jeff Doyle, along with Jennifer Carroll, has done an excellent job at updating what is considered by many to be THE book on routing.In particular, the new edition does a terrific job at describing the white-elephant in the room - IPv6, IPv6's packet format and how to configure some routing protocols to advertise IPv6 prefixes.
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Certification    5. Computers - Communications / Networking    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Networking - Internetworking    8. Networking - Network Protocols    9. Networking - Routers    10. Computers / Networking / Network Protocols    11. Networking standards & protocols   

Reviews (7)

Thorough coverage of all exam topics!
I've just passed the CCDA exam with this book as my primary resource. The book is fully packed with information so that every sentence has to be read thoroughly in order to avoid overlooking some important facts. The author's style of writing is a little dry, so are the topics itself. Fortunately the are many case studies that will help you to apply the theoretical knowledge in real-world scenarios which is vital for passing the exam.
Impressive!Highly recommend
This book has very useful and detailed information that is hard to find elsewhere.Considering its size, the book is very well edited... I only recall seeing one typo but there were definitely not the usual amount of errors I find in other technical books.The book answered many questions I had about designing networks.I now understand what a good and bad design is and was actually able to apply what I learned in a real situation.
Good but wordy
Having just passed the CCDA exam, I have to agree with the most recent reviewers....this book does a great job of covering the CCDA DESGN exam 640-861.But considering the size of this tome, I also highly recommend, asadjunct, the the Cisco Press Sequeira, Wallace book for focus and final test preparation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer networks    6. Computers    7. Computers - Certification    8. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    9. Examinations    10. Networking - General    11. Networking - Network Protocols    12. Study Guides    13. Telecommunications engineers    14. Computer Communications & Networking    15. Computers / Technical Skills   

Reviews (7)

There are better CCNA books available
I had to buy this book for a class.The first day of class the instructor commented that he wasn't happy with the book, but that it was too late to change.He was accustom to teaching from an earlier edition which had a broader scope of information. This book is the second of a two part series. The instructor had to explain a lot of details and providehandouts to clarify sections of the book.
Gets the job done, but be ready to work.....
The new split approach to the CCNA coursework, with the INTRO and ICND books, have provided better organization and a modular breakdown to the information. As a recertification candidate who just completed my exams, I can say that these books are a definite improvement over earlier versions such as 640-607.Odom (or other technical editors) have taken the time to present the information in a building block manner that is comprehensible.I won't repeat the longer descriptions of content that are already present in these reviews.
No WAY! This is not even close to the CCNA exam
The CCNA exam has very hard VLSM, EIGRP and OSFP questions, that are not even covered close to the depth needed to pass the ccna exam.
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Internetworking (Telecommunication)    8. Networking - General    9. Networking - Network Protocols    10. Study Guides    11. Computer Communications & Networking    12. Computers / Technical Skills   

Reviews (9)

Wrong title
I was looking for CCNA 1 & 2 Companion Guide Revised Third Edition, from that page I clicked on 'used & new' link and oredered what I thought was the same product. It wasn't til it arrived that I received a used version of the previous year's non-revised which is quite a bit different than what I thought I was buying.

I thought it was good
True there are some errors, however, if you are in the class and use this book, the errors are not that profound and shouldn't cause you any confusion.If you are confused because a word is misspelled or there are 4 technical errors throughout the book...you should not be going into the technology field...try a different career path.

Hmmmm.....
I'm not sure about the other reviewers here but I found this book very, very useful.
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - General    2. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Communications / Networking    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Networking - General    8. Networking - Network Protocols    9. Study Guides    10. Computers / Networking / General   

Reviews (16)

I passed!
I recently read the book titled "CCIE Routing and Switching - Official Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition", by Wendell Odom, Jim Geier and Naren Mehta.ISBN: 1587201410.Having read other titles from Wendell Odom, I had high expectations from this book.My expectations where met after reading this title.This is one of the most well put together study guides that I have read.Very well organized and easy to find information.
Worked for me
I used this book to study for and pass my CCIE R&S Written.
Excellent Study Guide
I used the book to study for the CCIE Written R&S and found it to be the most complete reference available. It provides a wide overview of topics but doesn't "gloss over" them. This book is a must for anyone working on their CCIE R&S. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Networking - Internetworking    8. Networking - Network Protocols    9. Networking - Routers    10. Tests    11. Computer Communications & Networking    12. Computers / Technical Skills   

Editorial Review

Nothing's more central to the Internet than the TCP/IP protocol stack, so internetworking engineers need to know--or have access to--as much information about it as possible. That's the function of Read more

Reviews (13)

Best-of-class book for external routing!
CiscoPress's "Routing TCP/IP - Volume II" by Doyle and Carroll is one of the `must-have' books on any CCIE's R&S bookshelf OR any network admin who needs to understand the intricacies of external routing. I have referenced this book many times for my preparations for the R&S lab and real-world implementations.
Ahmad Arslan Munir
Routing TCP/IP, Volume II presents a detailed examination of exterior routing protocols (EGP and BGP) and advanced IP routing issues such as multicast routing, quality of service routing, IPv6, and router management. You will learn IP design and management techniques for implementing routing protocols efficiently. Network planning, design, implementation, operation, and optimization are stressed in each chapter. Cisco-specific configurations for each routing protocol are examined in detail. Plentiful review questions and configuration and troubleshooting exercises make this an excellent self-study tool for CCIE exam preparation.
The best book on Bgp and Multicast
Perfect for Lab and real example on Bgp and Multicast! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Communications / Networking    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Networking - Network Protocols    8. Networking - Routers    9. Computers / Networking / General    10. Networking standards & protocols   

Reviews (6)

Good reference
This book helped me a lot. I recently deployed over 250 ASAs and was running into a lot of problems with the IPS SSM and VPN features. I got most of my answers from this book.

Very Amatuer
What a waste of time it was reading this book. If you are not very familiar with FW/IPS or VPN then this may be helpful, but if you have been working with this technology and Cisco's products that address these technologies (ASA, PIX, IPS, VPN3k) then please don't refer to this joke. Go online to cisco.com and do the research. Sometimes it felt as if whitepapers were copied and pasted.
Excellent Book on Cisco ASA.
I bought this book 2 weeks back for an ASA project that my company is going to deploy. I am really amused to see that each chapter starts off with an in-depth architectural overview of the features to be discussed. It then provides full step-by-step configuration examples with lots of deployment scenarios. It even covers many troubleshooting and monitoring examples that helped me a lot when I started deploying it in my lab network
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Computer - Internet    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Data Security    5. Computer Network Management    6. Computers    7. Internet - Security    8. Networking - General    9. Security - General    10. Computers / Internet / Security    11. Internet    12. Network security   

Reviews (6)

Best-of-class book at implementing QoS
CiscoPress's "Cisco QoS - Exam Certification Guide" 2nd Edition by Odom and Cavanaugh is marketed for the QoS 642-642 exam.In reality, this book is an excellent resource for both real-world implementations and for the CCIE R&S exam.Typically, QoS is not a subject that would keep me engaged, but this book does just that.The writing style is crisp, clean and succinct.
Absolutely the benchmark of excellence
The authors absolutely produced a gem in this Cisco QoS Exam Certification Guide.Whilst I used the book primarily to pass the 642-642 QoS exam, this book can definitely serve as a reference to anyone remotely doing anything with QoS.
Great book for your desk and the 642-642 exam.
I design voice, video and data networks and this book is great for QoS implementation and designs. Easy to follow and understand. Thanks Mr Odom a cisco press book that I can really use. I passed the 642-642 exam using this book also. ... Read more

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Reviews (6)

beginners level
I'm not writing this to discredit the book. I think it is very well done. I just think it should be made clear that this is a beginners level book. There is a lot of emphasis placed o