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 (2)

Included lab is !@#$!$#@! Shame on Boson!
The books are good, and the tests are closer to anything on the CCNA test, although I did notice some of the simulations were buggy with incorrect answers, but Boson should be slapped HARD for including the hamstrung Router Sim LE version.The help does not work.The web connect interface does not work. 2/3rds of the labs are disabled and the ones that work have 2/3rds of the IOS commands disabled. This is meant to prod you into buying the "Full upgrade", at a cost of well over $150.That is quite lame.In addition, the internet scut on Boson is that the Full version also is very buggy and not worth even half the cost charged.The Cisco Academy in San Jose is very outraged at Boson for its poor quality.Ask anyone there.

Amazing book
It is a great book which covers all topics in order to pass the CCNA exam. You have the router and switch simulator to improve and apply your skills.
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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. Networking - General    8. Study Guides    9. Computer Communications & Networking    10. Computers / Technical Skills   

Reviews (12)

Pretty much useless
This has to be one of the worst hundred bucks I've ever spent.Thank goodness my employer reimbursed me for it.Things that suck:
No NAT...
Took this test this morning.I went through EVERY lab in this simulator and read through the Sybex book a total of three times before taking my test.I was confident in my answers until I got to the simulation questions.ALL...not one...ALL of my simulations were on NAT.Out of all 11 chapters in this simulator, not one of them went over configuring NAT.Not only was I surprised...I was a little upset because of the money spent to be confident in nothing.I went through the website for the upgrade to RouterSim 4.1 thinking maybe that's what I should have done before I took the test..and that too has NO labs for NAT.
Total rip-off!!
I purchased this product brand new and was only able to use one of the two licenses supportedly available with it.Then I was able to log-on only once and was locked out with an authorization error.I have repeatedly attempted to contact this company, it appears they are not supportive of their product.The one time I did get into the program it seemed to be vague and very simplistic with prompts for upgrade purchases.To avoid an unnecessary headache, save your money and do not buy this product. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books: Integrated Systems    5. Computer networks    6. Computers    7. Computers - Certification    8. Electronic data processing per    9. Electronic data processing personnel    10. Examinations    11. Networking - General    12. Study guides    13. Computer Communications & Networking    14. Computers / Technical Skills   

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   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (56)

Getting familiar with the router and its commands.
This e-trainer helped me put alot of the router commands that I had only read about to work. I recommend this e-trainer for those who want to get familiar with navigating in a router and for those who need to get familiar with how the routers interact on a network. Stay away!!!!!!
Stay away from this thing! Don't believe the 5 star reviews, they are most likely fake. This product is VERY buggy, lots of problems. Also, it is VERY limited in what you can do, you pretty much have to stick to the few labs, no have no room to "play" and try different configurations without running into trouble or getting errors. Not anywhere worth the $$$ they are asking. Even if it was free,it is a frustrating waste of your valuable time. If you are smart you will not buy this. I would give it 0 stars if I could!

A good tool for learning to configure routers
If you don't happen to have access to a Cisco router (who does?) but do have access to a PC, this tool can simulate about 80% of router configuration prompts, and 100% of the ones that Cisco tests on.Router configuration and routing table organization is roughly half of the CCNA exam, so this can help greatly in preparing for thoses parts of the test. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification - Cisco    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Computer Books And Software    4. Computers    5. Computers - Communications / Networking    6. Data Transmission Systems    7. Data Transmission Systems - General    8. Educational Software    9. Internet - General    10. Networking - General    11. Computer Communications & Networking   

Reviews (2)

Great Book for CCNP, with a few errors
Once again, Sybex has come through with a great resource for CCNP studies.I have trained hundreds of students in pursuit of their CCNP certification with this book.
adequate as a review resource
Having all four CCNP topics in one book seems like a good idea.It only works as a review resource though.If you don't already know the material this is not the book for you.It doesn't go into enough detail on enough topics to cover everything that you need to know for the exams.It is a good resource to review before you take the exam. ... 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. Computer Communications & Networking    9. Computers / Technical Skills    10. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (93)

Great book for the exam
I really enjoyed using this book to prepare for the Network+ exam. I used another book from McGraw-Hill/Osborne and it just didn't help me as much. What I liked the most was the fact that the author did more than prepare me for the exam, he helped me prepare for actually supporting networks. Great book!

Passed it!
First off let me say that I managed to pass the Network+ test with a 715 (thats about a low "B" but a pass is a pass). I also used the Exam Cram 2 book as well because its always a good idea to study from at least two sources. One of the sources may cover something in more depth or is easier for you to understand then the other and vice versa.
Good book
I found this book (the deluxe edition) well written and I learned a lot from it along with the lab and test CDs included with the book. As far as preparation for the exam, I used this book along with Craig Zacker's Microsoft Press Network+ Certification book. I passed, not with flying colors, but I'm satisfied considering I had very little work experience involving network administration. There were a lot of questions on the exam that the book did not seem to cover well, particularly the ones on fiber technology. The assessment and bonus tests that came with the book were, like the book itself, educational but not the best exam prep materials. With all the braindumps available it seems that COMPTIA has made the test unrealistically difficult. Even though I have very little networking experience, I find it hard to believe that network professionals have all the network protocols and associated cable types, lengths, connector names, and speeds memorized. That's the kind of stuff reference books are used for. So, although the book provides a lot of the knowledge network professionals have, it's not the best exam prep material and would probably be a boring read for those who have a year or so field experience. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer networks    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Examinations    8. Microcomputer Networks    9. Microsoft software    10. Networking - General    11. Study guides    12. Telecommunications engineers    13. Computers / Technical Skills    14. Networking packages    15. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer networks    6. Computers    7. Computers - Certification    8. Electronic data processing personnel    9. Examinations    10. Networking - General    11. Study guides    12. Computers / Technical Skills    13. Computing and Information Technology    14. Microsoft Windows   

Editorial Review

Of the preparation guides available for the Cisco Certified Design Associate exam (640-441), Read more

Reviews (87)

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
Todd should be ashamed of himself.I've used his material for my CCNA and it was fantastic.
Good overview, missing in some spots
This book does a noble job of trying to deliver the goods. Each chapter begins with a short list of the exam objectives covered - the same objectives that come directly from Cisco's site.
How to Pass CCDA
Unfortunately, this book is a miss. It missed out on too many objectives. Lammle does a great job with CCNA, and he's aterrific writer, but this book came out with too little research and too little attention to current objectives. Plus, there's a lot of obsolete material in this book.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    8. Electronic data processing per    9. Electronic data processing personnel    10. Examinations    11. Internetworking (Telecommunica    12. Internetworking (Telecommunication)    13. Networking - General    14. Networking - Network Protocols    15. Study guides    16. Computer Communications & Networking    17. Computers / Technical Skills   

Reviews (41)

4th edition doesn't cut it
I ordered the 4th edition, because it was cheaper.I've never seen the 5th edition though.In the 4th edition, they spend too much time talking about 1900 series routers, Pre IOS Version 12 and Pre Y2K stuff.When I studied for the CCNA exam, this book was only 10% useful.It's an OK reference book if you don't have anything else though.

Great Book
This is the 1 and only source I used to study for the exam and I passed it on my first attempt scoring just over 900. I found nothing in the book that ran counter to my experience and found it to be thorough and detailed. I did however have 2 years of working with Cisco Routers/Switches behind me before I began studying, so my learning curve was nowhere near that of someone trying to get a "Book Cert" with no hands on experience.

Get the "5th" Edition, not the "4th" edition...
I just was looking through the books and noticed that this it the 4th edition. The 5th edition has the latest info, and Sybex finally has updates on the web site. Great concept for continually changing tests.... ... Read more

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

Reviews (23)

6 devices total?
A Router Simulator needs to have more than 6 devices if you want to really practice anything. This is a good basic simulator for the INTRO material but does not do much of anything to prepare you for the ICND or CCNP material.

Nice, but I found online labs CHEAPER and BETTER.
No question, this lab sim is good and provides a nice topology to work with. The simulator pales in comparison to the Cisco Press one
I try to be open minded about products, but I think the only reason this product has been popular uis because there was no competition out there.Now that cisco press has released their new CCNA book with NetSim in it, I can't see any value to this far inferior product. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Computer Books: Operating Systems    3. Computers    4. Computers - Certification    5. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    6. Networking - General    7. Networking - Network Protocols    8. Professional - General    9. Software - Study Guides - CDROM / Universal    10. Computer Communications & Networking    11. Computers / Technical Skills   

Reviews (6)

CCNA Certification
So far this has been an excellent book to learn about the CISCO certification process.

Just about enough to pass the exam
After reading user reviews here on Amazon, I realized that this book, the 4th edition, was lacking in some areas...most notably, NAT. This deluxe edition though, included the virtual lab which I thought would be important since I do not have actual equipment to practice on.
Out Dated book
I used this book for review and am able to pass all the test questions in the cd included. I sat for my CCNA today and it the questions I got where not covered all that well in this book. The test coved Frame relay and OSPF heavly and this book did not cover it as well as need for the exam. In my oppinion you should use a more current released book that covers the new test format and as always use several study books and resources. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books And Software    5. Computer networks    6. Computers    7. Computers - Certification    8. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    9. Electronic data processing per    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   

Editorial Review

An impressive offering, Read more

Reviews (502)

Not a bad primer, but....
Lammle does an excellent job of explaining complex networking concepts (particularly subnetting) in terms simple enough for someone with no previous exposure to networking to understand.
Lamle does it right
The most challenging thing a certification test-prep book faces is the way it invariably will be misused. There is an old saw about using the right tool for the job, which in essence tells us to use the correct planning, strategy, and action to get the result we want. The majority of people purchasing a book like this are planning to take the CCNA exam and want some help preparing. This makes sense, and this is why I myself purchased Lamle's book. While it worked, and I passed with a 901, I couldn't help but wonder how much more difficult it would have been without hands-on experience with the devices, protocols and processes themselves at work. I have not yet met anyone who studied for, and passed, the CCNA test without any prior hands-on network experience.
A Must Buy!
This book definitely helped me pass my CCNA.The material in this book will definitely provide you with the tools you need in order to configure Cisco equipment and pass the CCNA the first time.Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Computer Bks - Certification    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    8. Examinations    9. Internetworking (Telecommunication)    10. Networking - General    11. Networking - Network Protocols    12. Professional - General    13. Study Guides    14. TCP/IP (Computer network protocol)    15. Telecommunications engineers    16. Computer Communications & Networking   

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. Tests    10. Computer Communications & Networking    11. Computers / Technical Skills    12. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Editorial Review

Todd Lammle strikes gold again with a new edition of Read more

Reviews (34)

The ULTIMATE CCNA Prep book! Just passed with a 913!
I am a Cisco Networking Academy student and I just passed the CCNA 640-607 Exam yesterday. This wasn't the only book that I used to prep for the exam, but this book was instrumental in providing me with the answers for the exam that the other books didn't. Along with this book, I used the Cisco Networking Academy online curriculum, ICND, Ciscopress Router and Switch eSim, Transcender, and Preplogic. Hands-on experience with routers and switches was the key to my success, but I could have easily passed this test by using only the this book. The test was a lot harder than the Transcender CCNA practice test. It's usually the other way around. Anyway, if you get only ONE book for exam prep, get this one. You will not regret it.

Routing Protocols
I agree, if you want to learn IP routing, this book will not take you anywhere close. For that you would need "Cisco IOS for IP Routing" by Andrew Colton or Doyle's books. However, Lammle's book would probably be all you need to pass the CCNA test. Unless you're a complete beginner, then you may want to add one or two other fine CCNA books.

Complete reference for the exam and to review
I think is a complete reference to pass the Cisco's Exam and reviewing your concepts.Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Certification    5. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    6. Networking - General    7. Networking - Network Protocols    8. Professional - General    9. Tests    10. Computer Communications & Networking    11. Internet    12. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Reviews (33)

Waste of time and money!!!
I really wanted to like this book. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent book but after using the Lammle/Sybex book to pass my CCNA this book is a let down. This book, though not intentionally, is two books. The first half is well-written and explains IGRP, EIGRP, and OSPF in an in-depth, easy-to-read fashion. The second half covers BGP and leaves you scratching your head. I don't know if the topic of BGP is so complicated it's hard to put into words, but considering how much of the book covers BGP (3/10)I will have to look elsewhere for more information. Good for the Exam, Not Good Enough If You're Out to Learn
This book is a good study tool for those of you preparing for the CCNP Routing examination.Although I have a good amount of experience with Cisco routers, which aided my preparation, there were several areas on the exam that I had no, or very limited, experience with.When combined with my previous experience this text, by itself, was sufficient to pass the exam. THIS IS THE WORST CCNP ROUTING BOOK OUT THERE!!!
Exam Cram is a better study guide than this and that is not saying much.This book has approximately 250 pages of useful reading and 200 pages of Fluff.In depth protocols such as OSPF, and BGP are explained in less than 30 Pages.There is almost no way possible for someone to really get an understanding of these topics from this book.Cisco certification is highly regarded in the industry for certifingprofessionals that understand IP routing and this book is not the one to help you.Purchase the Cisco Press Book or Doyle's Routing TCP/IP Vol. 1 and stay away from this one!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Electronic data processing personnel    8. Examinations    9. Internetworking (Telecommunication)    10. Networking - Network Protocols    11. Networking - Routers    12. Study guides    13. Switching systems    14. Telecommunication    15. Computer Communications & Networking   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (17)

Unacceptable absence of detail!
This book just pastes in the output of Cisco commands without any adequate explainations. Obviously the authors know less about the material than many of the readers... Not Sybex's best bot a good study guid
This is not the usual Sybex study guide quality but it's still a goodbook.I purchased it with the expetation of being a great book and it fellshort.To me there was a lot of filler that didn't need to be there.Iwould have liked to have seen more meat and less potato's...I know potato'sfill pages but the meat is what you need to pass the test. This book has everything you need to pass the CIT
Hear me know, believe me later: There was not one subject on the CIT exam that was not covered in this book! Be forewarned, it doesn't prepare you for the ridiculous phrasing and grammer used in the test to throw you off.I don't think any book can do that. Only real world experience can help youthough those. If you used this book as your main study guide and failed thetest, it is because you didn't study enough. ... Read more

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

Reviews (1)

Probably not worth the purchase
In preparing for Cisco exams, I read the Amazon reviews before deciding on study material. When I decided to pursue a CCSP certification, I was disappointed to see the poor reviews that the Sybex books received. The only book to receive good reviews was the 642-501 Secur book.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer Systems    6. Computer networks    7. Computers    8. Computers - Certification    9. Examinations    10. Networking - General    11. Networking - Security    12. Security measures    13. Study guides    14. Telecommunications engineers    15. Computers / Technical Skills    16. Data security & data encryption    17. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Networking - General    7. Computers / Technical Skills    8. Education   

Reviews (34)

Yes It Does Cover HSRP!
Try reading pages 313 to 321 and you will find coverage of HSRP.Good god and these people want to be CCNP's? I give up!

Wondering which to buy for your 640-604, Cisco or Sybex?
I passed 640-604 Exam only studying with this book with the score of almost 900. HSRP on the test
Outstanding book. Provides everything you need to know to pass the test, except for HSRP. I realized that this was not in the book when I went to take the test. It was a good thing that there were only a few questions on HSRP. Maybe I guessed right, but I did pass the test and that is all that matters. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - Cisco    4. Computer Books: Operating Systems    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    8. Examinations    9. Networking - General    10. Networking - Network Protocols    11. Study guides    12. Switching systems    13. Telecommunication    14. Telecommunications engineers    15. Computer Communications & Networking