CCNA Certification Library 182
| Self-Study Certification Library | |
| author | Wendell Odom |
| pages | 1232 (combined) |
| publisher | Cisco Press |
| rating | 6 |
| reviewer | Michael Bennett Cohn |
| ISBN | 1587200953 |
| summary | Useful but annoying; Decent study materials for Cisco tests 640-811 and 641-821. |
Although it is possible to enroll in official ICND and INTRO courses created by Cisco, the books that make up this "library," apparently, are not the books used in those courses. Within the ICND book, Odom refers to "the ICND course, on which the exam is partly based," suggesting that what you have in your hands is a reverse-engineered study guide: a study guide for an exam that is based on a course that does not use said book. Odom occasionally presents tables that he claims come from the ICND course. Clearly, some parts of the course are not fair game for the study guide.
In other words, don't think that just because you are reading the official Cisco press CCNA study guides, you are dealing with a set of information that is as close as possible to the set of information from which the test was drawn.
Studying these books will prepare you for the CCNA in the same way that reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z will prepare you to identify the capital of Nairobi. It goes without saying that a CCNA candidate should not be studying just to pass a test, she should be studying to qualify herself for a job. But in this case, the difference between the material presented and the material actually making up the test is excessive.
Odom goes to a lot of effort to make the reader feel like he is being spoken to by a friend. "Fun, isn't it?" he writes, after presenting an illustration of function groups and access points that I had to re-draw for myself several times in order to understand. Later, he describes Inverse ARP as "another case of learning by listening, a great lesson for real life!" Gee, thanks. The subtle condescension in the non-humorous asides, the gleeful overuse of exclamation points, and the fable in which Pebbles Flintstone invents networking is compounded by the persistent contextual encapsulation of every single topic in the book. Odom tells you what he's going to tell you, then he tells you, then he tells you what he's told you, much more than necessary.
A better way to put the flustered reader at ease might have been to proofread the books. The ICND guide, especially, is so full of typos that it is often embarrassing to read. In some cases, these are nothing more than obvious misspellings that can be passed over without much more than a little annoyance (e.g. ICND p. 472, "status enquiry messages"). In other cases, the meaning of the sentence is muddled. Worse, the configuration examples have obviously not been proofread either, resulting in, for example, the prompt "R1(config)#" when the appropriate prompt is "R1(config-if)." The difference may seem trivial, but understanding its significance is the kind of stuff the CCNA is all about.
Each book comes with a CD containing a practice test engine and a router simulator (both from Boson). The mistakes in the ICND book pale in comparison to those in the CD test engines. In fact, an argument could be made that studying with those practice tests will hinder more than help the CCNA candidate who has not read the books thoroughly enough to recognize the mistakes. Many multiple-choice questions count correct answers wrong and vice versa (and some of these are taken directly from the books, which usually give the correct answer). A configuration entered into the CLI on a simulator question will be graded as wrong, and the user will then be presented with an identical configuration as an example of the correct way to solve the problem.
None of these problems change the fact that these books will, if used correctly, absolutely help you pass the CCNA. But do it this way: Read the INTRO book. Take the exam right away. If you don't pass, flip through the ICND book and find the areas that you actually need to work on. You'll save months of study time that could be better spent working on your CCNP.
I give the library as a whole 3 out of 5 stars.
You can purchase the CCNA Certification Library from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Updated, unabridged. (Score:2, Informative)
Then again, why are they reading Slashdot?
You need a CCIE, not CCNA... (Score:3, Informative)
You need at least a CCIE to get a networking job in the us now.
Re:CCNA is worthless for this very reason (Score:4, Informative)
I've done *nix systems administration and programming for upwards of 6 years now, and I failed the CCNA cert the first time because I underestimated it. It required me to study, which is more than I can say for any other cert.
Its *not* on the same level as an MCSE (which I agree with you on).
Re:alleviating the outsourcing blues? (Score:5, Informative)
That said, if you want your resume to actually be looked at for a networking position, having the CCNA is not a mark against you. That foot in the door can be a huge, huge benefit - it's your primary means of self-marketing until you either..
1) Learn to write a really effective resume, or
2) Have sufficient experience to get hired on that basis instead.
The CCNA is the key that opens the door to certain kinds of networking interviews. If you're thinking about going for it, consider what kinds of jobs it'll open you up for: Networking Jobs. An awful lot of kids I went to school with years back swore up and down they wanted to be network engineers when what they really wanted to be were sysadmins; the fields are different, the credentials and criteria are different, and the certs you need to support them are different.
The CCNA is what you'll want if you enjoy swimming in Cisco equipment, love configuring VPNs, enjoy troubleshooting RADIUS logging on your AAA box, and suchlike. If those aren't your hobbies, re-evaluate what it is you're really going for.
Not a whole lot of real value in them... (Score:1, Informative)
CCNA (Score:1, Informative)
But practice, experience puts the knowledge to test...either you can or can not.
Example: I've never taken a car engine apart...but I could buy a book and read how to do it....but it's another matter to try and put to task what you have learned,
Gary, CCNP, GCIH
Lammle all the way. (Score:3, Informative)
Just pay the money and you'll be certified. (Score:3, Informative)
Check google for
"boot camp" MCSE 2000
and you'll probably find one in your area.
Not "any schmuck" will be able to get certified
-but-
"any schmuck" with the cash will be able to get certified.
CCNA Study Guides (Score:2, Informative)
website (simple registration required) that has
tons of CCNA, CCDA, CCDP, CCNP and CCIE goodies.
The url is http://www.gdd.net [gdd.net]
These books are ridiculous (Score:2, Informative)
If I hadn't been studying at the time I would have documented them and sent them to Cisco. Come on Cisco, consumers of books are not free proofreaders. Although most of the content is pretty good, it is badly presented, and does not flow well (the labs should really be integrated with the relevant chapters).
Please, if you need a study guide, buy something else (Sybex are usually OK). The only reason I bought these is that they were the only books available for the new exams. I will not be buying Cisco Press books again.