CBT Question

ITdude

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has used the Trainsignal CBT videos for this exam and if so are they any good.

For that matter are they good for the Microsoft track too?

Thanks.....

buj77

I have the cbt from trainsignal, It is pretty good so far. I would recommend this cbt. Also, you should get the sybex book to get a full understanding on topics you are weak on or don't understand.

buj77

ITdude

Thanks for the input. I already have the Sybex book as well as the pair from Cisco Press, but I was wondering how comprehensive the CBTs were.

I thought someone said they were quite good.


Thanks.....

TheShadow

I will vouch for them; we have the super set on an external disk at work. Chris Bryant did the trainsignal one. It comes with lots of documentation in PDF's and the videos are basically his boot camp. If you have the equipment or a simulator then you can follow along. It is very good. The PDF's are comprehensive as far as they cover the things that Chris found difficult as he moved from CCNA to CCIE and appear to be similar to what he calls the Bryant Advantage on his site www.thebryantadvantage.com.

Some of the technical detail to help you understand why he says something might be missing and some just like to have a hardcopy book in place of online PDF's. I recommend a book with anyone's CBT for that reason. Video's alone are not necessarily ever enough on any subject unless you have lots of prior real world experience.

The Microsoft stuff is outstanding IF you want to learn to do the job but lengthy if you are studying for a specific test. I say this because they are broken up by job function where you build a lab and do the task. As Microsoft moves to more simulations, this will be the way to go.

Trainsignal with the exception of 270 and ISA does not concentrate on a specific exam like say CBTNuggets or Learnkey so you might have to go through several CBT's to get the information needed for a specific test. For this reason unless you have access to more than one I tell people if you want to learn the job use trainsignal and if you want to learn a specific test use Nuggets. Trainsignal is specific about this on their website and has a cross-reference chart of videos to Microsoft exams.

ITdude

Thanks for the very detailed response. Well, I am trying to upgrade my MCSE up through 2003 but would also like to hit the CCNA and Cisco track.

Not sure which one to do first. I was considering waiting or maybe bailing on MS and just focusing mostly on Cisco but not sure if it is the best strategy or not.

Actually I have the CBT Nuggets for Microsoft but wasn't sure if they are as comprehensive as Trainsignal.

I noticed that with them MS is broken into labs and you need to be careful to cover all the topics for an exam. This would have been the ideal approach to preparing for the former Accelerated upgrade exam from MS. However, as you said with more simulations on tap from MS this approach is becoming a more practical way to study. Learn it all then buy a study guide to focus in on the details of an exam. I saw the usb dive that Trainsignal has with all the videos. It is the way to go but a little pricey.

Anyway, I will think it over. Thanks so much for the valuable input!