CCNA "packets"

jrambar

I see web sites online that gaurantee if you study their "guide" you are guarenteed to pass. There are about 700 pages. I'm sure everyone knows what I am talking about. What is everyone's take on this?

EdTheLad

Well i guarentee if you study the Cisco press,Sybex and the Cisco site and understand everything you will also definitely pass!!

nuglobe

So will it take me all three to pass? I have just started with the Sybex... should I be looking at other sources?

EdTheLad

Sybex gives a stripped down version of whats needed.It's passable with Sybex and also doing some extra reading on NAT but i recommend getting the Cisco Press aswell for a better understanding.
The Cisco site is an extremely useful resource!!

mikej412

jrambar wrote:

I'm sure everyone knows what I am talking about.

Huh? Not sure what you are talking about..... Is it Chris "It Slices, It Dices, It Chops, It Cooks, It Sews, It Fishes, It Walks the Dog" Infomercial Bryant?

In answer to your first post I thought about asking if you had used something like the latest Sybex to study for your re-cert -- but figured it was probably going to be too late for you to get and read it before your exam.

nuglobe - depends on your experience. I always use the Cisco Press Books, and had the Sybex CCNP Complete Study Guide for backup (but didn't read it from cover to cover). jrambar is doing a re-certification so one up-to-date book could be enough.

To learn something you usually have to look at it more than once -- and using multiple books, rather than reading one book a couple of times gives you a different viewpoint. Plus if one book is confusing or weak in one area, the other book might make up for it.

jrambar

Well I get e-mails from t#stking.com asking me to buy their packet and I am guaranteed to pass. I heard alot of good reviews and people say it helped them alot, and others say you need to study other books as well as this packet.

I was trying not to mention it due to the NDA....but I didn't know how else to explain it.

petedude

jrambar wrote:

Well I get e-mails from t#stking.com

I was trying not to mention it due to the NDA....but I didn't know how else to explain it.

I don't think you're going to find many folks around these parts favorable to products like T#stK#ing, so you might as well not even bring that up. **** are ****, that's all.

petedude

mikej412 wrote:

Huh? Not sure what you are talking about..... Is it Chris "It Slices, It Dices, It Chops, It Cooks, It Sews, It Fishes, It Walks the Dog" Infomercial Bryant?

I should probably have edited this into my other post, but oh well. . .

Admittedly, I keep hearing good things about Chris Bryant's material, even if his marketing is. . . er. . . a little over the top. I'm thinking that Chris may be pitching his material to the same target audience that watches late night TV, including insomniac wannabe CCNAs. I keep hoping he'll tidy it up a bit and try for a more professional approach, but maybe he hasn't had time/resources/funds to do so yet. We'll see.

I too, swear by the multiple book approach when studying-- in fact, more often than not I'm forced to reach for a second if not third or fourth book, as it is highly likely that one book's writer will not be able to cover all topics as well as anyone else (anyone who's read about subnetting then grabbed a Lammle book knows what I mean).

mikej412

jrambar wrote:

Well I get e-mails from t#@!&%#.com asking me to buy their packet and I am guaranteed to pass.

What PeteDude said!

I probably should have PM'ed you -- I thought you might have been going there..... but it did sound a like Chris's stuff.....