CiscoPress CCNA - Official Exam Certification library 2nd ed

Which books to choose for CCNA study is neverending story, anyway I'll bring a short review of this books which I bought. Mainly for newbies to CCNA, I hope it will give you a image of this books.

this 5kg library consist of these books:
INTRO (12th printing - May 2006) ISBN:1-58720-094-5
ICND (13th printing - May 2006) ISBN:1-58720-083-X

I have 2003 printings too. In fact books didnt changes so much over 3 years, good news is that huge amount of errata was corrected, so quality of books improved. Books also include 2005 updates (ass appendix on the end of books) which cover new topics on exam.

Each book contains CD with exam simulation software (sims too) and pdf of this books.

Another thing you'll get is Boson NetSim Learning Edition, I must say that I was very dissapointed with this edition, i was trying to configure just serial connection between two router, and after setting IP on one end and trying to set IP on another end I was told that I need to buy full boson to perform command. And overall engine was slow. You'll get only about 8 labs.

If you'll register on ciscopress webpage you'll get 35% discount coupon. So you can get this books for cca20$ and free shiping by UPS(UPS is free only if you are from USA).

Topics in books are explained well and deeply, and what is important - clearly, so you can understand them without damage to your brain

You can use this books even if you are newbie to network, and as good final preparation on exam if you have completed NetAcademy.
Dissapointing is boson netsim LE - it is unusable.

http://www.ciscopress.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=1587201690&rl=1

I hope that this threat will be usefull to somebody.

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Comments

binarysoul

If these are Odom's books, then I must say I'm extremely disappointed at what a 'failure' collection it's. If you look more closely, the second ICND is somewhat just a copy of INTRO. For example, check the IP Addressing section and you will find that both books have exact same content.

Second, the first book doesn't really make you do anything. It explains so many commands and pages and pages of screenshots, and unless you work with commands, you have no idea what he's talking about.

I believe Sybex books by Todd Lemmle remains the best, as far as Odom's as far is I'm concerned, it's the worst. Of course there are good parts, but the bad part outweight that.

marlon23

There are some same chapters becouse you need subnetting on INTRO and on ICND exam too. And in ICND I think short refresh of "whats in intro" before ICND chapter is good too. It is just the question if you like it or not.

But I must agree that some pages are just exhausting bla bla bla.

I dont like sybex becouse it's style "do this and this, then this" with no futher explanations of what you have actually did. It is good for exam, maybe. But not good when you actually need to understand things. I think sybex will make you just router - operator. I'm not saying that sybex is bad book, but it is good as refference after you finished odoms books or netacademy.

darwinism

Well now I am confused. What is the difference between

CCNA Self-Study: Introduction to Cisco Networking Technologies (INTRO) 640-821, 640-801

CCNA Self-Study: Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (ICND) 640-811, 640-801, 2nd Edition

and

CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide (CCNA Self-Study, 640-821, 640-801)
CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide (CCNA Self-Study, 640-811, 640-801)

I bought the former in a 2 book box set. Retail on the box states about $90. This box set doesnt come with any CD-Roms. Do I need the other ste of books too? I hope not as I am about to finish ICND and take my test.

BubbaJ

darwinism wrote:

Well now I am confused. What is the difference between

CCNA Self-Study: Introduction to Cisco Networking Technologies (INTRO) 640-821, 640-801

CCNA Self-Study: Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (ICND) 640-811, 640-801, 2nd Edition

and

CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide (CCNA Self-Study, 640-821, 640-801)
CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide (CCNA Self-Study, 640-811, 640-801)

I bought the former in a 2 book box set. Retail on the box states about $90. This box set doesnt come with any CD-Roms. Do I need the other ste of books too? I hope not as I am about to finish ICND and take my test.

From the Cisco Press web site:

What role do Self-Study Guides play in Cisco certification preparation?
Self-Study Guides provide the first stage of learning—teaching course concepts and building a foundation of understanding. After building this foundation, candidates reach for Practical Studies titles to gain hands-on experience, followed by Exam Certification Guides and Flash Cards and Exam Practice Packs for late-stage exam preparation.

What role do Exam Certification Guides play in Cisco certification preparation?
As mid- to late-stage study tools, Exam Certification Guides review concepts and prepare candidates for a Cisco certification exam. The audience who relies on these guides usually has conceptual understanding from real-world experience, a training course, or a Cisco Press Self-Study Guide and has gained hands-on experience through a Practical Studies title and work experience. After using an Exam Certification Guide, a candidate would proceed to late-stage preparation with the Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack Series.

rbutturini

I absolutely positively agree 100% with the above comments on Odom's books. I bought that same set and failed the INTRO exam after studying with them. The books contained a lot of useless material and very little relevant information as far as the exam was concerned, and the ICND book was a total waste. I just finished Tood Lammle's Sybex text, and it was very informative, easy to understand, and contained great hands-on lab questions. I strongly reccomend it.

binarysoul

The books contained a lot of useless material and very little relevant information as far as the exam was concerned, and the ICND book was a total waste.

Bang on! You're right, another failure of the books is that they don't NOT have any exercises, so you can't get some hands-on. Only at the end of the book there is a few pages and it's very useless. I often fall asleep when I read the books (well, now I have to read them as I pay for them and I have the old edition of Sybex

) It's like you're reading the Star Wars novels, it just tells you stories of how protocols, commands, routers and switches operate, but don't give you a chance to practice... dahhhh !!! I'm not interested in novel at this point, just to learn through hands on.

Todd Lemmle's book, although it has so many errors, gives you some written and hands on labs to practice. No stories. Just straight to the point.

Spudage

What the...

I am shocked by the number of negative comments about Odom's exam certification guides.

When I was looking for CCNA books about 8 months ago, everyone recommended these as the best to get.

Having purchased them, read them, and passed the CCNA exam with a score of 950, I agree 100%. These books are perfectly aligned with the blueprint for the CCNA exam. They also don't contain anything that you don't need for the exam.

Maybe some of you aren't trying hard enough. It's all too easy to blame the book. Just becuase a book doesn't have an "exercises to practice" heading in each chapter doesn't mean you can't recreate the labs that are described in the topic explanations.

Slowhand

I figured I'd give my two cents, having spent a lot of time researching a lot of study books. From the sounds of it in this thread, and from what collegues and friends have told me, it seems that most people prefer the Sybex book by Todd Lemmle over just about anything else, especially the Cisco Press books. I also see this question a lot: "Which is the best book to study for the ______ test?"

This brings me to my long-winded point. I tend to listen to what people tell me, read reviews and comments about the books, and try to find out as much information as I can. The absolute best way I research what book(s) I need for an exam or something I need to learn is to go to a bookstore, grab a cup of coffee and a STACK of books on the subject I'm embedded in, and sit down for a few hours and page through them. The books that jump out at me, the books that I feel are easiest for me to read, I end up buying. Given, I usually end up finding the books people recommend, it's not a bad way of finding out what books work best for you, along with good advice from your friends.

(P.S. Todd Lammle's book rocks.)

marlon23

Yes Todd's book rocks, but it is missing a lot of stuff (for example RSTP, Etherchannel, PortFast... and it is poor on 802.1q and ISL too, and few other thing like "#vlan database" command is missing, and 1900's commands are there, and that is just switching). And I am not talking about some misleading errors, like explanation of network command in RIP section (p253 5th edition)... explanation looks good, and you can live with it, but in fact, is bad.. and can make you crazy in real job.

Todd's book is easy to read becouse it is missing a lot of stuff.

Anyway the labs, examples, and questions in are great.

So I think solution is to have both books.

BubbaJ

marlon23 wrote:

and few other thing like "#vlan database" command is missing

Cisco is now steering people away from using VLAN database.

marlon23

why BubbaJ?

BubbaJ

marlon23 wrote:

why BubbaJ?

I don't know.

You can do most everything for VLANs from global configuration mode now. This may be one of the things on their list to get rid of, but things like write have been on that list for many years and they are still around.

Jammywanks

I would agree that some books are way better than others. I have the Exam Cram CCNA Second Edition (QUE) book and its probably the best one I've picked up. Its also the smallest book on the bookshelf at Barnes and Noble. But don't let the size of the book fool you, it was small because they kept the material short, yet CONCISE. The actual Cisco Press books are thick, big books, but I think they talk about the same stuff way too long and you know its good to know that info, its already time to move on to the next chapter

BubbaJ

Jammywanks wrote:

I would agree that some books are way better than others. I have the Exam Cram CCNA Second Edition (QUE) book and its probably the best one I've picked up. Its also the smallest book on the bookshelf at Barnes and Noble. But don't let the size of the book fool you, it was small because they kept the material short, yet CONCISE. The actual Cisco Press books are thick, big books, but I think they talk about the same stuff way too long and you know its good to know that info, its already time to move on to the next chapter

It depends on whether you just want to pass the exam or actually learn the material. Personally, I think it is better to delve into the subjects in depth then use the cram material to refresh what you need to know for the exam. Just dumping to pass the exam won't help you in the long run. If you intend to continue into any of the professional level crtifications, it will be much more difficult without the basics you should have learned.

Jammywanks

Well you do have a point about reading into the material more in depth with the Cisco Press books.

However not everyone can learn straight out of the book without any real life experience with it. I would say actual lab equipement or better yet a job in the field would be better than reading out of the book.

I do have a lot of CCNA books, but I have learned a lot of networking stuff before I heard about the CCNA. I guess my final conclusion is that if you're starting from scratch with no knowledge of networking, the Cisco Press books are the best bet. But if you're already somewhat familiar with computers, networking, small home hubs/switches and Linksys,etc. routers, then you should have some general concepts about this subject, enough to read a cram book. But also have the Cisco Press book on the side with your Cram book, there ARE some sections that you may need to follow up on with the offical Cisco book, I use it as reference but not as my primary reading material.

marlon23

You can have some general subject, but if you want to be a professional, you need know theory behind it. Without it you are just amateur who cannot be taken seriosly. SOHO segment is not where Cisco certs points. Crams had only basic stone necessary knowlege to pass CCNA, you can pickup dumbs, and it will be some knowledge for you.