Recommended CCNA resources

ally_uk

Ok so i decided to invest in a CCNA book to get to grips with the subject matter

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=4316453

That was the book I purchased after a quick read I was horrified what the hell is going on I thought? and this is suposed to be a introduction book?

Talk about jumping into the deep end straight away some of the stuff just didn't make any sense at all the use of over complex language led to me returning this hunk of junk 2 days after purchase.

Now the question I put to you guys is there a easy to read CCNA book that is explantory and doesn't bombard your head with irrelevant jargon and highly complex words

What's the CCNA for dummies book like any good?

list the books you most found helpful

Cheers

pr3d4t0r

I used the official CCNA lib from cisco and the sybex book for ccna.

That will do.

Webmaster

Check out the first section in our CCNA FAQ for book recommendations:
www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7268

MaddogZ

Dont buy crappy books.... ALL you need is 2 books, the wendell odoms cisco press INTRO book and tod lammle ccna book. Dont buy anything else because you will just be wasting your time and money.

Cisco exams follows the cisco press books so just learn all the concepts until you can explain each concept confidently.

Kaminsky

MaddogZ wrote:

Dont buy crappy books.... ALL you need is 2 books, the wendell odoms cisco press INTRO book and tod lammle ccna book. Dont buy anything else because you will just be wasting your time and money.

Cisco exams follows the cisco press books so just learn all the concepts until you can explain each concept confidently.

Don't think that's a crappy book necessarily. If you zoom in on the cover you see it's by Lammle but it looks like a test prep sort of book. Not knowing the book I couldn't say for sure. They are right about the usual books used though Ally.

Slowhand

ally_uk, I think you'll find that just about all CCNA books will be at about that level. A colleague of mine is using that book to pass his INTRO exam, and it covers everything you need for the test. If you're uncomfortable with the material covered by CCNA, I'd recommend you take a look at getting some more experience under your belt, as well as having a look at CompTIA's Network+, which is an entry-level networking certification which is considered to be a good stepping-stone towards CCNA.

ally_uk

I don't need more experience under the belt I have studied the network+ material for about a year I havent got the cert yet because I havent got myself any i.d lol lame I know

I'm pretty sure that if I took the N+ exam now i would pass with a low score

As for the CCNA book I just didn't like the way it overcomplicated things and the general layout wasn't spread out he just dived into the deep end

MaddogZ

Ok yeh i understand the the cisco press books dive into the deep end straight away, but in my opinion YOU HAVE TO read it a couple of time. First read the sybex book because the explanations are easy to understand and when you get a general idea of everything read the cisco press ones over and over again. They cover a lot more topic areas than the sybex one and describes things in a lot more detail which you NEED.

Tricon7

ally_uk wrote:

What's the CCNA for dummies book like any good?

list the books you most found helpful

Cheers

I have the CCNA book for Dummies and so far I like it. No technical jargon and it seems to cover material very well, though not as in depth as the official Cisco books; but, hey, I'm getting a great view of the whole program with it. I would recommend it, but not it alone, of course.

bighornsheep

ally_uk wrote:

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=4316453

That was the book I purchased after a quick read I was horrified what the hell is going on I thought? and this is suposed to be a introduction book?

Talk about jumping into the deep end straight away some of the stuff just didn't make any sense at all the use of over complex language led to me returning this hunk of junk 2 days after purchase.

umm.....I also bought that book to prepare for CCNA INTRO...IMHO...the book is amazing...I've only read the first 3 chapters..and I'm quite excited to finish the read when I am not as busy with school work.

I'm going to assume that you've read around the same amount that I have..which particular part did you find to be non sense? I've read into several other CCNA books, and I think that if you are finding this book difficult, it probably doesnt have too much to do with the book.

Another good place to start would be the technotes here:
http://www.techexams.net/ccna.shtml

Honestly though, get that book again and try to absorb the information, it's the latest version from one of the best authors (if not THE best author) for the CCNA exam.

Slowhand

ally_uk wrote:

I don't need more experience under the belt I have studied the network+ material for about a year I havent got the cert yet because I havent got myself any i.d lol lame I know

I'm pretty sure that if I took the N+ exam now i would pass with a low score

That's just the thing. Saying "I don't need more experience" is easy, but if you're not able to understand the material required to achieve the CCNA cert, then you'll have to figure out what you're missing. The Network+ is recommended by Cisco, as well as by almost everyone on this forum, as a solid prerequisite to the CCNA. Learn the materials, study and get as much hands-on experience as you can, and shoot for as high of a score as you can get.

ally_uk wrote:

As for the CCNA book I just didn't like the way it overcomplicated things and the general layout wasn't spread out he just dived into the deep end

The CCNA books aren't complicated, relative to the material they cover, especially not Lammle's. If you're finding that the material is confusing and you can't make sense of it, then you do need more experience and prerequisite knowledge. The CCNA may an introductory exam on the Cisco track, but working with Cisco routers and switches is far more complex than doing home networking with, say, Netgear equipment. There's a lot to learn, and it doesn't really get any more basic than the Sybex or Cisco Press books, without stripping away information you need to pass the test.

The only real way to learn this kind of material is to be honest with yourself. If you're running into road blocks or having trouble with things that are required for the exam, you're going to have to re-evaluate what your knowledge is, find out where you stand, and start from there.

Jammywanks

MaddogZ wrote:

Dont buy crappy books.... ALL you need is 2 books, the wendell odoms cisco press INTRO book and tod lammle ccna book. Dont buy anything else because you will just be wasting your time and money.
.

Uh, then you obviously haven't seen the Exam Cram book. The Lammle book has the worst printing errors I've ever seen, including garbled txt on numerous occasions. Try again.

Stanley_Cooper

Ally,

Ive just passed my intro exam and found the CCNA by Richard Deal pretty. I think its a ood back especially on the ip subnetting side of things as I tried many times to read the Cisco Press intro chapter on ip subnetting and nothing went in.

However I would recommend this book.

Stan..

petedude

Tricon7 wrote:

I have the CCNA book for Dummies and so far I like it. No technical jargon and it seems to cover material very well, though not as in depth as the official Cisco books; but, hey, I'm getting a great view of the whole program with it. I would recommend it, but not it alone, of course.

The CCNA for Dummies is a great overview, but it doesn't cover anywhere near enough to pass. Read it to get warmed up, then move on to something deeper like the Sybex or Cisco books.

boyles23

Just my $.02

I am working on my CCNA and I have the Odom and Lammle books and think they are adequate enough to pass. I know you said you have enough understanding but I would re-evaluate if you are finding the topics difficult to understand.

I have the net+ and it gives you a small stepping stone into the CCNA, but I am just going off your other posts. Everyone, is going to have there favorites as far as books and there are erros in every book but most people here recommend the Odom and Lammle books for study and after reading them, I would recommend them above most others.

I hope this helps.

Regards,