Books Help

I have spent a week trying to figure out what book for the CCNP BCMSN

Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN) (Authorized Self-Study Guide), Fourth Ed.

OR

CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification Guide, Fourth Ed.

Please recommend one of the two. Also should I go for the lab book?

CCNP Building Multilayer Switched Networks Lab Portfolio

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Comments

GT-Rob

I would suggest picking up both.

mikej412

Cisco Press explains (and suggests) the books on their Certification Pages -- check out the CCNP Page.

They describe the Portable Command Guides, Self-Study Guides, and the Exam Certification Guides and then answer the question:

Which book is right for me?
Self-Study Guides and Exam Certification Guides are intended to complement one another. Though they will cover similar content, they do so in a very different manner. Choosing one book over another depends where you are in the study cycle. If you are familiar with the base concepts, but need to assess your knowledge and review/practice for the exam, we recommend the Exam Certification Guides. If you are new to a topic area and need more detailed discussions of the foundation concepts, we recommend you start with the Self-Study Guides.

I always used both (when they are available).

At the professional level you may also want to review the exam topics and check out some of the Cisco Docs and White Papers. You may also want to grab some of the "advanced books" people have recommended (check the CCNP FAQ Book Section) for additional reading to help learn and understand the topics.

jamesp1983

GT-Rob wrote:

I would suggest picking up both.

dominican

jimmypizzle83 wrote:

GT-Rob wrote:

I would suggest picking up both.

x2

I will see if I can get my employer to buy them. If not I guess I will.