Must have books or should i do a course?

nel

Hi Guys,

Here's the lowdown - just started my new job as a network specialist (Yay! im finally in the door!) and my employer has stated they would be willing to put me on a course of my choice. Its kind of a win win situation - they get me on the cheap and train me up and i get some well needed experiance.

Now i was wondering if it would be better to buy some must have networking books or should i opt for the course?

On a technical level i am working at the NA level / early stages of NP switching to give you an idea of where im at although i have only been in the job 2 weeks. There's been a ton of learning already as i just kind of have to get on with everything.

So would you guys opt for a course and if so which one? or would you go for a good set of books and if so which ones?

I think the books would be the better option but wanted some opinions. The books dont have to be certification specific although we are all cisco. i was thinking maybe routing tcp/ip by doyle. i also noticed the was an IE LAN switching book. Is this any good? i checked out the one at the uni library and it seems alot of it is geared towards the catos as it was published around then. is the second edition focused on IOS only?

Also any opinions for any other books like network design etc?

Also - be prepared incase i start asking alot of questions round here!...i do apologise in advance

Thanks

Nel.

Slowhand

The first place you should check out is the CCNP FAQ that Mike put together, it's got everything and more you need to get started on CCNP. I can add that I've been doing some research on what books and resources to check out for Cisco studying. I've found that digging into the CCIE Routing & Switching book list is very tempting and helpful, even at the CCNP level. Routing TCP/IP Volume I and Volume II are great and cover everything (and more) you need for the BSCI exam, I own both and I'm in the process of reading through them. (Although, I'm secretly going out and doing further reading on things these books cover, like IPv6, for example.) Cisco LAN Switching is still a great book, but you're right, a lot of things covered are outdated by today's standards. There isn't a second edition, but it's still a fantastic read that'll be a great addition to the BCMSN Study Guide. There's also a book called Cisco LAN Switching Fundamentals, which isn't as detailed (or thick), but it's been getting some great reviews. I had the chance to look it over at the bookstore, and it seems to be a pretty solid coverage of switching technologies.

A word of warning: don't be as big of a geek as I am, and start reading Radia Perlman's books because you honestly believe it's fun. When you get to the point where you don't bother reading The Watchmen because it looks to be too convoluted to get into, but you've got TCP/IP Illustrated set aside as your "holiday reading", it's time to start up a new hobby. In my case, it was martini-glass lifting.

gorebrush

How about lab equipment, has that changed much in recent years?

Slowhand, your pointing to reading books on holiday - I'll be doing the same next week, probably going to take the BCMSN on holiday iwith me heh...

Reminds me of my holiday in Crete in 2005, where I spent most days reading the MS Press 70-291 book

Nuts.

Still, I see it as enjoyable reading, much the same as other people will enjoy reading fiction etc...

cisco_trooper

I gotta be honest regarding classes. Unless you have significant experience with these topics, the classes will be a waste of time. You can't absorb ALL this material by sitting in a class for 40 hours. I would stick with books and lots of lab time.

See this post....
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=270754#270754

nel

cisco_trooper wrote:

I gotta be honest regarding classes. Unless you have significant experience with these topics, the classes will be a waste of time. You can't absorb ALL this material by sitting in a class for 40 hours. I would stick with books and lots of lab time.

See this post....
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=270754#270754

Yeah, thats along the lines i was thinking.

Any suggestions on a good design book or any others for that matter?

cisco_trooper

nel wrote:

cisco_trooper wrote:

I gotta be honest regarding classes. Unless you have significant experience with these topics, the classes will be a waste of time. You can't absorb ALL this material by sitting in a class for 40 hours. I would stick with books and lots of lab time.

See this post....
http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=270754#270754

Yeah, thats along the lines i was thinking.

Any suggestions on a good design book or any others for that matter?

I like the CCIE Professional Development books. The CCIE LAN Switching book is old but is still good IIFF you know enough to weed out the material that is no longer relevant. If not, I would stick to the Cisco docs for your supplemental reading. The CCNP Self Study guides are also good with the Exam Cert Guides. There is a CCNP FAQ with a ton of resources listed, you should check that out.

nel

Thanks Guys.

malcybood

nel,

Firstly congrats on the new job, I knew you were on the lookout so all good.

In regard to books and references I guess this really depends on what types of technologies you are looking after. I know you said it's a Cisco house but what are you responsible for?

WAN? How is it configured? Frame Relay, ATM, Metro Ethernet? Routing protocols used?
LAN? What type of switches? Do you run VoIP,
QoS, Call Manager/Unity etc?
Internet Connectivity? BGP used?
Security? PIX? ASA? IPSec / EZVPN?

I have a book that was published in 1998 but I still think it's great and easy to understand and although some of it is outdated much of it is still relevant to troubleshooting serial lines, ATM & Frame Relay access, ISDN, PPP it's awsome.....I guess these technologies are becoming replaced by MPLS etc, however there is still a massive number of businesses that use these WAN access methods into an MPLS cloud i.e. frame relay.

You can get the book online but I've got the hardback (CCIE colleague gave me a bunch of his old books for free).

The one I've got - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Internetworking-Troubleshooting-Handbook-Cisco-Fundamentals/dp/1578700248/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224787965&sr=1-4

Second edition (wouldn't pay £42.30 for it though!) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Internetworking-Troubleshooting-Handbook-Cisco-Core/dp/1587050056/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224787965&sr=1-3

Online version - http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/itg_v1/index.htm

I also used the flowcharts and configuration examples on the Cisco website salot to diagnose issues and once you do it a few times it sticks. For example I've posted the links for troubleshooting OSPF and EIGRP below (these are great);

OSPF - http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk365/technologies_tech_note09186a00800949f7.shtml
EIGRP - http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk365/technologies_tech_note09186a0080094613.shtml

In regards to design I found the case studies and the material in the Diane Teare book very good in understanding the material.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designing-Internetwork-Solutions-Authorized-Self-Study/dp/1587052725

What about suggesting to them to get a CBT nuggets library / membership?

Mostly free stuff / online resource but hope this helps

Malc

Slowhand

There are plenty of lab-suggestion threads on the CCNP FAQ, (including my own, strangely enough,) and there is also a couple of articles from Wendell Odom that suggest some pretty good equipment for the new CCNP exams. Between real production equipment and hands-on with some "breakable" lab-equipment, you should have no trouble getting up to speed.

nel

Slowhand wrote:

There are plenty of lab-suggestion threads on the CCNP FAQ, (including my own, strangely enough,) and there is also a couple of articles from Wendell Odom that suggest some pretty good equipment for the new CCNP exams. Between real production equipment and hands-on with some "breakable" lab-equipment, you should have no trouble getting up to speed.

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah i agree with you slowhand and i have alot of projects coming up with alot of hands on involved. I was hoping work would buy a "spare" 3560 so i could use it for my studies lol

@ Malc...i'll send you an email mate!

Slowhand

nel wrote:

Yeah i agree with you slowhand and i have alot of projects coming up with alot of hands on involved. I was hoping work would buy a "spare" 3560 so i could use it for my studies lol

Heh, heh. I think we all do that, try to lean on our employers to buy some "spare" quad-core servers or beefy routers/switches to play with. And, of course, we're all guilty of "recycling" used equipment that gets replaced at client-sites and our offices. (Hence the reason I have a PIX 501 running as the gateway to our network at the house. )