Foundation vs. official cert guide

I've decided to start digging into the SWITCH exam and i'm not sure which one of these books to get. I used Odoms books for CCNA and thought they were really great. The practice exams that came with them were harder than the real exam. Here's my thing: the foundation book it looks like does not come with any of those practice exams, which I really want.

What are the differences in these books and which would you recommend?

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Comments

mikej412

You probably should get both unless you already have lots of real life work experience with all the exam topics.

The Cisco Press CCNP web page sums it up nicely:

Foundation Learning Guides (formerly Self-Study Guides), which are based on Cisco courses for the related exams, provide essential foundation learning and thoroughly cover topics addressed in those courses. These books assume no prior knowledge of the subject matter and take a detailed approach to tutorial-based learning. Book elements within the Foundational Learning Guide Series feature real-world case studies, configuration examples, and chapter-ending review questions, making them useful on the job, in addition to exam preparation.

Certification Guides help prepare candidates for Cisco certification exams. These books assume readers have attained the necessary learning foundation and experience for a certification test and are reviewing material before exam time. They include summary information that details critical information on key exam topics and a companion CD-ROM, which contains a powerful testing engine that can be customized with practice exam questions, simulation-based questions, and adaptable performance trackers.

Which book is right for me?
Foundationl Learning Guides and 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 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 Foundation Learning Guides.

And if you don't mind spending even more money, I love the Quick Reference Sheets and the Portable Command Guides.

spartangtr

mikej412 wrote: »

You probably should get both unless you already have lots of real life work experience with all the exam topics.

The Cisco Press CCNP web page sums it up nicely:
And if you don't mind spending even more money, I love the Quick Reference Sheets and the Portable Command Guides.

Ah, thanks. Looks like i'll start with foundation and purchase the official cert guide later.

DevilWAH

mikej412 wrote: »

And if you don't mind spending even more money, I love the Quick Reference Sheets and the Portable Command Guides.

I defiantly agree the quick ref sheets I have got for every exam so far and Love them. There great to flick through and jog your memory or confirm you knowelage.

peanutnoggin

Are the SWITCH quick reference sheets available? I've only seen the bcmsn sheets...

DevilWAH

i have Switch and Route ones so yep

peanutnoggin

DevilWAH wrote: »

i have Switch and Route ones so yep

Can you send me a link? I've looked on ciscopress.com, amazon, barnes & noble and no where can I find anything about the SWITCH quick reference sheets. I seen the BCMSN quick reference sheets. Are those pretty good?

-Peanut

EDIT: Here's the link. I was looking for a separate SWITCH only quick reference. Thanks... I'll be ordering this today! HTH

DevilWAH

i got mine seperate. if you go to cisco press site. then click CCNP link up the top of the page. you will get a list of all the course broken in to switch route and trouble shoot. each has a quick ref guide.

peanutnoggin

Thanks!