HELP with books!!

I just got certified MCSA. But seriously speaking there is substantial gap between getting certified and having actual knowledge, specially the daily administrative tasks. so can anyone plz suggest me a book which will cover

1] In a real life scenario, what are the tasks we have to do as administrator and how, like there are many tips, methods. Mostly in certification books they doesnt mention 3rd party applications.

2] Practical networking knowledge in detail.

I am very much interested in networking, any number of books will do.

also should i now get into cisco exams, coz mostly the advanced courses are in cisco, CCNP, CCIE etc.

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Comments

Essendon

Before you 'get' any more certs, you should find a job. Nothing replaces actual job experience.

As for heading towards Cisco, perhaps you can start on the CCENT/CCNA. The CCNP and the CCIE arent easy, the CCIE is particularly hard and is like the Mt. Everest of Cisco certs. You need a lot of job experience to have ANY chance of passing the CCIE lab exam.

How did you prepare for your MCSA? Did you have a lab to play with, did you do all those labs at the end of each lesson on the MS Press books?

Once again, you need a job more than you need another cert.

yuddhidhtir

Essendon wrote: »

Before you 'get' any more certs, you should find a job. Nothing replaces actual job experience.

As for heading towards Cisco, perhaps you can start on the CCENT/CCNA. The CCNP and the CCIE arent easy, the CCIE is particularly hard and is like the Mt. Everest of Cisco certs. You need a lot of job experience to have ANY chance of passing the CCIE lab exam.

How did you prepare for your MCSA? Did you have a lab to play with, did you do all those labs at the end of each lesson on the MS Press books?

Once again, you need a job more than you need another cert.

Thanks for the reply. but my real question was suggestion of a book. Actually i am going to work in a week, but i wanted to know where to go in the future. I am thinking about giving CCNA after 6-7 months of working. My current goal is to get a CCNP in future, as far as CCIE is concerned, i will have the idea about it after years of working, coz it is actually a mount everest!

I practiced with simulations, and not with setting many computers with virtual software. Again any books u know?

yuddhidhtir

I was expecting some book names...........

I came across these books.....
1] The practice of System and Network administration

2]Network Administrator -street smarts

Essendon

You didnt have to put that rolly-eyes emoticon in there dude!

Maybe people didnt have a clear-cut answer to your question, or they didnt have any answer, or maybe they didnt give a rat's ass to your question. Damn man!

Panzer919

Essendon wrote: »

You didnt have to put that rolly-eyes emoticon in there dude!

Asking for help and giving attitude pretty much cancel each other out. so if you want help, take the chip off your shoulder and people will help you as much as they can, when they can. Be respectful, if someone does not give you the answer you are looking for, ask it again in a different way. Maybe they just didn't understand.

As for your OP,

1] In a real life scenario, what are the tasks we have to do as administrator and how, like there are many tips, methods. Mostly in certification books they doesnt mention 3rd party applications.

This question is too broad. The answer to this is the same one you will get if you ask a network engineer a question, depends. It depends on what you need done, how you need it done, and what can you afford to spend in getting it done. The specific tasks you will do depends on your role in an organization. I am the network engineer for my company but we have 4 server people. 1 handles our Hyper V servers, storage and AD, 1 handles AD and group policy, 1 handles exchange and 1 handles Citrix. So depending on the person, and depending on what the company has in production the answer changes. If you want a more specific answer ask a more specific question.

2] Practical networking knowledge in detail.

If you want to study networking, start with either the network + or the CCENT. You don't have to be certified to understand networking, it just helps if you plan on making a career out of it. As for specific books, lurk around the network+ and CCNA forums and see what people are reading. Listen to their feedback and what helped them and what was a waste of money. The people that are using the books for certs will be able to tell which ones are crap and which ones are a good read. Then if you come across something you don't get, ask (politely) on the NA or Net+ forums and people will try to help. I occasionally look into the NA forums and try to help people and I know others to too. Just drop the rolling eyes and you should be fine.

yuddhidhtir

Panzer919 wrote: »

Asking for help and giving attitude pretty much cancel each other out. so if you want help, take the chip off your shoulder and people will help you as much as they can, when they can. Be respectful, if someone does not give you the answer you are looking for, ask it again in a different way. Maybe they just didn't understand.

As for your OP,

1] In a real life scenario, what are the tasks we have to do as administrator and how, like there are many tips, methods. Mostly in certification books they doesnt mention 3rd party applications.

This question is too broad. The answer to this is the same one you will get if you ask a network engineer a question, depends. It depends on what you need done, how you need it done, and what can you afford to spend in getting it done. The specific tasks you will do depends on your role in an organization. I am the network engineer for my company but we have 4 server people. 1 handles our Hyper V servers, storage and AD, 1 handles AD and group policy, 1 handles exchange and 1 handles Citrix. So depending on the person, and depending on what the company has in production the answer changes. If you want a more specific answer ask a more specific question.

2] Practical networking knowledge in detail.

If you want to study networking, start with either the network + or the CCENT. You don't have to be certified to understand networking, it just helps if you plan on making a career out of it. As for specific books, lurk around the network+ and CCNA forums and see what people are reading. Listen to their feedback and what helped them and what was a waste of money. The people that are using the books for certs will be able to tell which ones are crap and which ones are a good read. Then if you come across something you don't get, ask (politely) on the NA or Net+ forums and people will try to help. I occasionally look into the NA forums and try to help people and I know others to too. Just drop the rolling eyes and you should be fine.

I think coz of that emoticon, i am misunderstood here. Never meant to disrespect anyone. As far as the questions being not specific, thats how i was, confused! and wanted to know some books which will give me some ideas about what really goes on in an production environment. But now, atleast i have some idea. Its very confusing for a guy just about to start in a networking field. I do look some net admin forums and i came across those books after reading the reviews of it.

DigitalZeroOne

I would recommend "Cisco Certified Network Associate Guide" by Todd Lammle, I used it to study for me CCENT. In general, I just go to Amazon.com and look for books with the highest and best number of reviews. Usually when you get one good book, they will always have a revised version for the new exam, so just stick with the same publisher and/or series.

powerfool

Another recommendation may be to pursue the rest of your MCSE while you are working. Also, talk with other folks in your area.

Honestly, I don't really know of any books that fill those gaps... it has been well over a hundred moons since I was in that position...

Industry blogs may be a better start for you. Find sites dedicated to what you are after. MSExchange.org is a good place for Exchange Server knowledge, for instance.

kingslayer

It sounds like you have an idea that if you read every book you are going to be 100% covered.

Doesn't work like that. Every company has a unique setup in one way or another and while most of the day-to-day troubleshooting may be textbook stuff there will also be things which you will only know how to fix if youve been working there for a few years.

In your first 6 months I would put the books aside and focus on really learning the environment at your new job and learning from anyone more experienced than you.

Once you feel comfortable with the setup there and become more independent, then resume your cert study.

yuddhidhtir

Thanks for all the suggestions:)
Before i start i wanted to have a good foundation, i think i will go for the interview within 2 weeks.