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Summary: This is the BIBLE of Cisco LAN Switching!
Review: This book is a MUST for any Admin/Engineer's library! It does mainly focus on the Cat5000 series but does talk about the 6000 series and the MSM & MSFC. Warning though... this book will NOT cover the Native IOS image. It briefly talks about it but is not a command guide for this new and upcoming image.
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Summary: The "bible" on switching
Review: This book is a must for every network engineer and designer! The content is very detailed and well structured, you may skip chapters and go back and forth if you don't feel that you don't need to read them (not suggested ;). The chapters on STP are probably the best material ever written. It covers the whole lifecycle of a network - from the design to troubleshooting and every part of it is excellent and very well-explained which makes it easy to understand (as long as this could be "easy" ;). Unfortunately the CLSC 1.0 test (from the CCNP track) focuses on a little different aspect than this book, which doesn't make this book less valuable. If you're planning on taking CLSC 2.0 (which is coming live later this year) this book fits so well like the test questions are written by the authors (quite likely ;). In my opinion this book and "Routing TCP/IP" by Jeff Doyle are the best books on networking (and Cisco) ever written.
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Summary: Just buy it!
Review: This book is excelent! Worth every dollar I spent on it. I came from a WAN background and until recently poo-pooed the LAN side of things. Now that I am more of a LAN guys dealing constantly with a variety of cisco switches I realize how complex it can actually get. This book offers fully detailed explantions of all the various protocols involved. There is also a constant thread of humour that is just right in both it's tone and qauntity. You can tell that the author(s) have actually been there in the trenches and are not just rewriting other source documentation. Can I give it six stars?
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Summary: cisco press finally gets it right!
Review: This book is excellent from cover to cover. Topics ranging from basic switching theory to advanced cisco switch configuration are covered in a clear and easy to read manner. And, the book is not riddled with typos, errors, misprints, and mistakes like almost all of the other cisco press titles. You get quality *and* quantity with this one - over 800 pages of useful information.
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Summary: You have to get this book!
Review: This book is written so well, and in a language that even increases my PPM (pages per minute). Even though it goes into very deep detailes, is does it in a rare un-boring way that I have not seen since I read my last Stephen King novel. The funny thing is that it tells you about very advanced configurations, but is at the same time very easy to understand. It's like waking up one day and grap a book written in a weird old Egyptian language and actually be able to understand the contents. It might be overkill for the BCMSN exam if you're only out to "pass it", but I like to know "everything", and this book has given me a lot of knowledge. The only bad thing about this book is that you have to be careful reading it in bed, because it will hurt your head if you fall a sleep while reading it :-)
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Summary: great book
Review: This book provides the level of detail not covered in the product manuals or the Cisco Training class. I bought the book because I took a class with Kevin Hamilton and he did a great job. The book is just as good.
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Summary: Not Just For CCIE Candidates!
Review: This book, along with Jeff Doyle's wonderful TCP/IP Vol. 1, were my main sources for passing the IE Written exam, and I'm sure I'll be using it in the months ahead preparing for the lab! This book is NOT just for CCIE candidates. It has the clearest descriptions of bridging techniques I have ever read, and would be a great investment for anyone working on the CCNP or CCNA. The highest score I got on the exam was in the Bridging category, and I owe much of that to this great work. A must for your networking library, no matter the stage!
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Summary: a Must buy for Network engineers and students
Review: This book, along with Routing TCP/IP, are two of the best books ever written on Networking. This book is very well written, very concise, and the examples are very useful in presenting a problem and a solution. The chapter on Multilayer Switching, Multicasting, and Spanning-Tree alone are very extensive and comprehensive. The explanations are very technical yet understandable for the novice readers. Superb illustrations and explanations leave no holes unturned. This book may seem outdated but don't be fooled by the publish date. It's 2001, I'm redesigning our LAN network with Cisco 6509 Core switches and this book comes in handy every step of the way.
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Summary: Invaluable for Cisco Catalyst owners
Review: What this book provides: --- With some hands on experience, this book will make you an expert in Cisco LAN Switching. Every subject related to the design, troubleshooting and maintenance of switched networks is discussed in detail. I especially enjoyed the chapters on STP and Campus Design. If you already own Cisco Catalyst switches or are looking to buy Cisco Catalyst switches, this book is invaluable. What this book does not provide: --- This book is not an introduction to LAN Switching. Many networking terms are not defined in the assumption that the reader has a networking background. If you are looking for an introduction to LAN Switching or networking, you will need to look elsewhere. I also noticed a few errors in the book. Mostly just missing lines from networking diagrams and the text referring to the wrong figure.
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Summary: TopGun stuff-Hollywood should make a movie of this book
Review: When I first pick up this book after my CCNA, I am a bit frustrated. Apparently my age old knowledge on Ethernet hub and BNC cable learnt while doing my CNE many years ago is not quite the right prerequisite. 6 months later, having passed my ACRC, and half way through preparing for Switching 2.0 exam, I revisit Clarke's book and I am madly, deeply, truly, absolutely, 100% impressed. For example, when other authors hurry past STP in less than 10 pages and left numerous doubts and false concepts in your mind, Clarke with his unhurried pace unveils the STP magic in 140 pages which brings smile to your face and joy to your heart, and the most accurate understanding in the easiest possible way - using clever examples and diagram. When other try hard to explain VTP, making half heart text-based attempt to explain server and client mode and totally left out transparent mode - Clarke/Hamilton use clever example with diagram and table to thoroughly illustrate the 3 modes, leaving no doubts. Not a single author out there appears to know that if you switch off Catalyst client - all VLAN information is lost! Whereas Server and transparent mode Catalyst VLAN configuration is stored in NVRAM and will survive a power off! Others authors appear to imply that as long as you have the same domain name, you are in the same VTP domain - this books tell you 3 conditions that must be met before the switches are consider being in the same domain. Yes, you can have the same vtp domain name and electrically quite close - but still not in the same domain! Throughout the whole book, the authors displayed a habit of always using examples and diagrams to illustrate the points he tried to bring across. Some examples are so details that you can feel the bits and bytes - very amazing. Others are so simple and intuitively clear that you achieve accurate understanding of conceptually obscure and tricky topic. Quite a few examples are sheer brilliant (e.g. Table 12-3) that I will not be able to think of in a thousand year. On the lighter side, he doesn't mind to start off an example with "If host A is playing Doom with host C ..." - kind of fun. Comparing to another great book (which I haven't read) Jeff Doyle's Routing - the printing and format of this book is so much better - another big plus. Hope Clarke/Hamilton can find time to publish new edition of this book every 2 to 3 years. Hope Clark/Hamiltone can also find time writing equally impressive book on routing. 3 Cheers
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