CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide (CCNP Self-Study, 642-801), Third Edition

Rating:
Summary: Long Read. Excellent Results.
Review: The CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide was a long read. But as far as the material contained within, the ends were worth every minute. Ms. Gough does not skip corners or spare the important details. Nor, does she put in a lot of the fluff or redundant wording. The chapter writings are instructional without being repetitive. And, the Practice Questions and Scenarios are right on target as both real-world examples and real-exam questions. The flow of the chapters is meant to build the reader up to handle the deep thought nature of the BSCI Exam and the ever changing nature of current internetworking. Ms. Cough compartmentalizes important topics to highlight it's importance without isolating the reader from the real network impact each topic can have on both simple and complex Internetworks. One slight negative, the final edit of this tome seemed jumpy at times and occasionally wordy. But, the overall content and presentation were exceptional.

This book is stuffed with of everything a person needs to move into the advanced concepts of routing and networking. Troubleshooting flowcharts, practice questions, make-them-think scenarios, Real World Examples, detailed and concise explanations of concepts, theory and practice, etc... It's all here and more. The CD contains a database of 350+ questions for the test practice engine to pull from. And, since many of these questions were directly from the text, the text provides good explanations to clear up any misunderstandings or misinterpretations.

I would recommend this Cisco ECG to all experienced networkers with or without a Cisco background. For those looking to complete their Cisco Routing Reference Library, the Cisco Press BSCI ECG offers a great value. No three other publicly published books will give you the amount of reference materials and examples you'll find in this one volume. For anyone prepping for the BSCI Exam, you'll be very hard pressed to beat this. The CD alone will be of great value to prepare individuals looking to hone their test taking readiness.

If you are planning to take the BSCI Certification Exam and have a good introductory foundation of internetworking theory, practices and principles, then this book will take you where you need to be. I will say that this book is NOT meant for the beginner or even a lower-level novice to Internetworking, but then again neither is the Cisco BSCI test. This book more than meets it's intended purpose: Prepare the intermediate user for the BSCI Certification Exam AND the real world tests that will follow such a certification. But, this book can be used for so much more long after the test has been passed.

Rating:
Summary: Long Read. Excellent Results.
Review: The CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide was a long read. But as far as the material contained within, the ends were worth every minute. Ms. Gough does not skip corners or spare the important details. Nor, does she put in a lot of the fluff or redundant wording. The chapter writings are instructional without being repetitive. And, the Practice Questions and Scenarios are right on target as both real-world examples and real-exam questions. The flow of the chapters is meant to build the reader up to handle the deep thought nature of the BSCI Exam and the ever changing nature of current internetworking. Ms. Cough compartmentalizes important topics to highlight it's importance without isolating the reader from the real network impact each topic can have on both simple and complex Internetworks. One slight negative, the final edit of this tome seemed jumpy at times and occasionally wordy. But, the overall content and presentation were exceptional.

This book is stuffed with of everything a person needs to move into the advanced concepts of routing and networking. Troubleshooting flowcharts, practice questions, make-them-think scenarios, Real World Examples, detailed and concise explanations of concepts, theory and practice, etc... It's all here and more. The CD contains a database of 350+ questions for the test practice engine to pull from. And, since many of these questions were directly from the text, the text provides good explanations to clear up any misunderstandings or misinterpretations.

I would recommend this Cisco ECG to all experienced networkers with or without a Cisco background. For those looking to complete their Cisco Routing Reference Library, the Cisco Press BSCI ECG offers a great value. No three other publicly published books will give you the amount of reference materials and examples you'll find in this one volume. For anyone prepping for the BSCI Exam, you'll be very hard pressed to beat this. The CD alone will be of great value to prepare individuals looking to hone their test taking readiness.

If you are planning to take the BSCI Certification Exam and have a good introductory foundation of internetworking theory, practices and principles, then this book will take you where you need to be. I will say that this book is NOT meant for the beginner or even a lower-level novice to Internetworking, but then again neither is the Cisco BSCI test. This book more than meets it's intended purpose: Prepare the intermediate user for the BSCI Certification Exam AND the real world tests that will follow such a certification. But, this book can be used for so much more long after the test has been passed.

Rating:
Summary: CCNP Self-Study Guide by Clare Gough
Review: The reason that I picked this book to read is because I am getting ready to re-certify as a CCNP and CCDP. I have several Cisco Press books on the subject, but I felt that I needed the latest offered. I was not disappointed in the subject matter. In fact, this reader commends the author on the depth and breadth of the huge undertaking of teaching this information. It's obvious that she has the experience required to take on this task and the teaching skills and writing skills necessary to impart this to her students. Though I don't give the book the maximum possible rating, I do give it a 4 out of a maximum of 5. Why not the maximum? Because this book is extremely difficult to read and it took several re-reads of several sections in order to understand what the author was trying to teach.
I found many of the subjects explained in an unnecessarily complex manner. The author often doesn't make smooth transitions from one subject to another as she switches paragraphs. This leaves the reader sitting there wondering, "Did I miss something?" -- Thus, the re-reads. It also appears that the author didn't always write the post-chapter questions, as this reader found questions at the end of chapters that weren't even addressed till the next, or even 2 or 3 chapters later. The author appears to assume too much of the reader's background; she often uses terminology or references concepts that aren't explained or requires the reader to have other resources available. Fortunately for this reader, I had the ACRC book, edited by Laura Chappell (1999) and the Cisco website available for downloads of IS-IS. These other sources were used often when I was trying to discern what the author was trying to impart. As I stated, I have already passed the CCNP and am reading this book to re-certify. I can't imagine trying to depend on only reading this book (for routing) as a graduating CCNA on my way to CCNP.
At times, I found that the author did not use common terminology found in most books. If those cases, she should have defined her terminology. For example, she uses the word "subnet" where other books use the word "subnetwork". Though this seems insignificant, this reader found the inconsistent terminology often distracting. The author should refer to the terminology in use on the Cisco exams and be consistent with that use. If one of the goals "for this book is not only to help you pass the exam...", then it would benefit the prospective exam candidate to be exposed to the same terminology in the self-study books as that will appear on the exams.
Most of the figures and examples are accurate, but at times, the errors in them make it difficult to follow the intended concepts - the correction of these errors is especially critical to new students (CCNA graduates).
If I've been so critical in the above couple of paragraphs, then why do I still give the book a rating of 4 and not a lower score? I give the book this rating due to the breadth and completeness of the covered subject matter. Most every author out there that would undertake such an enormous task would be bound to have the same number of difficult passages and inconsistencies. Those errors that this reader found cannot necessarily be attributed to the author but that of the editor(s). Perhaps each editor was too technical of an editor and in that case, each understood immediately what the author was trying to impart to the reader. Or perhaps even the editors can't catch every inconsistency or difficult passage. But for the CCNP candidate that will buy the book and is learning the content for the first time (and doesn't have access to a previously-written book on the subject matter), this book can be difficult to read. If this were a book of fiction, this reader would have set it aside after the first chapter because it "doesn't read well."
Some of the things that I would especially like to commend the author on are her coverage of VLSM, CIDR, and route summarization. Her coverage on these subjects is one of the best, if not, the best explanation in all the books that I've read. Additionally, this reader appreciates the author's scenario questions at the end of the chapters. They are invaluable for really understanding the material. This reader feels that for the CCNP candidate, the book is well worth the struggle.
Would I buy another book by this author? The answer is "yes" due to the fact that she knows her material, has the experience in the subject matter, and goes to great lengths to teach it.

Rating:
Summary: CCNP Self-Study Guide by Clare Gough
Review: The reason that I picked this book to read is because I am getting ready to re-certify as a CCNP and CCDP. I have several Cisco Press books on the subject, but I felt that I needed the latest offered. I was not disappointed in the subject matter. In fact, this reader commends the author on the depth and breadth of the huge undertaking of teaching this information. It's obvious that she has the experience required to take on this task and the teaching skills and writing skills necessary to impart this to her students. Though I don't give the book the maximum possible rating, I do give it a 4 out of a maximum of 5. Why not the maximum? Because this book is extremely difficult to read and it took several re-reads of several sections in order to understand what the author was trying to teach.
I found many of the subjects explained in an unnecessarily complex manner. The author often doesn't make smooth transitions from one subject to another as she switches paragraphs. This leaves the reader sitting there wondering, "Did I miss something?" -- Thus, the re-reads. It also appears that the author didn't always write the post-chapter questions, as this reader found questions at the end of chapters that weren't even addressed till the next, or even 2 or 3 chapters later. The author appears to assume too much of the reader's background; she often uses terminology or references concepts that aren't explained or requires the reader to have other resources available. Fortunately for this reader, I had the ACRC book, edited by Laura Chappell (1999) and the Cisco website available for downloads of IS-IS. These other sources were used often when I was trying to discern what the author was trying to impart. As I stated, I have already passed the CCNP and am reading this book to re-certify. I can't imagine trying to depend on only reading this book (for routing) as a graduating CCNA on my way to CCNP.
At times, I found that the author did not use common terminology found in most books. If those cases, she should have defined her terminology. For example, she uses the word "subnet" where other books use the word "subnetwork". Though this seems insignificant, this reader found the inconsistent terminology often distracting. The author should refer to the terminology in use on the Cisco exams and be consistent with that use. If one of the goals "for this book is not only to help you pass the exam...", then it would benefit the prospective exam candidate to be exposed to the same terminology in the self-study books as that will appear on the exams.
Most of the figures and examples are accurate, but at times, the errors in them make it difficult to follow the intended concepts - the correction of these errors is especially critical to new students (CCNA graduates).
If I've been so critical in the above couple of paragraphs, then why do I still give the book a rating of 4 and not a lower score? I give the book this rating due to the breadth and completeness of the covered subject matter. Most every author out there that would undertake such an enormous task would be bound to have the same number of difficult passages and inconsistencies. Those errors that this reader found cannot necessarily be attributed to the author but that of the editor(s). Perhaps each editor was too technical of an editor and in that case, each understood immediately what the author was trying to impart to the reader. Or perhaps even the editors can't catch every inconsistency or difficult passage. But for the CCNP candidate that will buy the book and is learning the content for the first time (and doesn't have access to a previously-written book on the subject matter), this book can be difficult to read. If this were a book of fiction, this reader would have set it aside after the first chapter because it "doesn't read well."
Some of the things that I would especially like to commend the author on are her coverage of VLSM, CIDR, and route summarization. Her coverage on these subjects is one of the best, if not, the best explanation in all the books that I've read. Additionally, this reader appreciates the author's scenario questions at the end of the chapters. They are invaluable for really understanding the material. This reader feels that for the CCNP candidate, the book is well worth the struggle.
Would I buy another book by this author? The answer is "yes" due to the fact that she knows her material, has the experience in the subject matter, and goes to great lengths to teach it.

Rating:
Summary: On the fence for this one.
Review: This book has plenty of information. It could serve better as reference book while working in the real world, which is preventing me from returning it.

Since this book is a certification guide specifically for the BSCI, it falls short. It should have included 3 router lab setups for each topic. It does show configuration examples, however they are only for 1 or 2 routers displayed in the figures. This is a huge disapointment.

A typo has already been identified on the Networking Professional website on Policy-based routing, and even a refernce to the number 642-801, was typed as 640-801.

The BSCI also requires to identify the steps to confiure a router for NAT with overlaod, static translations, and route maps. The NAT section of this book does not provide configuration examples. Another disapointment.