Rating: 
Summary: excellent teaching tool--lots of hands on projects
Review: A lot of the study guides are excellent, but this one is one of the best I've ever seen. As a teaching tool, it is great because it organizes the material very succintly and very clearly follows the comptia subjects on the test. also, it tries to anticipate networking trends, especially Windows 2000 (one has to guess that the book was written in very early 1999). The hardest part about this certification is that because it is not vendor specific, an author is reluctant to get too specific about how to do things on each individual platform. This book solves this problem by presenting general information and then assigning "hands-on projects" at the end of the chapter in the respective NOS. These projects go over each specific steps for getting something done in a particular NOS. That is a very good idea even if the reader doesn't have access to the NOS. Perhaps these projects could be useful after taking the test when you do encounter a new nos and are too cheap to buy other books.This book is particularly nice because it gathers a lot of networking information together in a single book and contrasts their implementation in different os. Very useful after the test. A lot of the examples are NT, but it makes sense to do this from a market-share point of view. (I'm a Unix/Linux dude, so I am actually interested in the NT-specific stuff). One quirk that may or may not be good is that the authors put the answers to the chapter test on CD. That is good because it frees more pages of the book up to discussion of material. (sometimes these exam prep books seem to spend 20% of their pages just giving answers). On the other hand, it is a pain to refer to the answers on the CD. In short, this is a very well-written and informative book, both from a technical and pedagogical point of view.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it...
Review: Don't waste your money. Although this book covers basic networking very well, it is not a good prep for the Network + Exam. I nearly passed the exam, but not because of this book. Keep looking!
Rating:
Summary: Warning to those thinking this book is enough for Network+
Review: First off, one rule when it comes to certifications. Never just consult one source, something is bound to be missing. Second, be wary when consulting reviews on this site. Some of the so called TOP Reviewers must be getting some kind of pay or compensation from publishers. I won't name names, but how can you trust them when practically everything they review gets five stars and many others have mentioned errors that they've missed. Warning, if the review reads like an annotated table of contents to the book itself, disregard it. My rule of thumb is to look at every review of a book that has a 3 star rating or below first. While some of these reviewers probably wouldn't be satisfied with anything, some mention points and errors that the happy-go-lucky reviewers are too busy raving to notice.Now to the book. Let me just say, I think many things in this book are well done (particularly, the exercises). However, many more are not. I bought this book after consulting the reviews from this site and was satisfied at first. However, that quickly vanished. As a disclaimer, I have only read through Chapter 9 (out of 16) so far, however, I think it says something that I've found so many inconsistencies and errors by this point that I'm considering cutting my losses by ditching it and going with another source. Examples of things wrong with this book: 1. Do not rely on the material for subnetting. If you're using this book and want to learn subnetting, then visit www.LearnToSubnet.com. This book makes a few glaring errors in the techniques for subnetting. Most appalling, the tables which it provides as a quick reference for subnetting are totally wrong. If you rely on these, you will be wasting IP addresses. 4 subnets (not 2) can be had from 2 borrowed bits, for example. 2. Poor editing. The time is not taken to explain some of the concepts or clarify. This book was obviously only reviewed and edited by people who had a lot of experience and did not notice the gaps that could be crucial to a novice. Example: The book first tells you that a MAC address is 12 digits. One chapter later, it tells you a MAC address is 6 octets. I had to skip ahead halfway through the book to find out what an octet is. Once you've found that out, it doesn't even bother elaborating that the MAC address is actually a 12 digit HEXADECIMAL number. This is just the type of thing you'll have to get used to. 3. No explanation in some cases. Example: The chapter on the Data Link Layer tells you that flow control, error control, and sequencing takes place here. The chapter on the Transport layer says it is responsible for the same things (in addition to others). Well, which is it? If it's both, what's the difference between the two? I shouldn't have to consult other sources after reading a 600+ page, $40+ dollar book. 4. Poor handling of errors. The Coriolis website has an errata database. Problem is, they don't give any way for a visitor to the site to submit errata. They have about 4 entries when I have found at least 2 dozen errors or misclarifications between the book and CD questions. I emailed Mrs. Craft, the main author, for clarification on the Bridges section. To her credit, she responded the next day while working on the road. I was impressed. However, she didn't answer completely the specific question I asked. When I nicely stated that and sent a follow up email, she did not respond. The next time I encountered a serious error I thought I would try the second author. He did not even respond after several days. I understand that it is the publisher's responsibility to keep the errata database up-to-date but the authors owe us the right information the first time (especially when you're spending significant money on an important exam and career direction) and support if they don't do it the first time. I'll never buy a book by Craft or Poplar again. 5. Writing lacks in areas, especially for novices. I have probably 1/100th the networking knowledge the authors do, yet I could do a much better job of explaining some of the concepts than they do. Sometimes, I have to read a section many times over to figure out what they're trying to say. Sometimes, I have to read the entire chapter over again. That can be expected with many subjects. However, sometimes I have to skip ahead several chapters to the next mention of a subject to figure out what they're talking about in my current chapter. Worse, yet, in order to gain competence with some of the ideas I've had to waste hours researching the same info on the web. I have over 13 years of experience working with computers from the Apple II+ to MS Dos 5.0 to Windows 3.1 to Windows 9x to Windows 2000. I also have a working knowledge of Java, C, COBOL, Visual Basic, Pascal, and HTML not to mention a BS in MIS. While my background is not directly related to networking, I would not have been able to clarify sections of the book for myself without some of this knowledge. If I have this many problems clarifying their writing with my experience, imagine how much trouble a novice will have. In summary, while this book does have some good info, you will not want to pick it up if you are a novice or you are looking for hassle free study. Sometimes, making sure that you've got accurate information is more intense than studying the book. Do yourself a favor, and check out other options.
Rating:
Summary: Did it for me!
Review: I had lots of hardware experience over the years and wanted to learn networking. I bought this book because of the reviews and was not disapointed. To be honest though I was a bit overwhelmed by everything covered after the first read. So I bought and read the Sybex Network+ book which was more for absolute beginners (though not near as thorough) like me and then went back to Exam Prep. Exam Prep on the second read was a pleasure. You will really learn the OSI model after reading this book. I finally know what a bridge, router, and mac address are and how they work. Network protocols like TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, and Netbui are no longer a mystery. The section on TCP/IP (including DNS, DHCP, WINS,and addressing) is outstanding and the explanation of subnetting is very understandable. TCP/IP and the TCP/IP utilities (ping, tracert, ipconfig, etc.) are important to know and will help you a lot if you go the MCSE route or any career in networking. It really helps to have an in house network lab to do the hands on projects, but I was able to pass with a 94% just having a single computer. This is the premeir Network+ book and I may sell or give away my other books but this one and Alan Carter's MCSE book will always be within arms reach for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good but.....
Review: I initially thought that this book read very well and provided good information to pass the Network+ exam. However, after I purchased the Transcender practice exam and failed it, I thought differently. All of the questions I failed were referenced to David Groth's book, "Network+ Study Guide" which, once I purchased and read it, found additional material not covered in the Corolis book. After reading both books, I successfully passed the practice exams, and subsequently, the actual test. There were a few questions on the actual test that weren't covered in this book, confirming that the Transcender practice exam(which I highly recommend) was right on the money. I recommend if you can only purchase one book, buy the Network+ Study Guide. Best of luck!!!
Rating:
Summary: Always get a second opinion.
Review: I only used this book to study for the exam and I think that it was a bit foolish (I did pass.). This book does an excellent job of presentating the material that is covered on the Network+ exam but it isn't truly complete. It feels strong geared towards Microsoft servers and the Windows comunity, while the exam felt more platform independant. I would definitely recommend the book, but I would strongly suggest reading a few chapters from another book while you are at a local bookstore/library. Always get a second perspective from another book or it's exam or an exam available on-line. The person that generally writes the book, writes the questions as well, so it tends to be biased on what they taught or focused on. The chapters are nicely written so that you could read them seperately if you wanted because reused terms or concepts from previous chapters are redefined creating excellent use of repetition which aides in the studying process. The questions are sometimes fairly easy and it's uncanny that quite a few of them were on the exam. It did lack diagrams of problem configurations to troubleshoot which would be excellent in further editions or possibly in the Exam Cram.
Rating:
Summary: Pass the test with this book alone!
Review: I took the test this afternoon, and passed it easily. This is the only book I used, and there were no surprises on the test. This book covers topics well, and in an understandable format. The quizzes at the ends of the chapters are very good, and directly related to test objectives, and questions that you are likely to see on the actual test. The CD was very helpful as well.
Rating:
Summary: Just passed today using this book along with others.
Review: I used this book for the exam preparation, but I supplemented my studies with the Network+ Exam Cram and the Network+ Exam Cram Practice tests. I also bought a couple of CD's with over 1000 practice test questions total. This book was very informative and covered a lot of the material on the test. It gives the reader an excellent foundation on general networking knowledge. However, it is impossible for one book to cover every question that you'll encounter on the exam. The reality check is, you need to take as many practice exams as you can before you take the actual exam. A lot of the questions that I encountered on my practice CD's were not covered by this book. All in all, this is an excellent book for preparing for the exam. Buy this book, but don't use it as your sole source of information. Supplement your studies with as many practice questions as you can. If you can answer about 700+ different questions, you should be all right when you take the real exam. Good Luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Well-written and informative.
Review: This is definately one of the better exam prep books out there. I used it to prepare for both Network+ and Net. Essentials, and have done very well on both tests. It's not a particularly easy read, but at the same time the prose flows quite readily and the authors don't waste time with tangents and bad puns like some of the other books I've read (coughA+ExamCramcough. I was familiar with most of the material due to my networking background, and the book seemed remarkably error-free. I recommend this without any reservations whatsoever for anyone who's interested in not only passing the exam, but actually learning the material. One caveat though: the sample questions are very mediocre, and are completely unlike the questions on the exam itself.
Rating:
Summary: Good book. Just add......
Review: To the author's credit, the tables on subnetting are correct. However, the method they give you for subnetting (thus determining those tables on your own) does not give you the right numbers. My rating still stands since their explanation was wrong and I still had to spend hours on the internet to determine the correct method.
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