Rating: 
Summary: One of two books needed to safely pass the CCNA exam
Review: I originally purchased the CCNA Study Guide from Network Press, but quickly realized that the book was poorly written and did not explain things clearly, although it did list the objectives that Cisco lists on its website, it was written poorly.So I went back to the book store and picked up the CCNA Study Guide by Syngress-Osborne by McGraw Hill. It was precise, easy-to-read, and it covered a wide range of subjects. Much better than the Network Press book as far as understanding key features and techniques for decimal-to-binary conversion. Anyway, I took the test and failed? I Scored a 59% on the intro section, a 100% on the advanced section and 66% on the switching section...a 75% average in my book, but Cisco gave me a 61%? Go figure... So I went out and purchased the Introduction to Cisco Router Configuration (CCNA) book by Cisco Press and I will be taking the test next week. I'll let you know how I do...but the Syngress book and the Cisco Press book are what you need to pass the test. The Syngress book because it's easy to read and understand the technologies and the Cisco Press book, because the test is what the Cisco book is all about. They wrote the test, they wrote the book...figure it out yourself...
Rating: 
Summary: Try again
Review: I pass on the fisrt try using this book as my main study guide. It had errors, but once I was able to catch the errors, it made me more confident. :)
Rating:
Summary: Necessary reading for CCNA qualification.
Review: I used both this and the Sybex book to study towards my CCNA. Looking back, it is this book that covers the material required to pass. The Sybex book has a number of shortcomings. This book is readable, contains tough tests and goes in to each topic at just the right depth. I'm no bookworm and often find self studying difficult. My advice; if you buy one book, buy this one by Syngress. Do the tests at the end of each chapter thoroughly and understand the concepts. With this in hand you will pass. Good luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Adequate if supplemented by other Cisco materials
Review: This book is an adequate prep tool for the CCNA exam if you utilize some additional materials and field experience. I would recommend Cisco Router Configuration, as well as Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals, both from Cisco Press. The Osborne book DOES NOT cover all the material you will see on the exam, although it does a nice job of covering most of the major topics. The self-tests at the end of each chapter provide a good review of the chapter concepts, but don't rely on these as "real world" exam questions. Also, don't waste your time with the simulated exam offered from the publisher's website via the included CD - it's a worthless regurgitation of the self-tests, and its scoring system is flawed. Beware of typos in this text! (Most of them are fairly obvious if you have some networking experience.) Hopefully these problems will be corrected in a future edition of the text.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the newbie
Review: This book is packed with good information on Lan/Wan technology. But I found it poorly organized and some times hard to follow. Too often terms or concepts are thrown in with out sufficeint explination. This seemed to be written for an experienced wan tech looking for a review and not a lesser trained lan tech. If you fall under the cisco "newbie" lable, try some thing from sybex or another publisher first.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good choice.
Review: This book is poorly arranged and confusing. It is full of typographical errors and in several cases the material is simply incorrect. I felt that the authors rushed this book to press without thoroughly reviewing it. I would be surprised if anyone without prior experience in this subject could pass this test based on this book. There are several other texts for this test that are much more accurate and of much better quality.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, but got lost at times!
Review: This is a good book, but I kind of got lost in some of the wording at times. I think this is a great book to sit down with if you have a Router Sim or an actual router to try things with.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, but got lost at times!
Review: This is a good book, but I kind of got lost in some of the wording at times. I think this is a great book to sit down with if you have a Router Sim or an actual router to try things with.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book but I think it helps to have a foundation ...
Review: This was one of the first CCNA books to hit the market and I'm glad I bought and read it. However, working in the industry and being an MCSE gives me a good foundation to build on. I haven't read other Cisco books and haven't had any router or switching hands-on experience. But, I've understood all the material in the book. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how well I understood everything the first time around! It's logically arranged and well written. The two-minute drills and self-tests are fairly challenging and the CDROM is a great tool to cut and paste your own set of notes and quizzes. The book also maps directly to Cisco's web site learning objectives. Also, it's great if you've got the hardware to play around with. Trying to learn about Cisco internetworking and attaining CCNA certification isn't easy. Like anything else, this book will be an easier read, if you have a good foundation. I recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: Makes paasing the exam a little easier.
Review: What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of information you need to pass a Cisco Certification Exam. What amazes me even more is the number of people who try each day to become certified, myself included. Osborne McGraw-Hill is your new friend where CCNA is concerned. I have reviewed several books on the CCNA topic and each book is good, this book may be just a step ahead in the presentation of material and the information included. Broken down by exam objective the books gives you plenty of material to make passing the exam that much easier. With over 500 pages filled with picture, diagrams, tables, examples, tips and suggestions you might not need any other resource. Topics like IPX, TCP/IP, OSI model, routing and routed protocols and so much more is included in the book and each chapter ends with practice questions. The cd-rom that is enclosed with the book is worth the money alone as it includes over 500 questions, links to helpful information from Cisco and the whole book in electronic format for quick reference. All that for under $50.00 - now that is money well spent!
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