Certification Books

The ACSM certification review is amazing to refresh your memory (or learn how the ACSM test is based) to build you up for your big test.
Lots of info to absorb,and for me its more of a reminder for what i learned over the past year (graduated fitness technician woot!).
But definately reccomend it.
-J.Benavidez,Cpt

The book is very helpful in studying for the ACSM Exercise Specialist Exam. Chapter quizzes with answers and explanations are great!

As someone making a career move to something new I can say that this guide is an excellent source of information. I would recommend anyone who is going to become a personal trainer to purchase this guide.

To experience the Gold Standard in Personal Training, Call 559-696-4207. WE are members of the American College of Sports Medicine

I purchased this review thinking it was a primary source for the ACSM PT cert. It isn't. They mention it on the ACSM website. The first book they mention (ACSM's resources for the personal trainer...) is the actual primary resource. I wanted to get this book because it was cheaper and did not have the idiotic looking picture on the front like the "resources" book does. Then I had to spend more money to go back and get the dumb-looking resources book. Apparently the book is intended for other certifications in particular like exercise testing and maybe even the group fitness teaching cert. So as for my recommendation, if you are studying for the PT certification and have some background that makes you comfortable with fitness/health knowledge and you just want to know what ACSM wants you to know to pass the test, then get the "resources" book only and save the money on this one (BTW, I have not taken the test yet so that isn't a fully tested recommendation). If you are afraid of not passing, then this study material may be helpful to you.

Prospective buyers should be aware ERM is a mistake. It is a vastly oversimplification of actually modelling, being incapable of representing many fundamental features of any relational model and even being misleading.

ER diagrams OTOH are nice for drafting and presentation purposes. Just don't confuse them with a real model.

I don't know why there are not more reviews on this book. I read this book when I first started my 12-year career in the database industry. And to tell you the truth, there is only one other book I have ever needed (regarding database design) -- "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" (Kimball) -- only because Data Warehouse design is much different than the design theories in this book.

This book teaches you ways to design any database, and model any business -- what questions to ask users, what an entity really is, how you define it, how to tell a difference between an entity and an attribute, how to model relationships between entities, how to model "types" in a database. If you an learn the principles in this book, you will quickly become an expert in database design.

Buy this book -- you will not need another. And if you are building a data warehouse, buy this book first, so you understand the difference between OLTP design and data warehouse design.

I work in the Information Technology Section for the Department of Natural Resources. This review is for the book Case* Method: Tasks and Deliverables by Richard Barker ISBN 0-201-41697-2.

I have been using Richards book on Case Methodology for years as a guideline for project management and planning. There has been many methodologies introduce to the department through out the years, but we keep coming back to the concepts and tactics outlined in this book to help keep things organized and on track. I have found his concepts have proven themselves through time as a good template to follow. I am looking forward to reviewing your books Case*Method: Entity Relationship Modelling as well as Storage Area Networking Essentials.
Keep up the good work that has a timeless application and relevance.

I have to concur with the other five star reviews on Barker's book. I spent hours in a Borders evaluating which book to buy to learn Entity-Relationships. This was the book I picked and I never regretted it. All other data modeling books make far more sense after reading Barker's first two chapters.

This was also my first book in Data Modelling and though its been almost 10 years ago since I picked up my copy, I still have not seen many better on the shelves since in its category: intro to data modeling via ER diagraming (IE notation)
Though I no longer need to refer to this book any longer, it was certainly the first and best of the first books read in the subject and it speedily had me on my way to more advanced topics and eventually becoming an expert ER modeller.
I was so impressed by the book I eventually joined Oracle.. alas Barker had moved on but his case*method books haven't lost a step in so long a time..

This is exactly the course for "to go".
it's not easy to read on computer screen, eyes often get tired, and so on, so this is what you need to review what you have learned in class, especially the second volume, the CCNA one (first is on CCENT).
only one thing I should mention: this is on the "Discovery" curricula and not "Exploration" (the one I took). So for some like me it's a little confusing at start, but you manage it, it's the same CCNA exam after all.

It is simply a good buy! If you are looking for self study CCNA books then this the one.

The Cisco Authorized self-study guide CCNA Preparation library is a good preparation for a beginner in Cisco networks. This library allows to understand network fundamentals and to be certified with the CCNA (640-802) exam. Therefore, if you are a motivated beginner in Cisco devices, this book is for you!

I've recently had the chance to use and review the Authorised Self Study Guide CCNA and here are my thoughts/views.

Initially, on seeing the pack arrive on my desk, I was filled with dread. Here were two books about Cisco equipment that I had to read through, and which would theoretically give me all the skills I need to undertake the exam, which is quite a tall order, and I don't like doing exams and would rather just learn by using (and breaking) the equipment. So, imagine my surprise when I started to read the first book, and discovered that it wasn't as scary as I thought.

The first book in the set in designed around the ICND1 part of the exam. I opened the book and was very glad to see that the lessons started "right at the beginning" The book works on the idea that you have never done any computer network stuff before and takes you step by step through the basics. One of the things I enjoyed about the initial part of the book was that it didn't just "jump right in" but took time to explain the history of what it was teaching to help you understand more. As the book progressed I came to enjoy the history lessons, and the light and easy reading style of the book. Throughout the book, all the little acronyms are turned into "beginners speak" so you don't get lost in the terminology.

I found the progression of chapter in the book to be very clever. Before you move on to the next chapter, you will have covered quite thoroughly everything you need to understand the concept of the chapter. However, to make sure you have, they provide test questions at the end of each chapter. I have to admit that having got some of the answers wrong, I've gone back and re-read the section concerned. The one thing I feel would have been a nice addition would have been some software. My colleague had the chance to review the Cramm Study book and that has a simulated test/learning environment CD. I feel this might have been a good addition to the Lab Books, but maybe next time.

The further into the book you get, obviously the more technical it gets. At this point, I'd have started to get worried and "run away". However, the book still managed to keep a light and easy style, thus making the difficult technical stuff easy to understand. One of the great things I found about the books is that sometimes there are concepts and ideas that you just can't read. The people writing these books have obviously had occasions like that, and to resolve this, they put lots of pictures, screen shots etc. To me this was a blessing; there were occasions where the concept just didn't make any sense to me. However, the diagrams and screenshots made up for that. I found some of the diagrams and tables so useful that I've made my own version of them and now have them on and around my desk to help keep the ideas fresh in my mind.

One of the other benefits we can't miss to mention about the book, is the popular 'Safari Service'. No it's not something you do in a Landrover in the desert somewhere far off land. I'll let the book explain.

"This book is safari enabled"

The safari enabled icon on the cover of your favourite technology book means the bok is available through Safari Bookshelf. When you buy this book, you get free access to the online edition for 45 days.

Safari Bookshelf is an electronic reference library that lets you easily search thousands of technical books, find code samples, download chapters, and access technical information whenever and wherever you need it.

To gain 45-day Safari Enabled access to this book

Go to the website in the book and enter the code on the inside of the book.

Cool huh?

So, all in all, I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about Cisco equipment but doesn't know where to start.

Note to Editor.

My 9/10 rating was purely because I would have liked to see an accompanying CD with test questions/test exam. However, on a purely book review basis, I'd give the book a 10/10

This library is good for those who are just starting their journey for Cisco certification. They will find these
books quite useful. More over this library serves those who are interested in self study. Even though there
are plenty of books available for CCNA I found this as the best among them for the beginners and self
motivated personals.
This library come with two books titled ICDN1 & 2. ICDN1 deals with the knowledge needed for
configuring Cisco Switches and routers. SDM is the quite interesting part of this book. ICDN 2 provides
the knowledge required to operate, configure and trouble shoot a mid size network. Deals with WAN,
OSPF, Access Lists, NAT, IPv6, VPN.
The uniqueness of this library is the concept summary within each chapter, along with usual chapter
ending summary. This concept summary seems to more useful to understand the concept and easy
remember. The questions and answer section is as usual good for CCNA.
The Library had lined up well with the exam topics covered for new CCNA 640-802 found in Cisco Web
site. The Library provides a solid knowledge base for the aspiring individuals. The reference provided is
found to very useful. I would recommend this Library to be in each individual who is looking forward for
CCNA.
If you could manage to make use of CCNA Prep Centre along with this study guide for sure no body can
stop you from obtain CCNA at first take. The CCNA prep Center has plenty of useful web cast, practice
labs, question of the week etc.
Overall these library deservers more than 5 stars but I would go with 5 stars. An excellent study guide for
CCNA. The author has done a great job. Hats off to Steve McQuerry.

This was a great concise prep book for the CCNP's BCMSN exam. While the practice questions weren't nearly as tough as the actual exam, I still passed on my first try with only a couple weeks of study time needed. Whever I'm at work and need a refresher on switching, this is the first thing I reach for and it's helped me out again and again.

I'd also like to add that the QoS section is also a great concise reference, and explain DSCP and CoS values better than anything else I've found so far.

I'd highly recommend this book for anyone working with Cisco router, switches, or VoIP products. Save yourself time and money.

Lot of information, clear explanations of not easy concepts, with pictures and examples.Clearly organised and concise.
Sure a must if you want to pass BCMSN, better than others you can find all claiming to be the ultimate references for this exam.

I recently used this book in conjunction with the Cisco Press guide to pass the BCMSN exam. I thought that it was an excellent combination of theory review and configuration examples. It is very concise and pretty much everything is covered. My only criticism is that the practice test on the CD is much easier than the real exam.

I had this book, the Sybex book and the Cisco Press books. After seeing the age of the information in the Sybex book I quit using it and used this and the Cisco Press books (practical studies: Switching and the BCMSN study guide).

This was a good cram before the test. It covers pretty much everything you will get in the test. I passed the first time! (Not by much, but I passed)

Keep in mind that this test is very hard and you will be required to have some practical information for the router sims and will need to know how to troubleshoot networking, in addition to memorizing all the concepts. This was not an easy test.

After reading this book, I felt more than prepared for the BCMSN exam. Having read many of Mr. Deal's books, this one is just as good. It is well written and will be used as an excellent reference. Highly recommended.

This book definately helped me pass the A+ exams but there were several questions that I found were not covered in the book. I would definately recomend using a second source just to make sure you pass!

the way this book was written is terrible and cant keep my attention for more than 10 seconds, the CD has many many errors on it.

I got a lot out of this book. I passed both the hardware and the software portion of the A+ exam the first time.

I used this book as a text in my A+ class, it was really good. I took the exam last week and passed both exams on the first try with good scores. I thought the hardware and operating systems descriptions were clearer than I have seen in other books and I really got the point. A couple of times my instructor said that this was the best book in the market for A+ students to use. The CD-ROM front Beachfront Quizer had a couple errors in it. Great book, thanks.

We used this book as part of a class. The examples and illustrations are excellent. I just took the exam and passed the core with flying colors. I will be taking the Windows exam soon. It really helped me understand how computers work.

This book is clear and authoritive. I selected it based upon reviews from other readers, some college level instructors.

To be truthful I expected alot of technical language that I would need a dictionary to under stand. I'm new at computer but learning fast. This book is great. Well written. I will recommend
it to me friends.

Dear Professor Cheryl A. Schmidt
You are the BEST! "The Complete Computer Repair Textbook" is GREAT!
Dante Radice, Ph.D.

Speaking of the A+ cert text: I actually purchased it for my own use as I was cramming for the A+ cert myself and I only have one thing to say: wow! If you need any blurbs for this text, just say the word and I will say wonderful things about it to anyone who'll listen- Any prospective A+ student should certainly have a solid foundation in the various hardware/software principles in addition to this text, but for the brute memorization and getting acclimated to the testing atmosphere, this is THE text- I just finished passing both halves of the certification and this text was a large part of it; sooooo since the college has asked me to teach certification in the spring, I'll be using the Schmidt tome in addition to the usual "overview" type text.

Lynne Y. Williams, University of New Mexico, Los Alamos (United States)



One of the BEST A+ books around hands down
I have spent several months of hard studying and in-home lab exercises in preparation for taking the A+ exam and this book is one I use every day. One of the best things about it is that it is peppered with actual lab exercises. This makes sense since this book is actually meant to be a textbook for college classes (I just wish it were also available in hardcover). At the end of each chapter are pages and pages of exercises to do to actually practice what you've learned. For those who don't have the money or space to set up an old guinea pig computer there are paper exercises that will get your brain matter really working. Don't dismiss the paper exercises even if you do have a guinea pig computer. A lot of them are not easy and duplicate some of the problems a repair tech will encounter on the job.
Which brings me to yet another aspect of this book I really liked. It has added emphasis on troubleshooting. I have a lot of A+ books-all the standard ones most people find in bookstores and none of them focus on troubleshooting to the degree this one does. Again it makes sense since this book is supposed to be a textbook for courses that help people get a job as a PC repair tech. People bring in their computers because something isn't working correctly, right? So troubleshooting becomes an essential skill. I recognized a lot of the troubleshooting techniques I use on my job and several new ones I didn't.
Hardware and Operating Systems are given in-depth coverage. Probably far more than you would ever be tested on. For the OS portion of the test everything from DOS/Win 3.1, Win95, Win98/ME, NT, 2000/XP is examined. Even things that A+ doesn't really focus on anymore are given good coverage. Mainly, because on the job you'll likely face situations where it's good to know for troubleshooting older systems.
In a market full of A+ books studying any one of them thoroughly will be enough to pass. But if you want something that will help you on a job too-well, you can't go wrong with this one.
Reviewer: hamsterdance (TX)


Thank you for the teacher's material on the Complete Computer Repair 2nd ed. Textbook. This material has made teaching this material from your book the most helpful of any material I have ever used. I have been teaching for 20 years, and this is the most complete and user friendly information I have used. Again thank you and keep up the good work. If you have a catalog of other books, please send it.
Loren Niemeyer Sauk Valley Community College

I am very impressed
We have already adopted Schmidt's 2nd edition for use with my class at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, MA, and I am very impressed with it. I like the updated information and the addition of some review questions in Chp 6 on Troubleshooting. The end of the chapter exercises make preparing classroom activities much easier.


What a joy to have found this book.
I own every book, it seems, on computer repair. At last, I have found a book that is well ritten and easy to understand. Ms. Schmidt's explanations are straightforward and well illustrated. What a joy to have found this book.

Great book! This book will enable me to better instruct my students because the labs/exercises will save me many hours fine tuning labs that I have prepared. Other instructors in the same boat know how very difficult and time-consuming it is to prepare and test lab exercises, and, be successful in ensuring that labs provide a positive learning experience. The chapter reviews and tests are reinforcement and well written and cover all important topics. I feel overwhelmed knowing that, finally, I will have such an excellent instructional computer book for my students. Please share my thoughts and thanks to Cheryl A. Schmidt.
Jody Campbell Pima Community College


"I like this book. Explanations are easy to understand."
This is the only book my teacher assigned and I think it is very good. It's easy to understand and the lab exercises are good, too
Areader from Virginia


The Best Technician's Handbook
There is not too much to say because the text explains it all. For those of you who have taken a class that requires this book, you know what I'm talking about. Not only have I had the pleasure of owning this valuable textbook, I have also had the privilege of being a former student of Cheryl Schmidt's here at FCCJ in Jacksonville, FL.
Ms. Schmidt is one of the finest instructors I've ever had the honor of learning from. The one theme that runs throughout her textbook as well as her classes is, DOCUMENTATION, DOCUMENTATION, ......ALWAYS READ THE DOCUMENTATION.
Thank you Cheryl!
Maureen Murphy Ponte Vedra, FL USA

this book will enable me to better instruct my students because the labs/exercises will save me many hours fine tuning labs that I have prepared. Other instructors in the same boat know how very difficult and time consuming it is to prepare and test lab exercises, and, be successful in ensuring that labs provide a positive learning experience. The chapter reviews and tests are reinforcement and well written and cover all important topics. I feel overwhelmed knowing that, finally, I will have such an excellent instructional computer book for my students. Please share my thoughts and thanks to Cheryl A. Schmidt. Jody Campbell Pima Community College

This is an ideal book for a knowledgeable and self-motivated IPv4 network engineer to pick up and learn a great deal about IPv6 - especially about IPv6 as it is being deployed today in enterprise and ISP networks. The book is certainly not for beginners to networking - the book moves quickly to emphasize the differences between IPv4 and IPv6, assuming you are a pretty advanced IPv4 engineer to begin. But, this conciseness is one of the books great strengths. It assumes you can pickup the basics quickly (the first few chapters provide an excellent but accelerated recap of the basics) or from one of the many references the book provides, and instead focused on information you don't see in IPv6 books as much - deployment issues, innovative solutions, and throughout - real-world insight. The book is absolutely up-to-date. It is my "go to" book on advanced IPv6 deployment strategies, and should be on every budding IPv6 engineer's bookshelf. Right in the front.

This is a great book if you have a lot of previous networking knowledge. I do not recommend this book for someone new to the industry, or someone that is learning about IPv6 for the first time.

The book does a good job and describing what is necessary for a service provider to do in order to roll out an IPv6 implementation, and does a great job describing Ipv4 and IPv6.

This book is a must have for a Cisco library, but once again, I do not recommend it for a first timer.

This book is targeted toward network service provider engineers. It is "cutting edge" in that some parts of it deal with technology that is not only not deployed in production yet, but is only in draft form in the standards community. Also ambitious enterprise network administrators may want to stretch their understanding of the next generation global transport protocol. Deploying IPv6 Networks is both an exhaustive analogy of the many uses of IPv6 and also a how-to manual with many configuration examples.

Chapters 12 through 15 are dedicated to deployment Case studies for both ISPs and company networks. The book became most interesting to me in Chapter 8, Advanced Services - Ipv6 Mobility. This chapter covers the challenges of keeping a globally unique address while roaming to different parts of the planet. There is a thorough explanation of the roles that Cisco routers can play in relaying traffic to the ever changing location of mobile users. Chapter 2 is a good refresher of the basics of IPv6 as described in the RFCs. The author gives good reference throughout the book for further research on each topic, such as RFCs and other books that specialize on topics like VPNs and Security. The diagrams, that are spaced every few pages, give clarity to the subject. Finally, the book is balanced and realistic in its philosophy of the technology. That is the writers are not naïve about the problems with implementing IPv6 and they address this in every chapter.
Technology usually changes so rapidly we spend all our time just trying to catch up. The slow start of IPv6 gives us no excuse for being unprepared when the next killer application or device demands its implementation in our network. Reading Deploying IPv6 Networks is sure to pay off.

This book is a great technical book on current IPv6 technology state and direction. It covers many of the newer topics in IPv6 and provides good examples of how Cisco has implemented these. The diagrams, tables, and organization are all top-notch. The configuration examples, show command output and the debug output are very helpful. It is easy to read despite the very technical subject matter. The heavy use of diagrams/tables/config examples help technical people understand the material because they are more visually-oriented. The case studies at the end are very helpful for service providers and enterprises.

It's not 'if' IPv6 will build in national and international importance, but 'when' we will use IPv6 as freely as we use IPv4.

Thank you to Popovici, CCIE #4499, for sharing a wealth of IPv6 development knowledge including network designs, network-management architectures and case studies.

"Deploying IPv6 Networks" has helped me better understand the IPv4-to-IPv6 transition techniques including dual stack technology, VPN's, tunnel brokers, security, best practices and much more.

Well written, easy to read.

I used this book (ISA 2004) as the primary material to study for the Isa 2006 70-351 Exam.

It more than covers the foundations of ISA Server and with some time spent on MS.com researching ISA 2006 enhancements is all that was required.

I am becoming a huge fan of the MS Press books and this one is no exception.

Perhaps a little more focus on Enterprise rather than the single chapter would be good as there are a few Enterprise questions in the exam, but still that takes nothing away from this text.

5 Stars!

Mark Grogan

The writing style is somewhat dry.

The enclosed software (ISA server 120 day evaluation) and the computerized test questions make the book worth the money.

This book does not base itself in only Microsoft scenario, it covers networks and security in a wide context.
Well written, gives you the ability to deploy and understand the ISA SERVER, which by itself is an excelent software, and the environments which your are deploy in.
You don't need to be an expert in IT to comprehend this book, but need to know a little about protocols and TCP/IP.
Who buys it can enjoy a good travel through the network boundaries world.
I didn't rate it 5 for 2 reasons. First, the book says, sometimes, you have got an enterprise isa cd, but you have got the standard one.
The author, sometimes, endeavours so much in assuring your understandable of the subject that spend a few pages more than needed. Another drawback is the excess of "plan, analyse, get information" advices. It becomes repetitive through the pages.
Well, that is it, a good book and enough to pass the certification exam by yourself.

Very nice book , I recommended it for all specialist in Microsoft networking, and systems.

Very helpful for exam 70-350 and daily tasks as IT Network security administrator.

Thoughtfully laid out with pretty good coverage of the NT exam topics. Because the technology changes so rapidly, I cannot fault them for being out of date, as this is something which every book of this type must face. But after I passed the exams, I kept these books on hand for reference in my job as Technical Support engineer.

I reviewed this book some weeks ago. The review appeared for a while then disappeared. What happened?

Use this book for your Workstation and Server exams.

However read this book for basics on Enterprise. I recommend that you buy this kit and get your hands on those dummy books. I used the Dummies series along with this book. The Dummies series is good for giving you understanding on the advance concepts, not the basics. There fore buy this book, then buy the cheap but good quality Dummies series. read this book first. Its very good and written very well. However you MUST supplement your reading, especially for the Enterprise exam with the MCSE Windows NT Server 4 in the Enterprise for Dummies. As A side note for all those doing MCSE + I, did you know that you can get MCP, MCP + I, MCSE, MCDBA if you just focused on MCSE + I and do the Administering SQL Server 7.0 and Designing using SQL server 7.0 as your electives? Now if I can only find a good book on SQL Server 7.0

This pack of two has the Networking Essentials as one book and the NT4 as another.

While the Networking Essential book is equally as good as the Sybex, MS Press or the Exam Cram, the NT4 book has no equal.

Unlike the Sybex Core, which is split into 3 NT books and repeats itself, this book is highly focused and informative. It will not only help you pass the exams the first time, you will find yourself referring to it well after certification.

Although, the NT4 book looks big, it might actually be the fastest way to passing the NT4 exams. You can sit down with the book, read it once, do the practise exercises and sit for the 3 NT exams. If you feel like some supplementary text, you might want to take a look at the Exam Cram or (&) the Nutshells. Both excellent books as well.

If I needed to buy just one book for the MCSE, I will get this one! It's a good idea to do a lot of practise exams too!

I reviewed many of the other book sets for MCSE and this one is the best. The others including the top seller have a book for each test, which requires to reread a lot of information. IDG Books put all of the NT software information in one book so you don't repeat information that you already know. To be best prepare for the exams read the dummy books or red cram books before taking the test.

If you want a really great book that covers the information needed to pass the NT Server 4.0 Exam, then this is the one (along with a good study guide and practice question book, I used Sam's MCSE NT Server 4 book along with MS Readiness Review). I scored an 833 on the test.

I have never seen so much information packed into so small a package. This book was everything it claimed to be - and it contains every salient point that can be found in book sets costing 10 times as much. What it lacks is the miscellaneous information you skip past anyway when studying for an exam - think of it as the Reader's Digest Condensed version of any large study guide.

I thought I knew enough to pass the new adaptive exam, but bought the Exam Cram book just in case. After failing the exam, I realized I needed some decent study materials. I bought this book and brushed up on topics I was short in in less than a night and took the exam again the next day. I would not have passed had I not spent the night with this book...

This book is JUST okay as an exam prep/review book. Some subjects are glossed over quickly and some are covered in detail. The fact that this book covers the browsing service whereas the Exam Cram one doesn't gives this book an excuse for existing. Again, not too bad...

The book cost 1/5th of an exam, and I was able to pass the exam first time out just by studying this book, so I reason that makes the book worth 5 times the money.

At the same time, there are a few typos to be aware of. I contacted the author, and found an errata sheet. Without the errata sheet, its a bit frustrating. If the typos would have been corrected, there would be nothing stopping me from giving this five stars.