Cisco Books

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There is the old saying that that if you are told something you forget it. If you see something you remember it. If you do something you understand it.

This lab guide is designed to get the student doing things so that he can understand and remember points that are going to be in the CCNA 4 certification test. The format of the book is like the old workbooks you had in college with perforated pages so you can work on an exercise and then hand it in for grading.

This book is intended to be used by students completing the final course of the CCNA curriculum. The challenge labs are designed to test your knowledge of and ability to configure and troubleshoot routing protocols, switching concepts and WAN protocols.

At the completion of the book the practical knowledge provided by these exercises, combined with the 'book learning' from the various study guides should provide for a passing grade. This is a valuable guide that provides a different

Nutshell review - If you are only going to read one book in preparation for the CISSP exam then you must read this one. It is extensive and covers all the bases.

I recently received word from ISC2 that I passed the CISSP exam. I'll be the first to admin that I test very well (used 2.25 of the 6 hours for the test), but I have to give credit to Shon Harris for this excellent book which helped me bring together all the information needed for this exam.

It's definitely true to read people describe the exam as a "mile wide and inch deep", so it shouldn't come as any great surprise to find this book is huge (~1,000 pages), and while it is technical in some areas, it is only superficially so. All the topics are covered at about the right depth to be aligned well with the exam.

My only quibbles are very minor, such as the by-lines at the beginnings of sections that started out cute, but became very irritating as they devolved into a sarcastic tone, and a lack of organization to the quick round-up of the concepts at the end of each chapter. Otherwise, this book is the entirity of the knowledge you will need to pass, but memorizing everything in the book isn't going to cut it - you will need a modicum of real-world experience to allow you to lay all this information out in a framework that meshes with how things actually work in the world.

Buy this book, read it thoroughly, apply a liberal amount of common sense, then pass the test.

I am a 25 year old infosec dude and found this book to be the only one necessary. I did practice exams online after reading through the ~1000 pages Shon Harris has put together. It reads well, and is not entirely boring. I think that anyone can pass the exam with just this book, but you can't be an imbecile. I have written exploit code before, researched vulnerabilities, and have been messing around with hacking since the 90's when I was in high school. So, many of the technical stuff I knew very well. With the CISSP, you also need to understand the non-technical side of things. Learning the other domains can be challenging. In the end, when taking the test, you learn to identify what they examiners are looking for. You may be yelling and screaming in your head during the exam that this question is ridiculous, and you would be right. You have to step back and pretend you are in high school again to answer the questions correctly. If you see the word "management", then you should always check that box. The are the tips I can pass on to would-be CISSP seekers. Good luck :-)

Simply put this book is the Bible of CISSP study material, if you read this book and understand the material and can apply it you will be in great shape for the CISSP exam.

Downside? The sheer size of this book can be intimidating

I just received an e-mail confirming I passed the test and I can say that this book is a really good overall reference. It has very good coverage of all the core domains that the CISSP exam covers and was practically my only study tool - definitely my only study book. I used the free exam questions at cccure.org (great reference) as well as some quick guides from that site (that are pretty much built off of the all-in-one and a couple of other books to provide quick reference).

I highly recommend this book (or the 4th edition which has just come out) to anyone considering taking the exam. While the exam is difficult, mastery of the subject matter is definitely possible with this guide and a bit of experience. The exam is very much concept-based, and by that I mean that you need to understand the concepts behind the core domains as oppsoed to just memorizing everything. Memorization is useful (and necessary) in a number of areas, but if you memorize without understanding the concepts there are plenty of questions that you can miss on the test. The exam really does a pretty good job of trying to draw on how well you understand the material. There are a number of people out there that state that the jokes or no good or there are gaps. First, it's not a comedy book. The style is meant to put the reader at ease so that the material can be more easily absorbed. Second, there are going to be gaps with any book because the exam is not written off of one. Plus, I tried reading the "official guide" a long time back. Dry, dry, dry, dry, dry. I couldn't force myself past 175 pages. And finally, there are a number of books that go into an absurd amount of detail. I think it's easy to get lost in that stuff. This one has good coverage without getting you lost in the weeds for an exam where that really isn't necessary. Overall I probably studied about 170 to 200 hours over a period of 3 to 4 months (but not every single day). Give yourself plenty of time to read and understand.

Also, the CD questions are a good way to test your comprehension. Use it. The end of the chapter questions are ok, but you should DEFINITELY use cccure.org to get a feel for how difficult questions will actually be and how they are worded on the test.

To anyone going for it I say good luck. It's not an easy test to take. As a frame of reference, I was able to complete it in about 4 hours - being really careful to read the questions well and also going back over the ones that I wasn't so sure about. It's grueling, but very doable.

Hope this helps.

This book is completely out of date. It was relevant 3 yrs ago but it will not get you 20% of what you need to pass the current CCIE Security 2.0 exam.

Information within is very broad and generalized - nothing like you'll experience on the test itself.

Also, the test software from Boson is a complete joke. 1 in 10 questions are wrong. In other words, what they list as the correct answer is not always the case. Also, you'll find that you might click on an answer and then it tells you it's wrong and that the right answer is the same as the one you picked - only instead of 'A', it's 'C' for example. Sigh..... what a waste of $50.

The CCIE Security Exam Certification Guide glosses over "topics" listed in the CCIE version 1 blueprint. Each section provides a high level view of a subject. This book is riddled with configuration errors and lacks depth. While not study guides, other books like Network Security Principles and Practices -- Saadat Malik, Network Security Architectures -- Sean Convery and Cisco Router Firewall Security -- Richard Deal were excellent, detailed and fun to learn from.

Benjamin's description of cryptography and related protocols is terrible and should be avoided. A study guide should list salient features of a technology, not just fillers that will confuse the reader. I found chapter 4 (Security protocols) weak and skipped reading this chapter all together, preferring other, *better* tomes - Malik for example. Examples - The ESP Frame Format figure is incorrect. In the IPSec section, Benjamin writes "You can tunnel any form of data across the IPSec tunnel, such as IP, Novel IPX, or AppleTalk." Not without GRE to first encapsulate the non-IP traffic. IPSec works only on IP traffic and non-IP traffic should be encapsulated (recommended GRE encapsulation) prior to IPSec.

In chapter 5, Security Applications, Benjamin writes the following on VPN Concentrators "Cisco makes a number of recommendations in its SAFE Blueprint, but in general requires that the VPN Concentrator be located behind a Cisco PIX Firewall on the inside interface where the DMZ is located. The Cisco SAFE Blueprint has a number of recommendations based on network size and appliances, though". The SAFE blueprint does not recommend having a VPN device beyond a Firewall. Common sense would dictate that having this scenario would require opening up the Pix for all encrypted traffic.

I truly hope that Benjamin would write a far better book for the CCIE v2.0 blueprint.

It's a good book with most of all topics to someone make the CCIE Security written exam, but not so deep.

As another reviewer put it: puddle depth. As is not uncommon with most CCxx prep books, Benjamin's CCIE Security coverage is barely broad enough and nowhere deep enough. I'm using this more as a basic overview for a topic, then it's off to the Cisco documentation and lab work for a few hours to figure out how the thing really works.
Oh I wish for someone like Odom or Doyle/Carroll to write a CCIE Security book! It'd be two or three volumes, but it'd be worth the money, unlike "CCIE Security Exam Certification Guide". Buy it second hand, or better use Safari - at least you'll not waste a tree.

I obtained a copy of Henry Benjamin's "CCIE Security Exam Certification Guide" (ISBN 1587201356) to complete my final preparation for the CCIE Security Written Exam. Contrary to a few other reviews, I found this book to be extremely valuable for my final review. This book is exactly what it states in the title, a study guide for the exam. It is not a detailed analysis of security architectures and principles. It should not be viewed a CCIE Security "bible". Rather, this book should be used by a CCIE Security candidate only after he or she has read most of the other security related books listed on the CCIE Written Roadmap on Cisco's website.

I found the layout of the book to be beneficial for the CCIE Security candidate. Each chapter opens with a "Do I know this already?" quiz. The quizzes are helpful in assessing the reader's knowledge on the chapter's topics. Therefore, the reader will be better prepared to focus on the areas where he or she may be weak. The chapters then jump right in to its particular topic, presenting the material in a concise and articulate manner. The chapters close with a summary, questions and answers, and references to additional information. Finally, the book includes a testing engine as well as an electronic version of the book on CDROM.

I appreciated the "bonus" CCIE Security and Routing & Switching lab scenarios at the end of the book. A competent and confident Cisco engineer can never get enough hands-on practice lab scenarios to sharpen and keep ones skills fresh.

Again, I must emphasize that this book is a culmination of the CCIE Security candidate's exam preparation, not a starting point! If you are just starting your CCIE journey, I strongly recommend that you review the written exam blueprint on Cisco's website and begin with the Doyle, Malik, and De Laet and Gert Schauwers books, to quickly name a few. I am confident that this book assisted me in conquering the CCIE Security Written exam!

Mark Reyero
CCIE 12932 (R/S)

This is a good book, accurate and up to date, but won't fully prepare you for the CCNA exam. Cisco's ICND book is still considered the official text for the exam.

Just had this book for one day, but I must say I am very impressed with it. I used to have problems with the terms "synchronous", "asynchronous", "port" and "socket". The book explains them so beautifully.

I am preparing for the CCNA test and I believe this book is the key.

I recommend the book to anyone preparing for the test.

To start the things let me say that I pass CCNA exam and this book was one of the responsibles for that. I'm not american and I can say that if you know english enough to read and understand and you want to pass you can buy this book. The Quizes of "Do I know it already" at the beggening of each chapter gives you a good base to know where you are and summaries at the end of the chapters are good enough as a remember of the chapters contents to use the days before the exam. After all ,you've to agree that the best way of try to find out how CISCO sees things(and that a very important point to the exam) is to read CISCO press books. All exam is there you've only to study it hard. Also is very good to try the labs exercises if you can.so that its , good luck!.

I looked at both this book and the Sybex/Todd Lammle book, and decided to order this one. I feel it was a good decision, due to the more rigorous coverage this book provides of the subject matter. I don't think this book's style is "overkill". If you have some networking experience, you can go through this book in two evenings with a highlighter to get a good review before taking a certification exam. And once you've completed the test, this book, unlike the Sybex book, will have some value as a quick reference in your tech library. If you don't have any network experience, I really think this book gives a good tutorial in networking fundamentals although it would take considerable time and effort to soak up all the information in here for the first time. Regardless of your experience level, this book gives you the "Cisco spin" on various topics that you'll need to answer the test questions, even if you're intimately familiar with the works of Richard Stevens, Radia Perlman, etc.

I just took and passed the CCNA exam. I used this book as well
as Todd Lammle's CCNA Study Guide. Probably overkill but I learned some good stuff. The interesting thing about these books is how they complement each other. Odom's book is great for commands, especially towards the end of the book in the routing, ipx and WAN sections. He has these cool charts that list out all the commands and make it really easy to review ones that you might not use at work (like all that frame relay and isdn stuff). I've seen other reviews mention typos - maybe I'm just not very observant but I didn't notice too many and the ones I did notice were no big deal. I also liked the CD - a full practice test that changes each time you take it. Some of the questions repeat - but it's still a useful tool. Don't be too concerned if you fail the practice test. I took like 5 practice tests before the exam (using Odom's, Lammle's and some I found online) - failed them all but passed the real thing.

This book could definately use a glossary. Lammle's book has one
and it really helps with all those silly acronyms Cisco wants you to know. I preferred the questions in Lammle's book as well. There are no multiple choice questions in the book - all are on the CD.

This book, as well as Lammle's, is very dry. How about some real life examples? There are scenarios in some chapters but they lack realism. Odom must has been a CCIE for quite some time now. He must have all kinds of cool stories - would have been great if some of them had made it into this book.

By far this is the best CCIE book I have purchased to date. It is well written has great technologies overviews (no fat) and great lab scenarios. Well worth the money I highly recommend it.

I am sorry to say this book is full of errors and does not even come close to the complexity level needed. There are far better Lab preparation books available. Don't throw your money away on this.

This book was the reason i was able to pass my CCNA, and CCNP tests to this date.

The review section at the beginning of each chapter, helps you reinforce what you learned in the past, and helps you fill in any blanks you might have had.

Once you start doing the labs, your vision will become clear and you will start hearing yourself say: "Ohh so that's how it works" ...
This book is not really a good source to study for your CCIE however its an invaluable tool for your CCNA, CCNP, CCDA, CCDP study time...

I used this book during my early prep for the R/S lab. There are errors, but still a pretty good book. It however is not even close to the complexity or depth of knowledge required on the actual lab. Just my opinion (and yes, I am a CCIE).

The format of this book has good intentions. Covers a topic, has a brief lab, sounds good, looks good at first.

The biggest problem is that almost all of the labs have some type of confusing inaccuracy. Most of the lab diagrams contradict the accompanying configs (interfaces names and IP addresses are mixed up). Many diagrams show more than one interface on the same router with the same interface name...huh?

It looks like the technical reviewer missed a thing or two...

I received this book within about 2 weeks after my order. It's in near new condition. I am satisfied.

This book is too too old. It's a waste of money...

"Cisco Certification - Bridges, Routers and Switches for CCIEs" by Caslow and Pavlichenko was admittedly published a few years ago. For it's time, this book was the `must-have' book to learn advanced configurations for the CCIE Routing & Switching lab. The authors are excellent teachers, and are able to explain complex subjects in an easy to read style. To find out what Bruce and Val are up to nowadays - check out their website at NetMasterClass.net. They have foregone writing an updated copy of this book and have instead focused their efforts on preparing top-notch labs to test one's knowledge before walking into the CCIE R&S lab. Still, in spite of this book's age, if you can pick up a copy today, you will not be disappointed.

I give this book 5 pings out of 5:
!!!!!

Caslow and Pavlichenko have written quite possibly the definitive CCIE preparation book. Unlike most books in the field they focus not just on the relevant technologies, but also strategies for getting straight to the heart of the problems you will face both in the written and practical exams.

The second edition is dated now. The written exam has changed as of August '02, with the practical test due to change in November '02, but this does not render the book completely out of date. No CCIE study guide pretends that it can cover the subject completely without other references, and this is no exception. If you keep an eye on the Cisco CCIE blueprint and supplement your reading with more specific tomes on the recent additions to the exam you will find the methodologies in this book become the core of your exam strategy.

The 3rd edition of this book is currently being prepared and should be available by the end of 2002.

I started my CCIE lab studies with this book in 2000, it was an easy read and I really liked this book, specifically the Frame Relay section which still applies to today's lab. But, I had to put a hold on studies for a while.
I started my CCIE studies again in 2002 and passed the lab in 2003. During that time I glanced at this book for a total of 20 minutes. There are simply so many other books by CiscoPress that are better than this one, although, again, the Frame Relay section very well done. But certain sections, such as switching, token ring, and quite a few others simply don't apply anymore. Also, the Lab exam is so different now, with 3550's, QoS, Multicast galore, that this book falls of the required reading list.
I do think the author did a great job on this book initially, but it needs a facelift of major proportions.

For the last 3 years I would have sworn by Todd Lammle's CCNA Study Guides; mainly do to his free-hearted writing style that seem to add an element of humor to complex reads. However, this book has far too many errors and lacked technical intensity. In the past, I used Todd's 607 Study Guide to pass the archived 607 exam on the first try. Two and half years later, I purchased the 801 Study Guide with the same enthusiasm. After reading this book twice, taking all 8 bonus exams repeatedly, and exhausting the capabilities of the simulation software, I took the comprehensive 801 exam this weekend and did not pass! My exam had multiple questions that were not covered in Lammle's book. Not to mention the lack of coverage of NAT, that seems to magically show up on my exam. None of which was covered with enough detail within this book. Moreover, the Virtual Lab was not exhaustive and far too basic (No OSPF, EIGRP or NAT simulation capabilities). In my opinion, this is not acceptable. Especially when I was faced with these topics through out my exam. I wish this book did a better job of pinpointing the areas that were and would be crucial on the exam. Although Todd Lammle attempted to do place emphasis on certain points, none of those points showed up on test day. Obviously, Cisco has made the exam harder to achieve by reading materials alone (even there own text). Therefore, accurate and thought-provoking supplemental materials are a must!!The bonus questions simply repeat themselves over-and-over again. The book as a whole lacked coverage on crucial technologies and is filled with confusing statements and answers that turn out to be mistakes- Go figure! All of which, led me to give this book 3 stars (maybe closer to 2 1/2).

Everyone here critizes<< typos here and there.. lacking this and lacking that... WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND if this book is so bad... remember that next time you write a negative review.. that will help us (the newbies) know where to get this right information....

Thanks~

This is a great book for learning the CCNA material. It will teach you all of the major points that you need to study to pass the exam. Even if you are not taking the exam and just want information on how networks are designed, this is the book. I found it a good read and the practice CD was priceless in learning how to issue commands to the various Cisco routers. A great book and worth the money too!!!

The author has done a good job in writing the book, which provides detailed explanation of all the topics covered in the exam except for NAT/PAT, which is an important objective of the CCNA exam and you can hardly find one CCNA exam that doesn't test your knowledge in that area.

More enhancements on how OSPF works is needed, since it's not covered clearly in the book.

Other than that the book is enough to pass the test except for the points I discussed previously.

One more thing, the bounce exams found in the study tools CD are very workable, never skip them you may encounter the same questions in the exam. I did!

Mr. Lammle is still an excellent teacher/writer (the best), but the omission of some crucial material is a setup for test disaster. In particular there is little information on NAT, and zero configuration examples. 4 months ago I recertified on the CCNA and one of the simulation questions was NAT configuration and at least 3 multiple choice were on NAT router commands. I am now tutoring 4 other engineers using this book and we've had to use Cisco Press books to cover NAT and other material that is missing. The Simulator in this book will not do OSPF and EIGRP (both crucial, so we bought Mr. Lammle's routersim from www.routersim.com, this does allow these routing protocols, but VTP doesn't work correctly with the simulator switches. In hindsight I would definitely use Cisco Press now, it doesn't appear that Sybex is keeping up. The Cisco books aren't as well written or real world, but they have everything you need to pass the test.

Which, for me, it was. I used this book as a text in a routing class, and wanting to get certified later, I decided to buy it. Highly recommended.

Great for anyone looking to become CCNA certified. Todd is a proven author in the IT field.

This book has consistently been one of the most accessible overviews of the CCNA material. I have been using these books since the 3rd edition and I have yet to be disappointed. Although the book may not go into as much depth as some of the other books on the market, it presents the ideas in a very clear language. If you are looking to get a good idea of how IP networks are put together and a basic introduciton to configuring cisco routers, this book will be a huge help.

I am preparing for my CCNA and I am so happy to have this book to prep me for my Exams.
Todd knows exactly how to dissect the difficult topics. I've been putting off taking the exam for 4 years now. With this book I've got the confidence and knowledge I need to ace it!

Thank you Todd

M. Charles

My advice would be to start with this book first, then move onto CCNA Cisco press. Todd Lammle wrote this book as if you where setting in a class and learning from an instructor, some of the basic information that you need to know for exam will be covered in his text that can be easily be pick up by using his book. The only problem with this book is that he doesn't cover everything on the exam; as stated by the other reviewer. Cisco press is going to give you everything you need; but with dry content. The Cisco press content is not that bad if you start off with Sybex.

Book is excellent, price is not. I lucked out and found it at Job Lot for 6.99 brand new. I bought two books there for $14, would have cost me $90 at the book stores. So shop around for a better price.

This book starts at the beginning of what a new networking engineer needs to know and works through several examples of how this works in the real world today. It covers TCP/IP, AppleTalk, IPX, X25, Frame Relay, and more, if you count the appendicies. Unsurprisingly, it's also the best study guide for the CCNA. The writing is vague in places, but on the whole a review of the state of technology this clear is remarkable.

Because Cisco would not take the time to review this book it has changed what could have been the best book in the world to a confusing text of mumbo jumbo, especially to the novice. Here are a few of the errors. Page 35, Fig 2-8--AcK 6 not Ack 7// Page 45, Line 6-- relays and FRAMES for host Z, router A// P61, Fig 3-17-- Truth table should be 00,01,10,11// P424, Ans 3.1-- F=FDDI It's F followed by the interface number// p94, Fig 4-18 -- Router C should send 10.4.0.0 to router B// p115, Fig 5-3--The step right after the POST test is to look for a Cisco IOS, once the image is found then the router looks for the config file.// p130, fig 5-15 --Decent should be DECNET// p217, fig 9-9-- 255 is all ones 11111111 not 11111110// p219, line 2-- should be 2 to the 5th power not 25// p231, q 9.1-9.3-- The answers are filled in by mistake// p238, fig 10-3-- Address 172.16.1.1.0 should be 172.16.1.0// p314,fig 13-2 The figure shows a standard access list the narrative talks about an extended access list.// p317, line 20-- The prompt should be Router(config-if)// p319, line 7-- If you are talking about specific protocols like IPX or Appletalk the range numbers 100 to 199 will not work.// p321, fig 13-7 00000111 should be 00001111 for "ignore last 4 address bits.// p324, line 19--The prompt should be Router(config-if)// p328, last line--The prompt should be Router(config-if)// p331, line 15-- Should be standard rather than simple.// p373, line 11--The prompt should be Router(config-if)// p373, line 13--The prompt should be Router(config-if)// p417, fig 16-14--rame should be frame//

I used this book to help me pass the CCNA exam on my first attempt. I found the explanations in this book to be a big help in remembering the CCNA material. I also used the CCNA Virtual Lab e-trainer to practice using the Cisco IOS commands.

This book is the gateway to a career working with Cisco networks. A must for the beginner, and intermediate alike. This book along with Todd Lammle's CCNA study guide will catapult the network enthusiast into CCNA status. A great reference for the bookshelf thereafter.

This is one of the better-written Cisco Press books I've read. I read the book over an otherwise quiet weekend, and passed the CCNP Switching test _easily_ the following Tuesday. The material is presented pretty well, and it covered all the key content.

The book does suffer from some errors missed (or introduced?) in the editing process; this is a typical Cisco Press issue. If you've read many CP books, you know what to expect (i.e. frequent errors in examples and figures.) Maybe they consider it a learning tool (e.g. find the mistakes...) It's annoying, but not overly problematic, in this particular book.

The figures have little to do with the text. Obviously the author didn't try very hard to coordinate. I found the book very confusing it failed to explain why you are doing things it simply tells you what to do. I would not recommend it.

Don't waste your time. This book was so full of errors that it become confusing. The explanations do not match the diagrams. I had to make so many corrections to this book that I should have been paid to edit it. Surprized it's still on the shelf.

I used this book along with one Boson practice test and passed with a score of 900 on the first sitting. It tracks very well with the contents of the exam.

The chapters are fairly easy to follow having to go back and re-read only a couple of them. There are some terms that are used inconsistently but they would not prevent anyone from passing the test. The case studies at the end of each chapter seem pointless except for those that have several Catalyst 6500s lying around.

I found the information in Appendix B to be very useful, although it is not covered in the exam. It explains some of the terms that Cisco's web site often uses but never defines.

Overall, this book is well worth the money spent. There is no need to spend the cash for a second book when studying for the 640-604. It has all the information needed for this exam but you will need to have a solid understanding of it to do well. Good luck!

The book is generally very good. There is a wealth of detailed information presented in an understandable manner. Providing you have some knowledge of networking you shouldn't have to many problems.

My one gripe about this book is the amount of mistakes, There everywhere, from wrong IP addresses in diagrams, bad descriptions to plain wrong content. I know this because I've read the book five times along with many many documents available on the CISCO web site. So if you doubt what you read check it.

At the end of the day there are very few good books around that cover the BCSN exam in detail. This one does