Cisco Books

Perfect for the instructor that needs a quick hands-off curriculum. But for the student paying the bill, it's just another over-priced, poorly-edited excuse for generating classroom revenue. The topical outline seems to be undecided, and the depth wanders from thin to bottomless. Be prepared to hunt the entire collage for specific references. The accompanying 34 page pamphlet (disguised as a lab manual) provides deliberate overly-simplified confusion, and is often completely ignorant of the textbook. The eActivities on the CD are helpful, like other Cisco instructional aids. But I am surprised that Cisco would permit their brand name on the package. The printed material is constantly aggravating. If you have to buy it (and you know you do) get it as cheap as possible. Good luck.

Given the theme of the book, of course one would expect the views of the pro-secessionists to be set out, but what surprised me was that the author seemed to feel that the views on slavery expressed by some of his protaganists are entitled to be considered as valid. This I confess startled me since tho I knew there were Confederate sympathizers in the South I did not think at this day and age there were some who still believed slavery was other than an evil system. This is a pretty interestingly put together book, tho not very profound. But I was glad I read it. The pro-Confederacy bias did not bother me, knowing as we do that the Civil War managed to come out right

Obviously the book was written by someone(s) whose English writing ability is very questionable. At many places of the book, the explanation was so poor that I had to google to get a clearer explanation. Many times I felt that the author(s) wrote the book without knowing what they were writing.

Obviously my review may sound too harsh. But if you read the first 10 to 20 pages of chapter 5, you may at least understand why I got to have such a low view of the book.The book needs to thoroughly re-written.

I purchased this book because I had previously used Thomson Course Technology in the past and it went very well. However, this book was very limited in regards to the information that I seen on the actual exam. The coverage of OSPF was limited and very short of being reliable. Furthermore, the discussion of discovery and packets was briefly discussed, whereas very important on the exam. On the other hand, the book was very easy to read and it explained a few aspects of Cisco that wasn't covered in other exam preparation books. For this, I gave it two stars. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand the very basics of Cisco, but not for the person seeking their CCNA certification.

Before you even go to the errata page at Sybex just check that the book is all there. Mine wasn't and was missing 30 plus pages. With the extensive errata in hand then take your sissors and paste to transpose various diagrams onto the pages they are supposed to be on. What on earth was Sybex up to releasing this garbage. The technical content of the book is completely trashed by the incomprehensible and multiple mistakes. The author of this book has been terribly let down by the publishing house and should be howling for the blood of the proof readers. To expect the reader to go on a "do-it-yourself" re-publishing exercise with errata, pen, paper and glue in hand is the height of cheek. If this publishing house intends to prove it could not give a damn about its output then this is the book to do it. However they could prove that they care about their customers and authors by withdrawing all copies and republishing the book. As it stands it is not fit for the purpose that it was either intended for or purchased. I did like Sybex, I will be very careful in the future though. Edited on 27/11/2002 Although I have complained now three times to Sybex UK and have been assured by the hapless UK staff that this has been passed on, complete silence from Sybex US. I think the deafness says it all just stay with Cisco's offerings as I will have to. KCH 27/11/2002.

Way too many repeating configuration examples from which only 10% is MPLS related. Not enough information to pass the test or just get some understanding about MPLS.

HELLO SPELL CHECK. THIS HAS GOT TO HAVE THE MOST MISTAKES IN IT REGARDING SIMPLE SPELLING TO FORMULAS AND CONSTANT REPETITIVE CONFIGURATIONS I HAVE EVER SEEN. I THINK THAT IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE WRITER DID NOT TAKE THE EXAM HIMSELF, THE BOOK WAS BLACK AND THE EXAM WAS WHITE. IF YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE THE EXAM DO NOT, DOOOOO NOOOOT BUY THIS BOOK. HEY BUDDY YOU MISSED A TONE OF STUFF THAT JUST HAPPENED TO BE IN THE EXAM AND NOT EVEN MENTIONED IN YOUR BOOK. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE AN ENTERPRISE AND SERVICE PROVIDER INSTRUCTOR OF CISCO TECHNOLOGIES. NO WONDER YOU WORK FOR YOUR SELF NOBODY WOULD HIRE YOU. I AM ANGRY THAT I SPENT ALL THAT MONEY ON YOUR BOOK AND GOT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OUT OF IT.

This isn't much of a review, but my ccnp friend has taken the Cisco MPLS exam OVER 6 times so far and failed every time. (I keep telling him to get some other books. Duh!)
...maybe Cisco booby-trapped their exam so readers of THIS book will never get to 85% to pass ;-)

I picked up this study guide to prepare for the MPLS exam for Ciscos CCIP. I read through it in 2 weeks and signed up for the exam only to find out that I picked a study guide completely insufficient for the exam: The study guide misses out on a few important topics, such as loop prevention when using BGP as a CE-PE protocol, and treats many topics, such as MPLS over ATM networks, BGP and MP BGP to implement VPNs, and convergence issues in frame and cell mode, just to name a few, to lightly. The only good thing I can say about this book is that it gave me a broad overview of MPLS/VPNs, with a lot of holes to be filled though, something I had to do by reading other books on the subject.
I eventually passed the MPLS exam using the CCIP MPLS study guide from Cisco press - even if this book takes longer to read, anyone who wants to pass this exam is better off just taking this book.

I purchased this book in hopes of using it as the last bit of preparation material prior to sitting for the CCNA exam. However, like the previous two posts, I was shocked at the amount of mistakes and typos thoughout the book. Due to the amount of mistakes, I am not able to recommend this book. This is a real shame as I enjoyed the writing style and layout.

Well its well written and the chapters flow quickly, but thats the only good thing. Otherwise the book is an absolute piece of s___, There were so many errors that I got the point where I doubted half the answers to the prep questions. The diagrams and command line examples were wrong and in some places mislabeled. I was originally highlighting and correcting the mistakes in the hope of sending them to the publisher, but there are so many its not even worth it. Oh and I could not find any sort of corrections or errata page at examcram.com or quepublishing.com.

Overall, there were so many mistakes I ended up buying Odom's and Lammle's book so that I could doublecheck all the information I was reading. Whats the point of buying a technical book if you only have to buy another book to confirm the information? It's sad because the examcram series used to be so good.

I will second the above opinion..this book is worthless. If you're someone who already knows the material, you don't need to re-read it..but if you're someone studying, trying to learn technical information that must be exact, what is the sense when you can't be confident the material you're studying is even correct. It's true, the Exam Crams used to be great, awesome, my only study guides and I always did well, but unfortunately I can't say that know. Not only are they filled with errors, but the books now totally miss the mark when it comes to teaching you what you need to know to pass exams. These books seem to say tell you "you'll need to know this" and "you'll want to study this," rather than actually include useful information. Well Cisco tells everybody what you will be tested on, you don't need an Exam Cram to tell you that. Buy the books from Cisco, assuming they're recent or Todd L's stuff instead, you'll pass with confidence. This Exam Cram is a waste of time, really.

I would have been better served to have read the previous review rather than assuming that this Exam Cram title would be as effective as most are.

Don't waste your hard earned cash.

Even though the Exam Cram books are not meant to be primary references, such titles should be (generally) error-free and well-organized. This text is neither and gives the appearance of having been introduced early solely ensure a place on the bookshelf before the competition.

Ron Gilster's CCNA's for Dummy's book is much better as a second reference and has significantly more detail, and is better organized for that quick, day-before-the-test review.

IMHO Tod Lammle's CCNA Study Guide is a best bet as a primary text.

Why ExamCram chose to publish this work I have no idea. In short, it contains less content than the 2nd edition, which covers the same test. The chapters aren't as well-written, and the outline is more confusing. Do yourself a *big* favor..purchase the 2nd edition by Waters, Rees, and Coe. You'll get more bang for your buck..much more bang.

I would have been better served to have read the previous review rather than assuming that this Exam Cram would be as effective as most are.

Don't waste your hard earned cash. This one is disjointed, error-prone, and as mentioned in my title... One Big Sleep.

1. Grab Tod Lammle's CCNA Study Guide as your primary text.
2. Even though you won't want people to see the title on your shelf, Gilster's CCNA's for Dummy's book is much better as a second reference.

Well, not all is lost. At least I can use Sheldon's book to kindle a fire next winter...

I can't believe that a CCIE book would actually condone braindumping (cheating) and theft of intellectual property (piracy). This book ought to be taken off the shelves.

Listen, if you want to be a CCIE, do it the right way: get several years of real-world IT experience administering Cisco devices, study legitimate training materials (not THIS book!), and get your CCIE. It's as simple as that.

1. There is nothing in this book that is technical and I did not see a single "success story".

2. The author openly recommends Pass4Sure - A known dump of the exact test as what it seems he believes is a legitimate self-help testing aid. Blind leading the blind.

3. A complete waste of $15.95 > I read the preview first, so I was warned, but I really had to buy it so I could see for myself what it included.

4. It is that bad.

5. Mis-spellings are found even with my first quick glance - CCCIE being one and lad being another. Seriously - can anyone take this writing seriously.

6. The author suggest using radidshare as a means of "sharing CCIE materials". Intellectual rights mean nothing to this author. This is clear.

Direct Quote "If you wanted to make sure you get the CCIE certificate in the bag, you should definately check out various CCIE braindumps accessible online. Apart from being effective, these braindumps are also more cost efficient as compared to old forms of review materials. Moreover, some CCIE braindump materials are also being combined with boot camps for better utilization. As a result, the person becomes ready in both the written and the lab part of the certification exams".

7. Really??? I've been to several CCIE Bootcamps from most of the major vendors and all of them make it known they do not and will not tolerate CCIE Braindumping of the NDA. Which ones is the author speaking of?

8. Complete nonsense and utterly a waste of money. Since I hope I'm one of the first to buy this junk, let me warn the others. Don't bother.

I was under the impression that there would be CEU's given for studying this review book, as they are endorsed by the AAPC logo on the front of the book. There were none. It came in a plastic wrap, but listed as used. Has someone already used this book and taken out the CEU certificate? I would like to return it as I would rather order somthing to receive the CEU's also. Thanks. The shipping was very prompt.

Having just passed my CCA Certification, I was looking for a review book for the next step, the CCS-P Certification. Having used PRG's review books (for the CCA and CCS), I was looking for something else to study from. This book is truly a waste of time and money. Pitifully basic, this book would not even be a good study book for the CCA exam. Most of the information reviewed was basic and not advanced enough to help for the difficulty level of the CCS-P. Specific number of pages and information present is woefully inadequate. I would recommend the PRG books 100% of the time, they actually do prepare you for the certification exams. I was shocked to see Carol Buck's name on it as I have studied from her coding textbook and it was thorough and well put together. I hope this saves you from wasting your money.

I bought IT Essensial II Network Operating System Companion Guide for Server+ exam based on CompTIA recomendation. After I read this book I found very litle knowledge about Server+ exam. This book has good staf about networking but not for server+ exam.Yes I passed Server+ exam but I supplement this book with Server+ Bible by Trevor Kay.

I bought IT Essensial II Network Operating System Companion Guide for Server+ exam based on CompTIA recomendation. After I read this book I found very litle knowledge about Server+ exam. This book has good staf about networking but not for server+ exam.Yes I passed Server+ exam but I supplement this book with Server+ Bible by Trevor Kay.

The purpose of this textbook is "to present a great welter of minute, confusing detail, often written in highly technical language" intentionally used "to drown readers in a sea of mind-boggling detail" (Peirce, 2003: 233).