Rating: 
Summary: Did anyone proof read this book before it was published?
Review: 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...
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks complex labs such as those on the real CCIE lab exam
Review: The book covers just about all the technologies that may be on the actual lab, but it is missing Multicast. The book has many labs but it fails to combine different technologies in them. For instance, each chapter is on a particular technology(i.e. routing protocol) and all the labs in that chapter only contain what is covered in that chapter. The real lab exam will combine a single network with all the technologies combined and that is what this book is missing. Furthermore, some of the labs do not cover enough of the features within a technology. For instance, the ATM chapter contains only 2 labs which only show you how to configure a basic PVC. Also, SVC's for Frame Relay and ATM are not covered at all.
Overall the book is practical for one who wants to practice the basics of each of the technologies and not complex designs or features. If the book did not have "CCIE" and "lab" written on the cover, I might have given it at least 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but kind of basic
Review: The book was really good, but the labs aren't even close to as difficult as (...other) ones (...) They are a good start, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book very well written !!
Review: I just purchased this book, I found it very well written and organized. It has great practice labs and detailed explanations on routing and desktop protocols. I find myself using this more as desktop reference than a study guide. Great book..
Rating:
Summary: Great review material
Review: Excelent guide. Labs and explanations are well organized and detailed.
Rating:
Summary: Great material covered in this book, but be aware...
Review: This book has an incredible amount of good material in it. Just be aware that there are quite a few missed errors in some of the diagrams and labs, some that will keep labs from working properly. This book is great for people who already have a decent understanding of Cisco IOS and just need practice with hardware.
Rating:
Summary: 6 Miles wide, 6 Inches deep
Review: This book has a alot of labs, that cover a good deal of material. The main point to keep in mind, if you are just begining your networking career/certification. And want a decent place to start in getting exposure into the various communication media out there then this is a good book to get you started. If your a senior guy or already have many of the exams past then this probably isnt the best book for you. One additional use that isnt noted alot, that I found useful is to go back and see how quickly you can do the labs (without referrencing the configs in the book). If you can get the labs set up in 15-30 mins (and under these pressures) troubleshooting as well its good practice. Combine four or 5 of the labs, and get in done in 2 hours is again a good excercise. But once again they are simple so bear that in mind. As alot of folks noted it does contain errors, which can be frustrating. Also it doesnt cover everything (I doubt there is 1 book that does) so the title is OVER-STATED to say the very least.
Rating:
Summary: Making the CCIE a little easier to get.
Review: About the hardest exam to pass, according to the statistics is the CCIE. Considering there are 2 parts, one written and one lab in order to pass and considering all of the information you have to know, it would be a wise investment to find study resources tailored to each exam and this book is made for the lab side. In the 1200 plus pages you'll work with over 100 scenarios, more than any other book I have seen on this topic so far. You also work with over 100 labs, again far more than any other book in the class. Covering areas like terminal servers, ISDN, frame relay, ATM, RIP 1 & 2, IGRP, OSPF, EIRGP, BGP, both internal and external, IP and IPX access lists, CDP, NAT and PAT, IPX, AppleTalk, 5000 series switches, DLSW, IPSec, MPLS and security is some of the things you get from this book. Written for the self pace learning module as well as a perfect book for the classroom training, the authors have given what seems to be more than enough information to work and learn with. One of the best things was the troubleshooting of all areas and I have already been able to use some of the information in my job. The cd included has configuration examples to work. Overall this is an excellent value for the money.
Rating:
Summary: The best for the money so far
Review: This book does a very good job of covering the majority of scenarios that are covered in the Cisco CCIE Lab. What's more the experience of the authors'shows, I have found the bolded items in the configs invaluable as I follow the labs in the book. The coverage on MPLS and Frame Relay was especially useful for me. I have purchased other CCIE books that state they cover the lab exam and they don't measure-up to this book. If you have to purchase one CCIE Lab book, make this the one you buy.
Rating:
Summary: Not All-in-One but still very very usefull!
Review: This is a pretty nice book and I'd recommend it for the CCIE Lab preparation. It includes a lot of small scenarions. Each of them is, of course, much easier then the real Lab, and this book doesn't cover everything, but it's still very usefull and I want to explain why. Usually if you use full-size scenarion from ccbootcamp or fatkid they expect you to have 5-9 routers with all features. But let's say you have just 2 or 3 routers and you wonder how you can use them for the Lab preparation. This is exactly what this book was written for. Using this book and a minimal set of equipment you can learn some areas pretty deep. Of course, it's not all in one, it's just a pieces, but if you know how to do each piece it's much easier to do the whole Lab.
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