Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I expected
Review: After having used various other books by the same author in the past, this book was a bit of a disappointment. I missed the chrystal clear explanations that were present in some of his other books. All in all it isn't a bad book, but it has opened my eyes to competing study guides, where I would have gone Sybex/Lammle without hesitation in the past.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to read but inadequate for learning
Review: After taking and passing the exam (luckily) today I can honestly say that this book did not prepare me well enough for the exam. Between 1/3 to 1/4 of the questions I was presented with I simply had to make an educated guess at because they were not covered in the book (For Example: I was asked questions about the user configurable options of PAgP and the configuration of the 3500 series of switch. In the Sybex book PAgP is given about 1/4 of a page that does not mention configuation and the 3500 series never appears in the book). On top of this there were several annoying typos and editing problems such as using the acronym CAM two chapters before it was defined as Content Addressable Memory. It also appeared that Todd Lammle got bored or was working on a deadline because the last 3 chapters were in general harder to read and contained more errors than the first 8. Overall this book is useful for those who are just beginning to learn about Cisco Switching and need a book that is readable to develop a basis on which they can build with other books such as those printed by Cisco Press. As a book that can prepare you for the exam or worse yet that can prepare you for actually working on the Cisco equipment this book is totally inadequate.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read but inadequate for learning
Review: After taking and passing the exam (luckily) today I can honestly say that this book did not prepare me well enough for the exam. Between 1/3 to 1/4 of the questions I was presented with I simply had to make an educated guess at because they were not covered in the book (For Example: I was asked questions about the user configurable options of PAgP and the configuration of the 3500 series of switch. In the Sybex book PAgP is given about 1/4 of a page that does not mention configuation and the 3500 series never appears in the book). On top of this there were several annoying typos and editing problems such as using the acronym CAM two chapters before it was defined as Content Addressable Memory. It also appeared that Todd Lammle got bored or was working on a deadline because the last 3 chapters were in general harder to read and contained more errors than the first 8. Overall this book is useful for those who are just beginning to learn about Cisco Switching and need a book that is readable to develop a basis on which they can build with other books such as those printed by Cisco Press. As a book that can prepare you for the exam or worse yet that can prepare you for actually working on the Cisco equipment this book is totally inadequate.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning: HSRP information not included !
Review: Although the book is overall very good, it completely lacks information about "Configuring HSRP for a Fault-Tolerant Routing", an topic in the 640-604 Switching Exam.
Rating: 
Summary: Pass CCNP on first Try
Review: Excellent book. I took the class at a Cisco training facility and then purchased the book as a reference guide. It pulled everything together!!!! It made my life easy in preparing for the test, which was a breeze. It's a great reference guide. I was never bored with reading the materials. The labs were great. If you don't get a chance to attend an instructor Led training course, THIS IS THE BOOK TO PURCHASE AND STUDY FROM. Good luck!!!
Rating:
Summary: The only book needed to pass the switching exam.
Review: Great book, covers everything you need to pass the CCNP 640-504 exam. Hands-on lab could be great also if not for some "Typos". I work in an Internet Data Center in Singapore and have full hands-on in 5500 Switch and 7500 Router (along with those lower-end switches and routers), and I could tell you that Sybex Cisco Certification Series Books are great if not the best in the market. I'm using all Sybex books to earn my Cisco Certs, currently I'm holding CCNA2 (which I use the greatest book ever printed, the Sybex CCNA Study Guide) and now preparing for Foundation 640-509.
Rating:
Summary: CCNP: Switching Study Guide
Review: I am disappointed in the quality of this work. It is not up to par to Todd's other books, especially his CCNA book. I was very pleased with his CCNA book and it helped me pass with over a 900 score. The questions in this book, however, did not mirror the questions that I had on the test at all. Luckily, I had taken the class and knew much of the information, and I passed with an 840 score, but Todd's book was not much help. For a technical reference, it is good, but for the CCNP switching test, I would spend my money elsewhere. Curtis
Rating:
Summary: Nice CCNP Switching update book.
Review: I bought the Lammle CLSC and then bought this since I never took the old exam. This is a nice new book. The entire book was re-written, which was a nice surprise. I thought it would just be a little update, but it is not. Nice format, easy to read, matched the exam, etc, etc, (fill in the information for all of Todd Lammle's books here..). This book was worth the money. This really helped me understand the 5000 series command structure. Todd will discuss a subject, then domonstrate it in a network and discuss the switch output line-by-line. This book is a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Quite Good
Review: I found this book quite good, detailed & well written. The multicasting section (PIM et al) may have been overelaborate (i got no questions on this area), but generally it covers all necessary topics in enough depth to pass the Switching exam and as a reference. I'm sticking with the Lammle theme as i've done for the CCNA and CCNP Routing papers. Good Luck all!!!
Rating:
Summary: A good book? Very likely.
Review: I must confess, that I used this book only for:
1) The chapters discussing multicast concepts and configuration (Chapters 8 and 9), and
2) The testing engine and flash cards contained on the companion CD.
This is the reason why I chose to go with the average rating of the book on Amazon, which at the moment is 4 stars. I'm sure there is truth to reviewer(s) whose opinion affected the rating from five stars to four. I opted for CCNP: Switching Certification Guide, a Cisco Press book, as the base for preparation. However, I found the discussion on multicast confusing and lacking adequate illustrations. This is where Todd Lammle's book came to rescue. Lammel's book has good diagrams to illustrate how source distribution tree, shared distribution tree, bidirectional shared tree, PIM DM mechanisms (flooding, pruning, grafting), and PIM SM pruning work. The understanding gained from this book helped me comprehend multicast as discussed in the Cert Guide. The testing engine was just an added bonus. I particularly like the flash cards that I download on my Palm for when I'm stuck in a traffic jam, which btw happens a lot in a crowded city.
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