Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Scored me a 903 after 1 week of studying. I just read the book, and used the flashcards. There were some confusing points, like acronyms that would pop up, and not be explained until the next chapter, but all in all, it is excellent for a study guide.
Rating: 
Summary: Great reading, but be careful if your focus is only the test
Review: Sybex and Lammle stand heads and shoulders above most Cisco certification guides and give Cisco Press a run for their money! This study guide for CCNP switching 2.0 is easy to read and understand, especially for those who are new to the catalyst line of switches. I recently passed the test with a score of 803, however I feel that if I did not complement this study guide with the Cisco Press CCIE Cisco Lan Switching guide (isbn 1578700949) and the Boson switching tests I would have failed the test. The CCIE Lan book was used for the detailed explanations and the Boson tests to find where the Sybex/Lammle book was lacking (mostly MLS and troubleshooting). Overall, there are very few errors in this text and the labs are excellent, in fact I used several of the labs as a template to install a dozen 6509's with layer3 swithing between vlans, VTP, spanning tree... the whole nine! I like to think of this book as a quick start guide and desk reference for common tasks. I also feel a lot more comfortable about using spanning tree and trunking in my networks, things I tried to avoid in the past, because of the great explanations in this text. Definitely worth the price of admission, although not quite the all-in-one study solution some people were hoping for.
Rating:
Summary: A good study guide to prepare you forthe exam
Review: The authors' writing style presents the material in an easy to digest format. I found this text a little easier to read that its Cisco press counterpart which at times is a little dry. All switching topics were adequately covered, although I would have liked a little more material on implementing Multicasting (PIM) and Layer 3 switching. All in all, the book is a good preparation resource for the switching exam. Some nice labs and plenty of practice exam questions.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent Book
Review: The best thing about this book is the layout and content. It is easy to read and it keeps you interested, as opposed to the Cisco Press book which is very tedious to get through. However, be warned, as another reviewer said, hardly any of the test questions that come with this book and on the CD are on the exam. The exam questions were very different, at least for me anyway. However, the book explains things very thorough and concise, except for the MLS and Multicasting sections. I'm still confused on what they were spelling out, and those were the sections I didn't do too well on on the exam. Overall, a decent book that I'd recommend, but make sure you get the Boson tests in addition to this book.
Rating:
Summary: Passed all Switching Exam First Time with This Book
Review: The Switching Study Guide is a good purchase if you want to pass the 640-504 exam 1st time ! I have now achieved CCNP status and have passed all the exams leading up to CCNP with a SYBEX book !!
Rating:
Summary: On the Money
Review: The topics covered in this book are clearly written. It will hold your attention!
Rating:
Summary: Good CCNP Study Guide
Review: This book is a good study tool for those of you preparing for the CCNP Switching examination. Although I have a good amount of experience with Cisco routers, which aided my preparation, I had never dealt with Cisco switches of any sort prior to taking the exam. This text, by itself, was sufficient to pass the exam.The two main areas of weakness in the text are multicast and multiplayer switching. If you wish to score well on all areas of the exam find additional materials to help your preparation in these areas. Aside from these two areas, the text is sufficiently thorough to allow excellent scores in the other areas. PJZ
Rating:
Summary: Good enough for you to pass the exam, if read properly
Review: This book is enough for you to pass the switching exam; don't believe reviews that say otherwise. I have never laid hands on a switch before; i used this book in conjunction with lammle's Switchsim and questions from cert 21 and passed. I must admit that there were quite a few questions on the exam that were not covered by the book. All in all, the material in this book in sufficient for you to ace the exam. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is fantastic!! I used this book in conjunction with the Cisco Press BCMSN book - it cleared up things that i couldn't understand from the Cisco text....but it is still awesome in its own right. I know it is hard to tell what is real from these reviews sometimes - but i have to say DO NOT HESITATE - get this book!!!
Rating:
Summary: easy read
Review: This book is writen so that you don't burn out by the second chapter. It had some typo's, but I think that those where minor. The practice exam at the end of the book is horendous, use the one on the cd instead as it has the same questions, but in the proper format. The troubleshooting area could have been expanded with more examples of real world scenareos. Overall this will be yet another reference book for me. Yes I did pass on the first try with only this book, and experience.
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