<< 1 >>
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: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good overall
Review: I took the switching exam this morning and scored 969 out of 1000. To prepare I used this book, the RouterSim simulator, and the Boson exams. The book did a good job covering the conceptual material and also on laying out the command language. I do think that it would have been harder for me to learn all the command syntax without doing some labs on either real routers or a simulator. Too bad that the more complex labs (MLS, multicast) couldn't be simulated. There were a few things on my exam not covered in the book but not enough to keep you from passing, for example some trouble shooting scenarios. With some experience, common sense and a little luck you should get most of those right too I think. I gave only four stars since I felt the practice tests to be a bit easier than the real one so would recommend also doing a Boson exam or two. The author says in his books that Boson is the best source of practice tests.
Rating:
Summary: Good CCNP Study Guide
Review: It looks like the two major offerings in the CCNP area are from New Riders and Sybex. I found the Lammle/Sybex book on sale, so I decided to go with this one and give it a try. I bought this book just to read up on switching and VLANS, which I didn't know as much about compared to routers. Most people are probably buying this book to pass the exam, but I was more interested in just getting somemore background in the subject since I am a professional NT administrator. I found the book was excellent for that. The book is clearly and concisely written and although I'm not an expert on switching, I worked on a large corporate network for a lot of years and have been around switches for some time and so have some understanding of them, and it seemed to cover the subject pretty well. The sample tests at the end of each section are sure to be helpful to those taking the certification test, and there is a long general assessment exam at the very beginning of the book too. Another book I picked up that I've found useful is the "Network Certification" volume from Microsoft. I also have the more general CCNP "Support" volume from Lammle and Hale in this series, and although I haven't gotten into it much, it also looks like a good study book on the basic routing material. I'll probably write a brief review for that when I've had some time to take a more thorough look at it.
Rating:
Summary: Wondering which to buy for your 640-604, Cisco or Sybex?
Review: Outstanding book. Provides everything you need to know to pass the test, except for HSRP. I realized that this was not in the book when I went to take the test. It was a good thing that there were only a few questions on HSRP. Maybe I guessed right, but I did pass the test and that is all that matters.
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: Excellent book.
Review: This is an excellent book that covers all you need to know to pass the CCNP Switching exam. Although it contained typos (consistent with most Lammle books) the material was presented in an easy to learn and mostly fun way. I found that the book focused a lot on multi-cast and I had only 3 multi-cast questions on the exam (though you may have more). I studied the commands but didn't have the hardware to practice on and still did very well on the exam, taking only 30 minutes of the allowed 75. If you are looking for a good book for this exam this could be the one. The Cisco Press book is also supposed to be good but I haven't got it yet. This would have been 5-stars but the typos and the fact that the book concentrated on some stuff that wasn't on the exam prevented me from giving it a perfect rating.
Rating:
Summary: Yes It Does Cover HSRP!
Review: Try reading pages 313 to 321 and you will find coverage of HSRP. Good god and these people want to be CCNP's? I give up!
Rating:
Summary: Yes It Does Cover HSRP!
Review: Try reading pages 313 to 321 and you will find coverage of HSRP. Good god and these people want to be CCNP's? I give up!
<< 1 >>
| 
