CCNP BCMSN Exam Certification Guide (CCNP Self-Study, 642-811), Second Edition

Rating:
Summary: Review of BCMSN
Review: The reason that I picked this book is because I was getting ready to re-certify as a CCNP and CCDP. My goal was to take the composite exam, as by taking (and passing) one exam, I would be re-certified in both certifications. I will say that I did take and pass the composite exam, but my score was not that much higher than the passing score. I read this book and Claire Gough's book, the CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide to prepare myself. Fortunately, I have a few Cisco Press books on both subjects. I found outside reading especially important when going through the BSCI material, but the presented BCMSN material was most adequate. The exams on the CDs were very similar to the real exam.
This book was fairly thorough when preparing me for the Switch material on the composite exam. I will caution future readers to make sure to go through the CD included with the book prior to taking the exam as there was content that appeared on the CD that wasn't covered in the book, yet it appeared on the real exam. Fortunately, there wasn't very much, but it could mean barely passing the exam or failing it.
David Hucaby's writing style was very easy for this reader to follow. At times, I found it difficult to absorb so many complex subjects without re-reading sections because sometimes Mr. Hucaby explains a LOT in very few paragraphs. The book seems small compared to Claire Gough's book on Routing, but it could have benefited the reader were Mr. Hucaby to write a few more paragraphs while explaining some of the more complex subjects. This reader feels that the subject matter is covered in the book for a student to learn, but the student might find the need to go to other resources to have things explained more fully than how Mr. Hucaby presents it. Fortunately, this reader only found this necessary on a couple of occasions.
I found some typographical errors, some syntax errors, and some mislabeling on the figures, but all in all, this book was an excellent self-study book for anyone taking the re-certification exam, and probably for anyone taking the BCMSN exam. The last chapter in the book goes through many scenarios, and it would behoove a future reader to go through each and every question in each and every scenario. It would also behoove the reader to go through the CD that accompanies the book. The CD exam questions were very similar to the real questions, not so much that the questions were the same, but that the content covered and the way it was presented was the same. The simulator provided on the CD was a great refresher for this reader especially as I found that the technology has changed quite a bit in the three years that I initially became a CCNP. As this time, I didn't have any of the switches for which I could practice upon (switches covered on the exam), I had to completely depend upon the book and the CD (and the simulators) in order to prepare for the exam. The simulator questions on the CD adequately prepared this reader for what was on the real exam. Mr. Hucaby does an adequate job of preparing a student for all the rest of the material found on the exam. Therefore, I give this book a 4 out of a possible rating of 5, 1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest. This book is easy to read and prepares a student adequately for the subject matter found on the real exam.
Would I buy another book by this author? The answer is "yes". He covers all the material, succinct (sometimes too succinct), knows his subject matter, and can explain it in plain English - a talent that can't be underrated.

Rating:
Summary: Review of BCMSN
Review: The reason that I picked this book is because I was getting ready to re-certify as a CCNP and CCDP. My goal was to take the composite exam, as by taking (and passing) one exam, I would be re-certified in both certifications. I will say that I did take and pass the composite exam, but my score was not that much higher than the passing score. I read this book and Claire Gough's book, the CCNP BSCI Exam Certification Guide to prepare myself. Fortunately, I have a few Cisco Press books on both subjects. I found outside reading especially important when going through the BSCI material, but the presented BCMSN material was most adequate. The exams on the CDs were very similar to the real exam.
This book was fairly thorough when preparing me for the Switch material on the composite exam. I will caution future readers to make sure to go through the CD included with the book prior to taking the exam as there was content that appeared on the CD that wasn't covered in the book, yet it appeared on the real exam. Fortunately, there wasn't very much, but it could mean barely passing the exam or failing it.
David Hucaby's writing style was very easy for this reader to follow. At times, I found it difficult to absorb so many complex subjects without re-reading sections because sometimes Mr. Hucaby explains a LOT in very few paragraphs. The book seems small compared to Claire Gough's book on Routing, but it could have benefited the reader were Mr. Hucaby to write a few more paragraphs while explaining some of the more complex subjects. This reader feels that the subject matter is covered in the book for a student to learn, but the student might find the need to go to other resources to have things explained more fully than how Mr. Hucaby presents it. Fortunately, this reader only found this necessary on a couple of occasions.
I found some typographical errors, some syntax errors, and some mislabeling on the figures, but all in all, this book was an excellent self-study book for anyone taking the re-certification exam, and probably for anyone taking the BCMSN exam. The last chapter in the book goes through many scenarios, and it would behoove a future reader to go through each and every question in each and every scenario. It would also behoove the reader to go through the CD that accompanies the book. The CD exam questions were very similar to the real questions, not so much that the questions were the same, but that the content covered and the way it was presented was the same. The simulator provided on the CD was a great refresher for this reader especially as I found that the technology has changed quite a bit in the three years that I initially became a CCNP. As this time, I didn't have any of the switches for which I could practice upon (switches covered on the exam), I had to completely depend upon the book and the CD (and the simulators) in order to prepare for the exam. The simulator questions on the CD adequately prepared this reader for what was on the real exam. Mr. Hucaby does an adequate job of preparing a student for all the rest of the material found on the exam. Therefore, I give this book a 4 out of a possible rating of 5, 1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest. This book is easy to read and prepares a student adequately for the subject matter found on the real exam.
Would I buy another book by this author? The answer is "yes". He covers all the material, succinct (sometimes too succinct), knows his subject matter, and can explain it in plain English - a talent that can't be underrated.

Rating:
Summary: Does not offer good explanations or useful commands
Review: This book has a lot of useful information in it and may be a good review guide. But it does not do a good job of explaining items and does not offer many real commands - mostly just the command syntax. If you already know most of the material, then this book might be a good review. Otherwise I don't recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: New switching features but not adequate
Review: This book has some interesting stuff about the new switching features that a CCNP must know but does not cover all the exam objectives. Also chapters lack depth. Multicasting chapter is a disaster compared to Karen Webb's BCMSN good old book. Generally most chapters are more like summaries and nothing more.

Rating:
Summary: Great for passing the new switch exam.
Review: This was the only book I used to study and I was able to pass the BCMSN exam with a 905. There is a lot of material covered in this exam and a lot of different topics, though the book may not seem to go in depth enough at times, it covers what you need to know. I also found the CD that comes with the book very useful, there are excellent simulation questions that will help you gain confidence if you do not have a lot of real world hands on experience. I would not suggest this book to those really wanting to learn some of the new technologies that are introduced in this book such as EoMPLS or even QOS methods used by cisco equipment, but for those wanting to pass the exam this is your book.

Rating:
Summary: Great for passing the new switch exam.
Review: This was the only book I used to study and I was able to pass the BCMSN exam with a 905. There is a lot of material covered in this exam and a lot of different topics, though the book may not seem to go in depth enough at times, it covers what you need to know. I also found the CD that comes with the book very useful, there are excellent simulation questions that will help you gain confidence if you do not have a lot of real world hands on experience. I would not suggest this book to those really wanting to learn some of the new technologies that are introduced in this book such as EoMPLS or even QOS methods used by cisco equipment, but for those wanting to pass the exam this is your book.