Rating: 
Summary: Painful.
Review: After having taught Cisco classes out of the old book, I had high expectations for the updated one. Big mistake. The Odom books are scattershot, disorganized, and annoying. There are factual errors (RJ stands for Registered Jack, not Regulated Jack as claimed on p290). His Fred and Barney examples aren't cute, and his lecture-mode writing style gets old fast. Especially annoying is the introduction of topics with a question and then answering it with "Well, blah blah.""Why would I buy this book? Well, if you want Cisco Press, you're kinda stuck with Odom."
Rating: 
Summary: Good content - Far too many errors
Review: Although most of the subject matter in this book is excellent, I was extremely disappointed by the sheer number of typographical and factual errors in the book. Most seriously, a number of the multiple choice questions have incorrect answers, as do some of the questions on the CD. This could seriously confuse someone attempting to learn by doing the test questions. The CD based questions also contain subjects that are not covered in the exam (SANs and VoIP). I also felt that the practical exercises were a last minute addition, as they are in the appendices when they really should be integrated with the relevant chapters (or those chapters should advise you to do the exercises). The errata for this book runs to around four pages, showing that it was compiled in a hurry with minimal proofreading to get it out at the same time as the new exams. I would have expected better from Cisco Press. Next time, I will probably buy Sybex instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book for the Intro exam
Review: But I felt that there were too many examples to explain the topics so when you try to review before the exam it is harder to get the raw facts without having to read through all of the examples again. Maybe if they made the chapter summaries more fact based and less of reprints of tables and graphics in the chapter it would make it more of a useful tool. There are typos throughout the book and some of the facts need rechecking but over all this was a pretty decent book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Refresher
Review: Every journey begins with a single step. The quote is trite but is most appropriate for someone who has decided to pursue a career in Cisco networking. In order to begin the Cisco journey, the first step real step is the CCNA exam. Unless they are extremely fortunate and have someone (an employer or educator) to offer guidance, chances are the beginning networker will be taking this first exam on their own. The CCNA exam certification guides from Cisco Press offer the guidance they need to take that first step. In recent years, Cisco has made it even easier on the novice by dividing the material into two separate exams. CCNA candidates also have the money-saving option of getting their CCNA the good old-fashioned way: as a single exam.
I chose the Cisco Press books because I'd learned that if you want to get the right material weighting for a Cisco exam, it's best to pick your apples right off of the tree. In my previous experience, Cisco Press books had a tendency to be somewhat dry but I quickly learned that this misconception is no longer true. I found that the author, Wendell Odom, brings a friendly approach to the material that makes it quite readable. His examples are handled very well and his explanations are good. He doesn't write in the "just-the-facts-ma'am" way that tends to be the norm in technical books, so I will definitely be looking for titles by him in the future.
As the name implies, the CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide covers the material required for the INTRO exam (640-821), which covers basic-yet-essential networking theory. The book, which is about 600 pages, is divided into 6 parts: Networking Fundamentals, Operating Cisco Devices, LAN Switching, TCP/IP, Wide-Area Networking and Final Preparation. The book approaches this material in a very shallow way. Without going into too much depth on most topics, it covers a very broad range of material. If you are studying for the single CCNA exam, you can bounce back and forth between this book and the ICND book, reading the basics in this book then going to the ICND book for the nitty-gritty details. The one exception to the rule is the topic of IP Addressing, which is covered entirely within this title. Probably the most important topic in this book, it is very well explained and there are plenty of practice IP addressing exercises on the CD. This book covers the material adequately for a beginner who is just learning the networking principals.
The CD included with the book has an excellent test bank. I found it to be very useful in preparing for the test and working through the book. There were a few answers that were just plain wrong, but I've come to expect a little inaccuracy with my test banks. The questions are not overly easy, but they're also not all that tricky. They're about the right level of difficulty for this exam. One especially cool feature is the "Study Saver" which makes the question bank your screen saver. Cisco has an affinity for simulation questions on their exams, so it's good that they also included the Boson Netsim LE on the CD. The bad news is that all the functions and labs are not unlocked unless you go through the "upgrade process" which consists of downgrading your wallet to the tune of $125, which is supposed to be a great deal compared to what they usually charge. I didn't want to spend a lot of time with what is essentially a simulator demo, but feel free to give it a try. However, if the interface doesn't really make you comfortable, try something else like the Cisco Interactive Mentor CD's or one of the many other simulator options out there before shelling out your hard-earned money. One option that I recommend is finding a few routers (nothing fancy) for a few hundred bucks. Sure, they're more expensive than buying a simulator, but they're also more powerful and you can use them as building blocks towards having a live CCNP lab and maybe even a CCIE lab much further down the road. In addition to the test banks and Netsim, the CD's also include PDF versions of the books and 25 IP subnetting practice exercises.
I read this book in preparation for my CCNA recertification. Since the book is intended for someone fairly new to networking, I experienced a bit of the "duh" factor. However, I was still able to learn a few interesting facts and reinforced a lot of what I already knew. I used this book in tandem with its ICND counterpart to prepare for the single CCNA exam (640-801). I was pleased to see that, although the CCNA has been split into 2 books, the author has included a reading plan that allows you to read the 2 books in a back-and-forth order that makes it easy to use the same set of books to study for the single test version. In closing, I found this book to be very well written and in invaluable tool in preparing for my CCNA recertification. On my 5 ping scale, I give it 4 pings.
!!!.!
Rating: 
Summary: I passed the test so....
Review: it obviously did it's job. I've been an MCSE for years and I was a little anxious about taking a Cisco test because everyone said they were "so much harder" than the Microsoft tests. This book explained what needed to be explained pretty well. It went into detail when needed and didn't when not needed. Obviously you're not going to know everything by reading this book, but it's a good start. Especially if you don't have an MCSE background, it goes into some basic networking stuff pretty well. Even some things I wasn't aware of. The INTRO test threw me no surprises, as the practice tests off the CD that comes with the book were actually a little harder than the test itself. The simuations were pretty close to what I had on the test as well. If you can pass the practice tests (assuming you havn't memorized the answers, and can actually tell why one answer is correct and the others are not) then you will have no problem with the INTRO test. Make sure you download the updates from www.ciscopress.com as this is the 1st edition and the errata is up to 4th edition. I did notice a few errors on the practice tests on the CD before the software was updated.
Rating:
Summary: I passed the test so....
Review: it obviously did it's job. I've been an MCSE for years and I was a little anxious about taking a Cisco test because everyone said they were "so much harder" than the Microsoft tests. This book explained what needed to be explained pretty well. It went into detail when needed and didn't when not needed. Obviously you're not going to know everything by reading this book, but it's a good start. Especially if you don't have an MCSE background, it goes into some basic networking stuff pretty well. Even some things I wasn't aware of. The INTRO test threw me no surprises, as the practice tests off the CD that comes with the book were actually a little harder than the test itself. The simuations were pretty close to what I had on the test as well. If you can pass the practice tests (assuming you havn't memorized the answers, and can actually tell why one answer is correct and the others are not) then you will have no problem with the INTRO test. Make sure you download the updates from www.ciscopress.com as this is the 1st edition and the errata is up to 4th edition. I did notice a few errors on the practice tests on the CD before the software was updated.
Rating:
Summary: Loses a star for errata
Review: The 640-821 INTRO exam is typically one of, if not the, first vendor-specific certification test folks in networking sit for. People taking this exam range from network engineers who have been working with Cisco equipment for years to folks just getting started in networking. The problem with creating a single study guide for the INTRO exam is that you have to provide enough info for folks just getting started to pass the exam, but not so much that network veterans get bogged with details they're already familiar with. I think the CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide strikes a good balance between those two goals.
Pro's:
- For networking veterans, the "Do I Know This Already?" quizzes at the beginning of each chapter are indispensable. These will keep you from wasting time reviewing things you already know. Taking them also keeps you from possibly missing some arguably odd things Cisco deems important enough to include in the exam.
- Odom and Cisco Press definitely do a much better job explaining networking fundamentals in this volume compared to past CCNA study guides. If you're new networking and/or the CCNA, this book should get you comfortable with most networking concepts (or at least well enough to sit for the exam).
- The accompanying CD includes a PDF of the book and exam and router simulators. If you use the simulators, make sure you download the latest updates from the Cisco Press Web site.
Con's:
- For whatever reason, the universe will not allow publishers to print error-free exam study guides, and the CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide is no exception. In spite of having *three* CCIE's act as technical reviewers for the book, it managed to rack up an impressive FIFTY-TWO errors since the first printing. Nothing is more obnoxious or problematic than a exam prep book with errors. We use these books to learn and study. Whenever there's an error it undermines learning and that defeats the purpose of the book.
- Some of the figures in the book are counter-intuitive. For example, some show data flowing from right to left. We read left to right, so using diagrams that move right to left appear unnecessarily backwards.
- For some inexplicable reason the PDF version of the book on the CD was an older printing than the book itself. This will drive you nuts when you start finding errors in the PDF book that aren't in the printed version.
The book gives networking veterans enough information on Cisco particulars to pass the exam, and it's written well enough to make most networking concepts accessible to folks just starting out in networking. When you think about it, that's pretty impressive for one book. As a bonus, it's published by Cisco Press, so it's much more likely the material you see on the exam will have been part of your reading.
So, if you can only afford to buy one book to use in studying for the INTRO exam, this should be it. It should give you everything you need to pass the INTRO exam and a little more.
(NOTE: If you're planning to take the 640-821 INTRO exam *and* the 640-811 ICND exam (or just the 640-801 comprehensive exam), go ahead and get the "CCNA Certification Library, 6th Edition" - it contains this book and the CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide and is cheaper than buying both separately.)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to Internetworking!
Review: The CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide gives a solid introduction to some of the most recent Internetworking technologies being used in the business world today while extensively covering the materials for the 640-821Cisco CCNA INTRO exam.
Pros:
1. Wendell Odom, the Author, should be commended for, among others, his:
- Real world pictures and concise functional diagrams of common networking components and concepts -- they allow the newcomer to visualize what is being covered;
- Technical illustrations and theoretical case studies -- they provide a thorough understanding of key technologies and real world processes;
- Extensive entry level coverage of Internetworking from Network Topologies, Router Operation, and IP Addressing to modern Remote Access Technologies;
- Summary tables -- they organize and emphasize key points.
2. CiscoPress should be commended for their excellent level of customer service. They have quickly:
- Provided downloadable errata documents with precise indications;
- Posted a software patch for the test engine along with an update for the network simulation software
Con:
Some chapters, although being covered from a different perspective, overlap at times with chapters from the book CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide instead of only preparing for the CCNA ICND exam materials.
Overall I would recommend this book to both people looking to build a solid foundation in Internetworking and the ones interested in acing the 640-821 CCNA INTRO exam. However, the degree to which this volume overlaps with the CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide makes it challenging for those candidates preparing for the 640-801 CCNA exam.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent resource for the new CCNA INTRO exam.
Review: This book is best off the shelf study guide for preparing to pass the new CCNA INTRO exam. The CCIE author is very knowledgeable and thorough. I'm impressed by the list of technical reviewers who are all CCIE certified.
What I found helpful within this book is the information presented in an easy to read, digestible format. Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours wading through printed or online documentation attempting to locate the answer to the simplest of questions! This book offers very useful "Do I Know This Already Quizzes" at the beginning of each chapter. Each chapter also includes questions and answers for reinforcement--there is a CD with more practice questions, and Boson's NetSim LE network simulator software allowing you to practice for the simulator-based questions on the real exams! Most of the time, the author's words are clear and concise--the book's layout is comprehensive and flows from cover to cover.
Refreshingly, this book focuses not only on preparing you to pass the CCNA INTRO exam but really helps you to understand the technology involved! This book's author and technical reviewers have years of real world experience, and are probably more concerned with the reader's ability to understand the material more than anything else.
For the self-study candidate on a limited budget, who really wants to understand what's required to be a successful CCNA, this book offers a well readable format. When you want to prepare to pass the new CCNA INTRO exam, this book and practice questions are a must have. But never rely on a single source of information!
Rating:
Summary: Solid Cisco Skills
Review: This book is great. It is an excellent solid test prep guide.
A must for professionals wanting to learn about Cisco and Networking. I passed the exam with 905.
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