CCNA Self-Study : Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (ICND) 640-811, 640-801 (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!!
Review: After reading the Second Edition I can honestly say that it will prepare you for the ICND test. I think the first edition was written for a different test and even though the information is there you have to really dig to get to it(sorry Mr Odom). It is well illustrated and the IOS screens are very clear and easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: CCNA Self-Study: Interconnecting Cisco Devices (ICND)
Review: CCNA SELF-STUDY:
Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (ICND)
Second Edition ISBN 1587051427
By Steve McQuerry

Not to long ago I was given the opportunity to review the Cisco Press book
CCNA SELF_STUDY: Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (ICND)
2nd Edition (ISBN 1587051427) by Steve McQuerry. I was excited because I had just
been handed the extra opportunity of taking care of my companies Cisco Network.
Although I have been in data processing for some thirty two years, I had never had to
be this familiar with the Cisco Network. I considered myself a Cisco newbie, and need all the help I could get.

The book was separated into four sections.
1.Interconnecting LANs
2.Controlling Traffic Between LANs
3.Interconnecting WANs
4.Appendixes

The book is designed to be a self study guide for the CCNA 640-801and ICND 640-811
test. I consider it an excellent reference and study guide. The first chapter is the basic foundation of Internetworking concepts. It covers the OSI model, communication between the layers, encapsulation and de-encapsulation, and collision and broadcast domains. Although it covers the basics, it assumes you already have some experience with this information. It is more to the point than say the Cisco CCNA intro book (CCNA Self-Study CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide (ISBN 1587200945) by Wendell Odom). If you do have experience this book is what you are looking for. If you are new like me you may need a little extra help from the INTRO book, but don't pass this book up it is a great book to have as well.

The second and third chapters are great training for working with Cisco switches.
They cover from the basics of switching, to configuring, to Spanning Tree, to Vlan operation and configuration, with great examples and charts of commands.

The next section, (chapters 4, 5, and 6) covers Routing and how IP routes are determined with static routes or dynamically with one of the routing protocols. It covers what the protocols are such as RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF, and how to configure them. IP traffic management and access list are also covered.

The third section, (chapters 7, 8, and 9) covers Interconnecting WANs. These chapters
Start with a WAN overview and cover topics such as serial point to point connections, frame relay and ISDN BRI call.

All chapters have very good examples and charts. A summary and questions are at the end of each chapter. Most chapters have case studies for examples of real life situations.
I even liked the appendix section that cover such topics as, password recovery, recovering a lost switch image using Xmodem, configuring the Catalyst 1900 switch, and of course answers to the chapter questions, and case study review.

If you need to study for the CCNA test I think you will be pleased with this book and its clear explanation of the subject. Mr. McQuerry you have done and excellent job. I can tell you that this book has been a great help to me at my job, and that it will be kept as a reference for some time to come.

I found this book to be a great help to me and highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A decent tool for the exam.
Review: Cisco has broken down the CCNA exam in to 2 separate exams and the 640-811 is the ICND exam. What this book offers you is a decent chance of passing the exam and with other books in the Self Study Series you should do fine.

The book does a good of breaking down the objectives and I like the section quizzes, although you could add more questions. The section for configuring switches is also excellent as well as the section on VLAN setup and configuration. What is missing is some sort of simulator to allow you to practice and I think this should be added in any future editions.

I found the book detailed and technically accurate with the material that is presented. One thing I have always found with Cisco Press is that the wording in some section is little above the intro level that is associated with CCNA. The author has done a fairly good job of making sure each exam objective is covered, in fact this book can be used for the 640-801 CCNA exam as well.

Along with the missing simulator there is no practice exam software either, and with those two things added this book would be a great go resource to have. Overall a few fixes and additions and you should be ready to rock.

Rating:
Summary: Covers what you need to pass...
Review: Great book for exam preparation.
The only drawback I found was in the VLAN Chapter.
The vlan configuration does not correspond to a 2950 switch.
The configuration will work on a 3500 switch, but the exam will
test your knowledge of a 2950.
Also there is no errata at ciscopress.com