Rating: 
Summary: terrific book, with lots of detail
Review: This is a well-written book by an author who is obviously an expert in his field. It covers much more than you need to know for CCNA, but that's OK. It will help you prepare for the more advanced tests also. I used it as the textbook for a class that I taught and was very pleased with its quality, accuracy, and detail. The Foundation Summaries at the end of each chapter were especially helpful for the students. There are a few minor errors, mostly caused by formatting. (For example, in the LAN Headers diagrams, the Control field is not shown to be part of LLC.) There's a serious error with regards to FTP behavior on page 295.
I like the computer names (Faith, Love, Charity, etc.) ;-)
Rating: 
Summary: great book, cd is trash
Review: this review won't matter anyway since cisco retired this exam, but i think the problem with this publication may be symptomatic with other similar titles. the book itself is great. the cd however has a lot of problems with it. i am refering to the test engine. the answers are wrong, the simulations crash a regular pc, and unless you take it with a huge grain of salt, the test with wrong answers seriously makes you doubt your knowledge and shakes your self-confidence. proceed with caution!
Rating: 
Summary: Solid information, good representation of topics on test
Review: This text summarized with just the right amount of detail the entire breadth of knowledge required for to pass the CCNA exam. While a book like this is no substitute for hands on experience. It helped fill in my knowledge in areas I had not worked with for a while, to the level that with just 5 full days of intent study using only this book, I was able to pass the CCNA with a 949 on the first try. While a fair amount of technical errors, specifically on the CD based practice test questions keep this title from 5 stars. I would recommend this as a core component to any strategy for passing the CCNA.Good Luck.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for all the network engineers
Review: Though I am a ccnp now,but I often review wendell's ccna certification guide.The content in this book is very detailed and complete,and the explanation is so clear.When you finish reading this book and understand the content in it,you are a good network engineer who have real network knowledge and not a paper ccna. Wendell Odom, a real network master,thank you very much,this is one of my most favorite and important books.
And I have a question to ask Mr.Odom,when will you publish your book about ccie,you will do it,right? I'll be looking for your new book!
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written.
Review: Typo's and spelling errors abound. Examples are poorly outlined and often terms used are left undefined. The book even lacks a glossary to look them up. An instructional / Study aides should be written in a clear easy to follow fashion. This is not. "Mastering Cisco Routers" by Brenton Hamilton Kessler is Far better.
Rating:
Summary: VERY GOOD, BUT.....
Review: Wendel l Odom's book is excellent in that it gives you a lot more information than you need to pass the CCNA exam. However it is let down horribly by the extremely poor quality of the test CD. Many of the answers he gives are wrong, and there are even questions that don't make sense. Other than this, I would have given it 5 stars. Considering that the book has been out for a few months and several reviewers have obviously complained, I am surprised that the author hasn't responded to the feedback by publishing a revised edition. The simulation questions (introduced in 640-607) on the CD are particularly good. In short an excellent book which will serve you well even after the CCNA exam, but with the big gotcha of a terrible CD.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Preparation Book for 640-607
Review: Wendell Odom has, yet again, created an excellent study guide for the latest CCNA exam. I teach Cisco courses at a large, Chicago based training center. Since we are not a Cisco authorized training center, we do not have access to the Cisco course materials. I use this book since it is as close as you are going to get to the Cisco course material. No one is going to write a book that compliments the exam material as closely as Cisco Press. As an instructor, I appreciate the depth in which the material is covered. This book does not cover exactly what is required for the exam. It covers significantly more. Given the competitive nature of the industry today, enough is not enough. You can't enter this industry and be average if you want to succeed. In the past, I have used the Sybex material for our training courses. Regularly, I had students that learned enough from the book to have questions the book didn't answer. The one complaint I have about this book is the speed in which the material gets deep. There is little ramp up time for a newbie to the material. If you are brand new to the IT industry and Cisco, you may want to start with a more watered down book, such as the Sybex 607 book and graduate to this book for additional detail. This book has an excellent assortment of charts, graphs and pictures for the visual learner. Read, see and do are all required parts of the learning process. I find I learn best when I read about a concept, refer to a diagram to solidify the detail, and then, if possible, do it. Lastly, the CD that comes with the book is excellent. In the past, Cisco's CCNA CDs have been mediocre at best. The new CD has the complete book in PDF format and a separate "topic focused" study guide for the last step of exam preparation. The practice exams on the CD are as close as you will come to the real thing (without paying). If you want to learn about Cisco, understand their products and get your CCNA certification. Stop here. You have found your book.
Rating: 
Summary: Can we say - RUSHED TO PRESS!
Review: When I started studing for the Cisco CCNA exam. I started with the older 640-507 book, and then purchased this book to make sure I had the latest info. I have to give kudos to the author who makes everything easy to understand - but you can easily tell this book was rushed. The testing software is useless. And the book has MANY inconsistancies. I took and passed the CCNA test today. I was totaly unable to use this book for my last minute studying and resorted to the old 640-507 book. In short this author is awesome so DEFINITELY get this book but! WAIT FOR THE FIXED REVISION!
Rating:
Summary: Great Sudy Tool
Review: With this book and my knowledge of cisco through their networking acadamy it helped me solidify my knowledge. With this book I passed the CCNA exam, and it was my only study guide. Also, I passed the exam the first time, with a 930. I recomend this book for all the people who are goning to take the CCNA exam. Clarence H. Cannon IV
CCNA
Rating:
Summary: Errors and Inconsistancies
Review: You would think that going to the source for exam preparation materials would be the best possible scenario. While this book has a wealth of information, there are numerous errors and inconsistancies which make this a very difficult tool to use. The included CD which features pactice tests and study guides has numerous flaws, typos, and downright bugs.
The topics covered are accurate for exam preparation, but the Q&A portions feature questions relating to the section with subject matter that wasn't covered.
If you want to be frustrated with a poor structure - this is definitely the manual for you. This would make a good reference source, but it's a poor preparation study guide - you can do much, much better.
|
