Rating: 
Summary: Great book/tough reading
Review: Great book but tough reading!! I read this book along with the Lammle study guide. I found that this book was a lot more inclusive of the material in the exam. DCN goes deeper into topics than the Lammle study guide and is a definite pick up if you want to safely pass the exam. It took me 4 weeks to read and prepare but that included a lot of hours during the week as well as weekends. I scored a 903/1000 on the exam. I recommend that everyone who takes this exam to take the time to thoroughly know the material and do not try to learn just enough to pass the exam...chances are you will fail trying.
Rating:
Summary: Great book/tough reading
Review: Great book but tough reading!! I read this book along with the Lammle study guide. I found that this book was a lot more inclusive of the material in the exam. DCN goes deeper into topics than the Lammle study guide and is a definite pick up if you want to safely pass the exam. It took me 4 weeks to read and prepare but that included a lot of hours during the week as well as weekends. I scored a 903/1000 on the exam. I recommend that everyone who takes this exam to take the time to thoroughly know the material and do not try to learn just enough to pass the exam...chances are you will fail trying.
Rating: 
Summary: Save Training Money Yet Pass and Get CCDA
Review: I have earned my CCDA, my success story consist of two part : 1) DCN ( this book ) 2) Exam Prep ( another fine print by ciscopress )You don't have to go on traning but use this DCN complete book to learn all it takes to understand in designing a cisco network. this book substitue the training. Then you'll need the exam prep for study cases. Good Luck ( I scored 802 just in 1 hour, while normal ppl do in more than 90 mins )
Rating:
Summary: It Works!
Review: I have read thousands of pages of technical literature spanning everything from college-level theoretical operating systems and artifical intelligence tomes to 'DOS (and more DOS) for Dummies' pulp 'non'-fiction. As a result, I have grown tired of manuals, white papers, TIDs, etc. that either present material in a manner that does not represent well the subjects they are hoping to illuminate on or presents them in a manner that does not excite the intellect and foster a desire to continue study. Prior to purchasing DCN I was hopeful that I might be among the CCDA numbers, however, since then I am not sure that Cisco design is right for me. Maybe I am too much of a technical 'dog' trying to muddle through new design tricks. As for my opinions on this book, I have found that there are areas of interest such as the provisioning sections (chapters 6,7,9 & 10) with good technical information presented although I am saddened that I had to struggle through the first 5 chapters to get there! Ironically, the first 5 present relevant information regarding the design of Cisco networks such as topologies, defining customer requirements, characterizing an existing network and so on. These chapters are perhaps vital to the subject matter, however, my attention was not held too long before the proverbial 'sandman' visited and conquered! Do not recieve the wrong impression, I love the design and implementation of new and/or improved networks. In fact, I have designed and implemented successful networks in the recent past and am currently working on a project that will connect remote offices in Hawaii to a corporate WAN based in Dallas, TX using ADSL technology! (No Cisco technology will be involved, unless the ISP is using it) Therefore, my opinion of this work is mixed. I am not convinced after reading this book that the Cisco way of network design is necessarily the best or that the CCDA/P track is suitable for me. But, then again, maybe the problem is just me. Overall, I found the book to be very well written from a grammatical/composition point of view (Good job, Cisco Systems Inc./Ms. Teare!), however, I am not as hopeful about a career in Cisco network design if that means that in order to do so I must read literature whose design sections are as dry as Arizona weather at the mid-point of the summer season! As a network engineering professional, I simply do not have the time for such stuff. I've got work to do and a family to spend quality time with! Respectfully, Raul De La Garza III
Rating: 
Summary: Either I am too old or this stuff is just plain boring!
Review: I have read thousands of pages of technical literature spanning everything from college-level theoretical operating systems and artifical intelligence tomes to 'DOS (and more DOS) for Dummies' pulp 'non'-fiction. As a result, I have grown tired of manuals, white papers, TIDs, etc. that either present material in a manner that does not represent well the subjects they are hoping to illuminate on or presents them in a manner that does not excite the intellect and foster a desire to continue study. Prior to purchasing DCN I was hopeful that I might be among the CCDA numbers, however, since then I am not sure that Cisco design is right for me. Maybe I am too much of a technical 'dog' trying to muddle through new design tricks. As for my opinions on this book, I have found that there are areas of interest such as the provisioning sections (chapters 6,7,9 & 10) with good technical information presented although I am saddened that I had to struggle through the first 5 chapters to get there! Ironically, the first 5 present relevant information regarding the design of Cisco networks such as topologies, defining customer requirements, characterizing an existing network and so on. These chapters are perhaps vital to the subject matter, however, my attention was not held too long before the proverbial 'sandman' visited and conquered! Do not recieve the wrong impression, I love the design and implementation of new and/or improved networks. In fact, I have designed and implemented successful networks in the recent past and am currently working on a project that will connect remote offices in Hawaii to a corporate WAN based in Dallas, TX using ADSL technology! (No Cisco technology will be involved, unless the ISP is using it) Therefore, my opinion of this work is mixed. I am not convinced after reading this book that the Cisco way of network design is necessarily the best or that the CCDA/P track is suitable for me. But, then again, maybe the problem is just me. Overall, I found the book to be very well written from a grammatical/composition point of view (Good job, Cisco Systems Inc./Ms. Teare!), however, I am not as hopeful about a career in Cisco network design if that means that in order to do so I must read literature whose design sections are as dry as Arizona weather at the mid-point of the summer season! As a network engineering professional, I simply do not have the time for such stuff. I've got work to do and a family to spend quality time with! Respectfully, Raul De La Garza III
Rating:
Summary: This book is excellent.
Review: I passed the CCDA exam recently by using this book for my preparation. This book has everything needed for the exam. It includes all topics, case studies, and a sample exam. Although it has too much details in some chapters, it is useful for you to understand the material better. The CCDA exam is rather hard. It consists of 4 - 5 case studies, topics about designing Cisco networks and internetworking technology. There are 72 questions within 2.5 hours. The lowest score to pass the exam is 755/1,000. Think carefully before answering the question because it cannot be altered again after that.
Rating:
Summary: Great for understanding network design & CCDA cert
Review: I read this book at least couple of times before appearing for the CCDA test. This book is all you need for the CCDA test. It gives you good understanding of network design basics and covers the test objectives completely. Highly recommened!! I am still looking for the Cisco DCN CD-ROM - Cisco just has a Japanese edition on their web site!! :-(
Rating:
Summary: It Works!
Review: I read this book in a week and passed the CCDA test. I'm not saying it was easy mind you. But it's definitely doable!
Rating:
Summary: Good Resource for CCDA
Review: I recently took the CCDA exam, and passed with the help of this book as well as Todd Lammle's CCDA book. I would recommend that anyone planning to take this exam have at least two resources, unless you have previous Cisco experience. Through my experience, I feel that one book doesn't seem to cover all the required material. If you really hate reading about this stuff, like I do, I would suggest reading this book and getting a lot of hands on experience! The Cisco book seems to be more reader-friendly and doesn't lose you in all the technical jargon like the Lammle book does!
Rating:
Summary: Good Resource for CCDA
Review: I recently took the CCDA exam, and passed with the help of this book as well as Todd Lammle's CCDA book. I would recommend that anyone planning to take this exam have at least two resources, unless you have previous Cisco experience. Through my experience, I feel that one book doesn't seem to cover all the required material. If you really hate reading about this stuff, like I do, I would suggest reading this book and getting a lot of hands on experience! The Cisco book seems to be more reader-friendly and doesn't lose you in all the technical jargon like the Lammle book does!
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