CCNA Routing and Switching 200-120 Official Cert Guide Library & CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-101 Official Cert Guide

After being certified several years ago and letting it lapse (bad idea, kids) I needed to re-start my certification track. Cisco has introduced the concept of technology trains into their certifications so all 3 levels - CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE - all now have technology specialization tracks. The CCNA Routing & Switching material here provides the training necessary to pass both of the "pre-cert" tests (which will wind up granting you the CCENT cert along the way, if you go that route) or to pass the 1 "combined" test that gets you straight to the CCNA R&S. These books are very well written with explanations about how the technology got to the point where it is today, lots of tips and techniques, and a full treatment of everything you would need to know to pass the exam. A study strategy of how to use the 2 books together to study in a coherent manner for the test is provided and I do recommend you follow it. I use these skills for my job and I held certifications previously, so this was more a matter of studying up on current approaches and reminding myself of technologies that I don't use daily than anything else, so I managed to get through all of this in about 4 days of serious study. That said, I think anyone with some basic understanding of the concepts of networking should be able to use this material to pass the certification test in 2-3 weeks if you put in the time to read it all. Cisco Press has released some serious dogs in their day but this set is definitely not one of those. It's worth the money and the time and I think you'll be well pleased.

Perfect self-study guide for the CCENT/CCNA! NOTE: You'll need to download the errata and updates from the Cisco Press website. Included software is not the best for practice exams. This is a perfect tool to add to your toolbox if you're going for the Cisco CCENT or CCNA. However, you'll probably need to supplement these books with additional study material. The books are very detailed and give a great explanation of the topics in the Cisco exams. You'll benefit from adding some additional training to supplement these books. I would suggest either a home lab with real equipment or a network simulator, this way you can fully experience IOS commands and configuration. I'd also suggest a video training course, such as CBT Nuggets. Be sure to go to the Cisco Press website and download the errata and updates for the books (mostly the ICND-2 book has many updates since being published.) This way you'll be getting the latest information and training. Specifically, the ICND-2 book is lacking in subjects such as Rapid Spanning Tree, First Hop Redundancy Protocols, and OSPF/EIGRP. The free download of the updated content from Cisco Press has these topics covered in more detail. Also the errata will help with the few minor typo's the books have. So be sure to download them!!! The included software leaves a lot to be desired. While it is handy having all of the book practice questions available on the computer, along with the chapter review quizzes, the included Practice Exams are not the greatest. I will say this, the practice exam and part-review quizzes are MUCH more difficult than the actual exam. Wendell Odom went out of his way to make the practice questions as literal as possible, so beware of several trick questions that you'll get wrong because you didn't pay attention to exactly how the answers are worded. This can be discouraging because you'll score low on the practice questions even though you think you know the content, in actuality it's a good thing. Once you can pass the practice questions with passing scores you should really know the content and be prepared for the real exam. I passed the CCENT exam using these books along with CBT Nuggets videos and equipment in my home lab. I'm almost ready to take the CCNA exam and feel confident that I'll do well. I decided to review these books now that I've read through both of them a few times and have already taken one exam. Just remember, unless you already have experience with Cisco IOS and networking, you'll probably want to supplement your training with study materials other than these books. It's doubtful that just reading these books alone will fully prepare you for the exams. Good luck!

This book is nicely focused around what you will need to know about LAN and WAN technologies, and Cisco routing and switching in order to pass the CCNA cert exams. Most of the book is very well written and easy to understand. If you come to this with a background in networking, the materials will be familiar. My issue with this book, and the exam is how much it relies on antiquated technologies and concepts that have not been used in years. One example is Cisco's insistence in including Frame Relay networking. This technology has been dead for several years and you will most probably never run across it in a production network. The reasoning Cisco uses for keeping this material is that it enforces several standard concepts of WAN networking. I can see the difficulty moving to a common technology such as MPLS would bring, mostly that you would have a very hard time finding lab IOS to practice on. Cisco could get around this by including MPLS in the lab simulator. They don't have to make every CCNA candidate an SP expert on MPLS, but having CCNA's with no knowledge of the most common WAN technology is bad for CCNAs and bad for Cisco. Continuing to include Frame Relay is embarrassing. Several places in the book the author says something to the effect of "This is a dead subject but you need to know it for the test, or for history's sake". Cisco needs to get past this stuff. Overall the books are very high quality and if you want to be a CCNA, this is the way to go. Note that the Kindle version does not include the materials on the CDs that accompany the hardbacks.

When you buy this library instead of each boot separately you get one book for free. I would highly recommend spending the money for the premium content. You well find the code you need to do this (purchase premium content) on the card inside the DVD sleeve in the back of the book. Do not skip the "contents" "introduction" and " Getting started" Mr. Odom uses these section to explain how to use both books and the premium content to study for the CCNA. Mr. Odom even provides a suggested Study Plan in appendix P. The Library (witch is both books) provides the purchaser with a way to prepare for the 2 test track or the 1 test track, Pearson IT Certification Practice Test Engine (Windows Only), Network Simulator Lite (Windows and MAC), Video Library, and the appendixes have more information on how to subnet and other areas of the CCNA. But, if you purchase the premium content you well receive Premium edition of the book in PDF, EPUB, Kindle format, Enhanced Practice Test Engine, two additional ICND1 practice test, and two additional full CCNA practice test and you get all this the premium content at a 70% discount off the list price of $39.99. I can honestly say that Wendell Odom and his team have out done themselves with this package deal, O one other thing you can also go to Wendell Odom website and access his blog and other features that accompany this truly great CCNA Certification package.

I have been delivering Cisco training classes since 1996. I have seen many versions of this material. I believe this is the BEST handling of the ICND1/ICND2/CCNA self-study materials to date. And let me address some of the criticism I read in reviews before I bought my Kindle version. I saw complaints that "all the material was not available". IT IS! Some of it takes a little searching. And some of it DOES need to be downloaded. But the URL is provided. Now as t the new features, I think the organization is great. The new "Mind Maps" do a terrific job of gathering related terms, concepts or commands in ONE PLACE. Odom provides a great flow chart and a check-list to follow in preparing for the exam or exams. On the subject of exams let me say they are challenging. And I believe more challenging than the practice tests provided in the library. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security because you find the "Do I Know This" pre-tests easy. Even the review questions are not as difficult as the actual exams, in my opinion. But I would unhesitatingly recommend the current CCNA Routing and Switching Library to anyone seeking certification.

Excellent material for the CCNA composite test, by reading both of these books any individual with little to no knowledge of routing and switching will be able to competently pass their Cisco exam. Odom is a fantastic technical writer and presents the information is a fashion that is easily understandable and really applicable to technicians both new and seasoned. The software that comes with this book also helps prepare those who are not familiar with the testing style of this exam and gives a good benchmark for knowledge in the routing and switching field. Additionally the book helps you chart a course for taking either the ICND1 & ICND2 to get your CCNA or the composite exam resulting in the same certification. Bottom line, great book with a fair price that will prepare you for exam day.

These CCNA Routing and Switching books were great supplements to my schooling program. I initially went to a community college for CCNA study courses, which provided necessary hands-on training and instructor lectures; then when I finished schooling I read both Wendell Odom books before I took the CCNA R&S exams, passing on the first attempt. I will say that if you are hoping to learn everything you need to know for passing the CCNA exam, let alone getting a job, just from reading these books, you will be wrong in thinking that. Passing the exams will require a complete and thorough understanding of the subjects, meaning you should have not just reading material, but lab time and an industry veteran instructor who can share advice and tips that you won't get from a book. These books are fantastic though and should be part of your study plan.

Wendell Odom's products are the go-to products for Cisco certification. I am a CCNP certified network professional, and I have been using Wendell's products since the early 2000's. He explains the core concepts of networking in humorous ways that the average Joe can understand. Networking can be somewhat difficult to grapse in many of it's concept, but Wendell has had many years of experience as a Cisco writer, so much so that he received plenty of feedback on what does and does not work. In summary, this book is very good. Wendell knows his stuff. As networking in general is a dry topic to slog through, especially for certification purposes just put your nose to the grindstone and commit to 20-30 pages per night, no matter how long that takes, and you'll do fine as far as IT certification is concerned. Good luck to all seeking to improve their IT skills.

Very handy. It focuses on the exam and has great practice questions at the end of each chapter.

El producto me llego en excelentes condiciones, cada libro con su respectivo DVD, me llego un dia antes de la fecha indicada , muy recomendable para todos los que quieren sacar su certificación, excelente producto!!

So far read 20% of this book and it appears very well written; easy to follow and not too complex. As I had purchased the ebook you need to register on the Cisco press website to access the free video tutorials and network simulation examples.

Ce bouquin est une perle ! Je n'ai pas encore passé l'examen, je suis à peine au bout du premier des deux livres... Mais je dois dire que c'est un super bon ouvrage !!! C'est un anglais technique mais abordable. les explications sont claires, quelques analogies avec le monde de tous les jours sont bien placées,... Bref, les infos y sont bien exposées. Mais la ou ce livre m'a VRAIMENT surpris (et en bien), c'est dans sa structure... Je ne vais pas expliquer précisément car ça n'aurait pas beaucoup d'intérêt d'avoir le détail, mais en gros, tout est structuré pour accompagner le lecteur dans l'étude. Le bouquin est organisé pour avoir une premiere lecture, une étape de résumé, une deuxième lecture des points clef, de nouveau résumé, questions avant et après chaque chapitre,... révision tous les X chapitres. Bref, suivez pas à pas les étapes proposées dans le bouquin, vous retiendrez vraiment la plupart des infos ! Pour quelqu'un comme moi qui suis vraiment désordonné dans l'étude c'est du pain béni !

Non posso fare una recensione del prodotto come testo ufficiale per la certificazione perchè passerà qualche mese prima di studiarmi tutto e certificarmi. Darò quindi le mie impressioni sul prodotto dal punto di vista estetico e alcune impressioni sui contenuti. Premesso che un articolo di questo tipo lo prende non un qualunque lettore ma un tecnico, che voglia certificarsi o che voglia aggiungere un tassello importante alla propria libreria, è doveroso dire che gli obbiettivi sono raggiunti entrambi. Il pacchetto contiene due tomi da 800 e 600 pagine circa, il primo relativo alla certificazione CCENT / CCNA ICND1 100-101 e il secondo alla certificazione CCNA ICND2 200-101. Entrambi sono brossurati e riportano un formato tutto sommato gestibilissimo, quasi tascabile. I libri, belli a vedersi sono accompagnati da un contenitore rigido che li contiene entrambi; su scelta personale metterli in libreria divisi o dentro questo raccoglitore. I contenuti sono tantissimi, organizzati bene e comprensivi di quiz di fine livello e cd con guida (che ancora non ho guardato) rapporto qualità / prezzo "estremamente" verticale in positivo, così come spero gli argomenti trattai in previsione di certificarsi.