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

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!

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.

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.