Customer Reviews

CCNA For Dummies

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Words of caution. Test #640-507 was released in Aug of 2000. This book came out in April of 2000. I found out "AFTER " I read the book, took the test, didn't pass, and searched for new study material. The book cover says that it is for test 640-507 but it misses the mark. I found the book to be generally useful. Lots of good info. Everything was explained clearly. Good book to have on your desk. For test preperation, look for a newer book.

First of all, I would tell anyone studying for their CCNA exams to read this book first. Most of the other books on the subject are written by nerds for nerds. This book (as is true of most of the "for Dummies" series) demystifies a lot of the technology by describing it in clear language. But don't use it as your only study guide. It is NOT the only reference you're going to need to pass the exam. I also used Wendell Odom's books (published by Cisco Press). I recommend them for content but I found some of the explanations a little difficult and had to reread passages several times to get what he was saying. Also, the CCNA flash cards book (also published by Cisco Press) is a good resource. I used CCNA for Dummies, Wendell Odom's CCNA Intro and CCNA ICND, and the flash cards books to study for a recertification and did very well. If you are studying for a first time certification, I would add one more source (publsihed by Sybex or McGraw Hill--take your pick) because each author is going to emphasize different things and this is the only way to get the big picture. Regarding the quality of the practice testing software supplied with CCNA for Dummies, I ran into this with Boson (who supplied the practice tests for CCNA for Dummies and the practice tests and NetSim software to Cisco Press)--yes, some of the practice questions do have wrong answers. The QC, though, is the responsibility of the authors of the tests, not IDG, Cisco Press or Boson. The tests are buggy but the publisher is standing between you and the author. You'll beat up the publisher for selling you an inferior product but the actual responsibility lies with the author of the practice test. The only thing you can do here is know your subject so well that you know when the answers to the practice tests are wrong. As far as the practice simulators are concerned, go to Cisco's website to see what the test simulator is REALLY like. So, the bottom line on CCNA for Dummies is that this should definitely be in your arsenal but should not be the only book you use to study for the test(s). You're definitely going to need several books to do well on the exam.

I am a big fan of the "Dummies" series, as I couldn't have passed my half dozen MCSE tests without their help. I was able to get some information from it, but if I had made it my primary study guide, I don't think I could have bested 55-60% on the exam. I have noticed that everyone else that reviewed this book took the 640-407 exam. This book is supposed to be for the new 507, which is the one I took. This book falls far short in covering the switching and Wan protocols on the new exam. Also, the outpost game on the CD does not function properly. I know two other people that purchase it, and none of us was able to load it. This book will help as a companion, but it should be only a minor player in your study efforts.

Bottom line: Don't think you will pass the test with this book. If you only want to buy one book, look elsewhere.

If you know very little about the CCNA subject matter and need a solid easy-reading introduction, the Dummies book is great. It is just not enough on it's own to actually pass the test.

The book is well edited, and you can trust the information it does present (that is a serious issue with other books). It just doesn't have enough detail, and starts to trail off towards the end. The last few chapters especially seemed as though they were hacked up in order to save space. In all, it a good reference with strength in areas where other books are lacking. However, alone, it isn't enough.

The book is awesomely written by the authors, however it falls short of doing a good job. It's extreamly poorly edited. The question sections at the end of the chapters contain errors in the answers and even some of the questions! Also lab 13-1 is almost entirly wrong. All of chapter 15 is nothing but very poorly typed, highlighted router commands. Whoever was editing stopped after chapter 11, completely! Good book for someone who's already knowledgable about networking but if your new to it and think you could get certified don't look to this book as the best source. My advice is wait for a second printing of this book, hopefully they'll fix those errors. Overall good in knowledge. Worth the money for sure but you'll be confused by all of the errors if you don't have some knowledge already.

This was the first book I read in preparing for the CCNA exam and also used it to cram before the test. This book helped give me an overview and get familier with the terminology before going on to study with Todd Lammle's CCNA Study Guide. The CCNA for Dummies is a great reference and was a good cram book for the week before the test.

As with all the 'For Dummies' books, this book is an excellent place to start. It's fast to read, and by the time you finish you will have a good overall view of the subject. In this case that particularly includes the vocabulary. In fact knowing the jargon, as per Cisco is about half the battle in passing the test.

The other half of the battle is knowing how all this stuff hangs together. I'd suggest that you read this one go through the test on the CD-ROM, and then study one of the harder books -- my own suggestion is the 'official' guide from Cisco.

The reason for doing it this way is that I find the Cisco books a bit more difficult to use when trying to get an overview of the subject. They get down into the details too quickly and I get lost too quickly. Read 'For Dummies' to get the overview, then the other.

This is a good study guide, it quickly glances over the topics and gives you tons of highlights, buzzwords, charts and tables. I would not use this as a primary source as the Sybex book is much better in terms of depth, but if your just brushing up or need another poit of view I would recommend this book. Also the tests are helpful from the CD because you can customize it. T My only one complaint on this book is the part on ip addressing and subnetting, it was a little difficult and the wording made it tricky to figure out. This was a pretty hard topic to figure out and this book did not make it much easier, but overall a good book and a good aid, not a main source of info though. Jerry.

Make sure you have the new edition of this book that covers Exams #640-801/811/821. As a starter book for CCNA it breaks you in with an very good overall picture and its a quick good final read also. Cisco Press or Sybex have "the meat" in much longer and involved texts which you will need unless you are doing a course. Dummies books are never to be underestimated. Recommended.

Passed CCNA exam first time (897/1000) with a lot of help from this book. The first few chapters on OSI model and subnetting were very useful. But the best part was the test exams on CD. From the self-assessment, I found out what areas I was weak on. More information is needed for switches, WANs and access lists.