Customer Reviews

CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (Exam #640-801), 2nd edition

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Very Good Book. If you didn't know already the CCNA exam is no Joke. You really have to know the concepts and you really need a good book to prepare for it. Cisco is not giving the CCNA Certificate away anymore. They really want you to learn and earn it. I purchase this because I felt the sybex CCNA didn't cover the exam in full detail (Especially the NAT section). This Book is Well Written. The Price wasn't that bad either since it came with 2 Books (Intro&ICND) and a 30min Video CD. You won't be disappointed. A+

To prepare for the CCNA Exam, or to simply become better educated about Cisco routing and switching, nothing beats a Cisco Press book. This product is actually a two book set, allowing you to study for either the condensed exam or the two exam track. The books are logically laid out, with study helps and sample exam questions. You also receive the CD-ROM with sample exams to help you practice for the actual test, and even a router/switch command simulator so you can practice the CLI even if you don't have access to an actual device.

If you study these books faithfully, there's no way you'll fail the exam. They beat the Exam Prep and Exam Cram series hands down, and you get a super rate on the package. You don't need anything else to study for the exam.

If you want to take and pass the CCNA exam on the first try, this is the ticket.

One of the most cost effective and comprehensive resources to study for the CCNA 640-801, ICND 640-811 and the INTRO 640-821 exams! The CCNA Official Exam Certification Library, 2nd Edition, ISBN: 1-58720-169-0, by Wendell Odom is published by Cisco Press.

The two book set, is one of the most comprehensive CCNA resources to date. Currently, Cisco offers the CCNA candidate with two exam formats in preparing for their CCNA certification. These are the INTRO 640-821 and the ICND 640-811 exam or the one exam format: CCNA 640-801. The CCNA Exam Certification library is packaged in a two book set. The exam candidate can study for the CCNA INTRO (640-821) Exam and receive a firm understanding of Network Fundamentals, Operating Cisco Devices, LAN Switching, TCP/IP, and Wide-Area Networking and then take the INTRO 640-821 exam.

Also, if they have hands-on working experience with the Cisco switches and routers they can utilize the CCNA Self-Study CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide to study for the one-exam format: CCNA 640-801 exam or the second exam of the two test format: ICND: 640-811. This book is a more in depth resource that focuses on LAN Switching, Spanning Tree Protocol, Virtual LANS and Trunking, TCP/IP, RIP, IGRP, and Static Route Concepts and Configuration, OSPF and EIGRP Concepts and Configuration, Advanced Routing Protocol and TCIP/IP topics, Wide-Area Networks, ISDN and Dial-on-Demand Routing, Frame Relay and Network Security.

The two certification guides overlap in their content, but it will be clear to the reader that the CCNA ICND book goes in-depth in the topics listed above. I would suggest to begin with the CCNA INTRO guide and when the topics overlap in the two books I would switch to the CCNA ICND guide only after the candidate has a clear understanding of the particular content (i.e., LAN Switching). By performing this technique will ensure that you have fully understood material and will be well prepared for the exam (s).

There is a companion CD-ROM that accompanies the book set that contains more than 400 practice questions for the ICND, INTRO, and CCNA exams, including simulation-based questions. The CD also contains flash card questions, hands-on exercises and a light edition of the NetSim LE network simulation software. The full version of the Network Sim software is: ISBN: 1587201313. The certification library book set also comes with the CCNA Video Mentor Library Edition. The CD contains 3 select video labs from the full version of the CCNA Video Mentor; ISBN 1-58720-168-2, by Wendell Odom.

Updates to the CCNA Self-Study CCNA INTRO Exam Certification Guide can be found at: www.ciscopress.com/1587200945, as well as, for the CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide can be found at: www.ciscopress.com/158720083X.

According to the Cisco training website, [...] the last date to take the CCNA 640-801, ICND 640-811 and the INTRO 640-821 exams is on November 6, 2007. The CCNA candidate would be extremely prepared utilizing this resource! I give these materials 4 out of 5 stars.

These books are an excellent guide, and covered everything I saw in the exam, in great detail. I'm talking about the foundation topics as a whole.
The foundation summaries in each chapter, and the open questions are definitely NOT enough for a final review. The CCNA exam will ask you about VERY specific details such as administrative distances of each routing protocols, how each one calculates its metrics, dialer commands, syntax of various show and debug commands and how to interpeter them, etc.; things that definitely can't be learned (and remembered) by just reading the books. Just do as the book says, answer ALL the questions in the CD. I would also recommend the Testking exam practice, since their questions are generally harder, and I saw a lot of questions in the exam that were identical to some of TestKing's. In short, don't rely on the books alone, don't ignore the CDs, practice with some other exam simulation until you pass easily on every try. Then be confident when presenting the real exam.
Finally, these books are great as references. The CDs come with even more references (PDFs) for each topic in greater detail. You'll want to keep close these excellent books after you pass the exam.

Both of these books are structured very well and everything is explained clearly in a easy-to-follow manner. My only caveat is that newbies to routers (like me) may have difficulty passing the exam (the single 640-801 one) with just these texts. The CD-ROM test engine is excellent, and resembles the actual test. I also used Transcender software (a good tool for review and like the test itself), tests from TestKing (much easier than the tests), an Exam Cram book (not like the actual exam at all), another test package, and 2 different computer-based video training packages. That said, I barely passed the exam, even though I feel that I understand the concepts and details pretty well. I could quickly subnet in my head and many questions I could answer in five seconds. But some of the questions were extremely tricky. And it took me 10 minutes to get the router simulation to work properly -- it didn't work as smoothly and easily as it did in the tutorial before the exam. It's not an easy test, by any means. I spent over 10 minutes doing the simulation when I should have had it done in 2.
I may not have done as well as I thought I would because I was afraid I would run out of time, but I ended up with over 20 minutes to spare. However, you can't go back and change your answers, which is a shame for how I test, because I like to put my gut reaction first and think it over later after my mind is refreshed. You definitely have to move through the test quickly.
These books and the CD-ROM included with it were the main reasons I passed. You can't be too prepared for this one. Good luck!

If you read these books cover to cover and do the labs in the appendicies, they are a great resource towards your CCNA certification. I do however, recommend that you also suppliment your study materials with hardware,if available, and some additional pracice questions and tests.

The tests in the back of the book are nothing compared to the actual cert. And the netsim, what a joke. Not even worth loading onto your computer. I suggest another program to work on.

For your certs, I recommend you have a strong understanding of switching(STP, VTP, VLAN's, etc.), ACL's, and be able to subnet in your head. No ISDN on the test for me.

Good Luck

I am studying for the CCNA exam. Per my CCNA instructor, it is going to take a lot more than studying these books to pass the exam. Real life experience of course comes first but extra studying and a firm understanding of IP subnetting is what is going to get you through the exam.



The instructor we had was quite excellent and very involved in the industry and has seen a lot of people take this exam. He has yet to meet one who passed by reading this material exclusively. He had suggested the best use of these books was to use them to prop the door open.



I would actually disagree on the last point. I haven't read these cover to cover (and I likely won't) but I have referenced them quite often while studying and they have helped me to understand many topics more clearly.



Besides, my old Macintosh props my door open for me.



But I do believe that these books are keepers, both before and after the test. My biggest gripe is that I am having problems installing the NetSim LE and I've heard the same experience from other students. So, I hope you don't pick up this item just for the network simulator.

Few technical books can say that they are both a good reference and fun to read; the CCNA Official Exam Certification Library can say just that.

I highly recommend these books for anyone wanting to take the CCNA exam, or just want to have a great reference material. These books belong in any technical library.

This is a very complete support to prepare for CCNA Certification Exam. It is very easy to understand and it have many useful hands-on exercices.

These books are now obsolete. As of 11/6/2007, Cisco has retired exams 640-801, 640-811 and 640-821. Buy the newest version of this tome instead.