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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great supplement to self study books, December 11, 2006
This review is from: CCNA Video Mentor: book number 1624 (Paperback)
I have never been a big fan of the video instruction products out there, advertised to help us study for professional certifications. Most of the ones I've seen consisted of bad graphics, with someone reading - in a boring monotone - the same book that I could have read to myself much faster. So I wasn't expecting much when I recently received the CCNA Video Mentor from Cisco Press. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this package.
The author - or should I call him the instructor, Wendell Odom, has a pleasant enough voice. Instead of the usual monotone, he actually uses emotion and inflection in his voice when making his points! I never once felt like reaching for a pillow. More importantly, he leaves out the redundant boilerplate and gets right to the subject.
I started, of course, with the introduction, where he explains what you will see on the screen. It's probably good for newbies to go through this, especially if you are not familiar with the look and feel of the Cisco IOS command line, and switching between different routers and switches in a lab environment. It also covers the screen setting and other useful information on using the video. Video Mentor comes with a thin but useful companion manual. It includes the network topology used in each lab, the IP addresses, and screenshots of the beginning and ending device configurations. If you've ever spent time putting Post-Its on the pages of a book so you could flip back and forth to view the lab, you'll appreciate this. It is also available on the CD as a PDF.
Next, I decided to skip ahead to two of the more complicated sections, NAT and ACLs, and see how well Odom handled the complicated stuff. I was very happy to see that the first thing Odom did was explain the terminology. I can't tell you how many times I've read a book where the author uses a new term in chapter 3, but doesn't explain it till chapter 7! Common sense does still exist! He explained the terms he was going to use before using them! Most important though, is the content and how well it is explained. Odom's use of graphics and tables along with his corresponding narrative, explained the concepts simply and accurately. He switches between graphics showing what he is going to do, and the router command line interface (CLI), where he shows the commands used and the results. In both of these chapters, pretty complicated subjects are explained and demonstrated with just enough theory so that you understand the concept, and real world configurations, so that you can actually learn something useful. I was satisfied enough that I went back to the beginning and went through the entire course.
I think Video Mentor is a very good compliment to other self study courses, especially if you don't have regular access to your own routers and switches. As Odom points out, this is not a stand alone course that will prepare you for the CCNA exam. It is more of a supplement to other books, and even refers to the corresponding chapters of other Cisco Press books for each lab. If you've ever read something in a CCNA course book and said, "I kind of get it, if I could just get one or two questions answered...," then get this course. Get the theory from the books, and then let Wendell Odom show you what the theory does in practice. Okay Wendell, let's see what you can do with a CCNP course...
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
CCNA Video Mentor - A valuable CCNA Prep Resource, November 4, 2006
This review is from: CCNA Video Mentor: book number 1624 (Paperback)
As an instructor of the Cisco Networking Academy, teaching the CCNA curriculum, I'm always looking for supplemental materials to help my students pursue their CCNA certification. I've been waiting for a long time for somebody to author and release an "instructor in a box" type of product, complete with video, lecture, slideshow material, as well as professionally-demonstrated labs - with this product, I got two out of the three, so I guess that's pretty good. I demonstrated some of the content from the CCNA Video Mentor to a few of my students, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. They found that the lecture was done at an appropriate pace, with an appropriate level of detail. Many of them immediately went out and purchased the product for themselves. From my perspective, the lab demonstrations performed by the authors are by far the BEST I have ever seen. I'm tired of simulations of this or that, and seeing the authors perform the configuration in real equipment was a major PLUS. The ability to review the material over at your own pace is an invaluable resource to those seeking CCNA certification. I would definitely recommend this product to anybody seeking the CCNA track, but I still think the name "Video Mentor" is a little misleading --- but still a very good product nonetheless.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An essential resource for your CCNA exam preparation!, October 9, 2006
This review is from: CCNA Video Mentor: book number 1624 (Paperback)
An essential resource for your CCNA exam preparation! Published by Cisco Press, The CCNA Video Mentor, ISBN 1-58720-168-2, by Wendell Odom, provides trainees with over two hours of personal instruction on the following topics: CCNA Basics, LAN switching, Basic routing, Advanced routing, WAN and Security.
The author, Wendell Odom, is known for being a best-selling author and instructor. This material is another quality product from Mr. Odom. It includes 12 video labs that are easy to follow. The packaging includes the CD and a professional printed lab manual. There are no pre-installation requirements or setup procedures that need to be applied. The product and video instruction is solely conducted from the included CD-ROM.
The main menu is easy to navigate and very straight forward. The CCNA candidate can start right away with either basic router and switch commands or re-enforce more difficult VLAN and Access List methods. The introductory video explains the layout of the CCNA Video Mentor (CVM). The reader will gain useful information from reviewing this video from the beginning. The second option on the main menu is the Video Labs. Each video includes the lab scenario with explanations and diagrams, demonstration of the Client Interface Commands used to implement and verify a particular router or switch feature in the lab network and ongoing commentary from the author. The third choice on the main menu is the Printable PDF option. The PDF's contain the same content that is included in the pre-printed lab manual that accompanies the product. I found this option useful for following the labs, as well as, for making notes before, during and after conducting the lab scenarios.
The labs included in the product re-enforce the twelve most important objectives of the CCNA Exam. They are as follows:
Lab 1: Navigating a Router/Switch Command-Line Interface
Lab 2: Router Configuration and Managing Configuration Files
Lab 3: Switch Basics: Learning, Forwarding/Filtering, and Interface Settings
Lab 4: Configuring VLANS
Lab 5: Static and Connected Routes
Lab 6: RIP V1 Configuration
Lab 7: RIP V1 with Split Horizon, Route Poisoning, and Poison Reverse
Lab 8: Single-Area and Multiarea OSPF Configuration
Lab 9: EIGRP Configuration and Operation
Lab 10: NAT Overload (PAT)
Lab 11: PPP and CHAP Configuration
Lab 12: Access Lists
Although this is a great resource for studying for the CCNA exam(s), 640-821 (Intro), 640-811 (ICND) or 640-801 (CCNA), this should not be the only information utilized. There are several other materials that the CCNA candidate should start with, such as, CCNA Intro Exam Certification Guide (CCNA Self-Study, 640-821, and 640-801), ISBN: 1-58720-094-5. Thereafter, the CVM will be are valuable asset to ensure your CCNA exam success! It would be great if this product would be included in the aforementioned certification guide, based on this, I give this material 4 out of 5 stars.
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