Customer Reviews

CCNP Self-Study: Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN) (3rd Edition) (Self-Study Guide)

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CCNP Self-Study: Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN) Third Edition
by Richard Froom, Balaji Sivasubramanian, Erum Frahim ISBN 1587052199
Very soon this book will take the place of Cisco LAN switching which is a must read for everyone preparing for the CCIE R & S and CCIE Security Exam. It covers all the latest features and even though a lot of concepts presented are outside the spectrum of the CCNP (Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks) Exam they are needed for a complete understanding of the Catalyst switches. Now the BCMSN exam is not what it used to be and so reading book gives the necessary confidence needed to take this tough simulation based exam.
It explains in depth the building blocks of Cisco multilayer switched networks from mostly a Catalyst switch and Cisco IOS perspective which is capable of configuring both Layer 2 and Layer 3 features. Cisco multilayer switches offer additional Layer 2 features to enhance the availability of networks and to as an aid in troubleshooting and even though these services are not mandatory features of multilayer switched networks their use is recommended as among the best practices in the industry.
The book explains in detail the various commands available for troubleshooting purposes and when to use them as well as the output to expect from each.
Each chapter discusses a single feature of the multilayer switch in detail along with it implementation, troubleshooting and its benefits to the network.
Cisco Catalyst switches provide a wide range of QoS features which address the needs of voice, video and data applications sharing a single infrastructure. This book explains how to use the QoS features and services and in Cisco IOS and Cisco CatOS Software in order to design and implement networks that confirm to either to the IETF integrated service (InterServ) model or the differentiated services (DiffServ) model.
The chapter on Security covers several important features from a security perspective. It focuses on port security, DHCP snooping, IP source Guard, dynamic ARP inspection, 802.1X and access list applications also called data plane features.
The coauthor Richard Froom, CCIE # 5102 is a technical leader for the Data Center, Switching and Wireless (DSW) Storage Area Networking (SAN) Test Lab at Cisco Systems.
The coauthor Balaji Sivasubramanian, CCNP, is an escalation engineer for the Gigabit Switching Business Unit (GSBU) at Cisco Systems.
The coauthor Erum Frahim, CCIE # 7549 is a senior support engineer working for the Data Center, Switching and Wireless (DSW) Storage Area Networking (SAN) Test Lab at Cisco Systems.
I feel this book would be extremely useful for professionals preparing for the CCNP or CCDP or CCIE certification Exams as well as for practical application. This is a great reference for Catalyst switches running Cisco IOS software.
I give this book 5 stars on a scale of 5, 5 being the highest. I strongly recommend this book.
Niloufer Tamboly, CISSP

This is the second CCNP book I have purchased (and my 8th Cisco Press book). I have mostly been satisfied with the quality and reduced number of errors/typos in these technical books until now. This book is filled with errors and typos. For example, Catalyst 4305, Catalyst 3570, NAS = Network Area Storage, DCHP snooping, MFSC, Fire Services module!, etc. One figure is repeated twice to illustrate two different concepts. The questions and answers numbering dosen't match in the appendix. The text doesn't reflect the figures in many instances. Finally, the author mentions concepts without explaining them. There are even some mistakes in command line examples!

This is very disconcerting because it is the Cisco authorized self-study book for CCNP switching FOUNDATION learning. "Foundation" learning???? Having almost finished reading it, I am not understanding MANY concepts mentioned. I cannot beleive the 3 technical reviewers did not catch all these errors and improved the convoluted writing style before the book went to press.

Overall, the quality of this book leaves much to be desired.

I seriously think I made a mistake purchasing this book which I thought would be the best considering this is the Third edition!! Consider another BCMSN book like the one by David Hucaby (ISBN 1-58720-142-9) instead. It HAS to be better than this one!

I bought this book to use in my preparation for the simulation-based BCMSN exam. I needed to renew my CCNP/CCDP and did not want to take the composite exam so I opted to take both the BSCI and BCMSN. I pretty much used only this book to prepare (of course, I had passed the previous version of this exam so the previous statement is not completely accurate). I passed with flying colors and credit this book. I would recommend it for that purpose.

This is an exceptionally well-written book.

I'm in the process of renewing my CCNP and am finding this work to refreshingly accurate, well written and well edited - which unfortunately is not always the case with Cisco Press books.

As a result I'll be picking up a copy of the author's Catalyst QOS book soon.

Robert Hanlon
Pleasanton, CA

This is a great resource. It certainly helps for preparation for Cisco certs (not only the CCNP, but also the CCIE).