Customer Reviews

Cisco Networking Academy Program CCNA 1 and 2 Companion Guide, Third Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I checked twice to make sure I was reading reviews of the book I am currently reading(now on Ch 8), because this is an excellent book. Before I begin - one caveat - I have the the Networking Basic, CCNA 1 Companion Guide (cc 2006) not the CCNA 1 & 2 Companion Guide. However, judging by the contents and excerpt it appears that Part I of this book is the same as the book I am reading.

This is perfect for self study as it is heavy in pedagogy and takes real pains to make sure key concepts are conveyed with special notation, graphics and some repetition. There are plenty of illustration and excercises you can do with the included network simulator to drive home concepts and practice some practical configuations of devices and experiment with topologies.

I can't understand how anyone would think this is too technical assuming they are interested in acheiving a working understanding of networking. At times I wished they would dive just a little deeper, but I appreciate that this is not an engineering text, but rather is written on what I would call a technician level.

I have had no trouble understanding any of the concepts and found it to be one of the more readable texts I have encountered. Good explanations and a logical flow to the text. Prior to this book I had read one book on the subject; it is non-technical (in as much as is appropriate when covering a technical topic) but covers a wide scope so that I would get an nice overview before delving into details - Sam's Teach Yourself Networking in 24 hours.

I have a BS in Electronic Engineering so I can appreciate that those without this kind of background might find the CCNA CG more challenging, but if you are attempting to be a professional networker then I suspect you may be in over your head if you find this book too difficult. I don't want to imply that my BS gave me an advantage in terms of knowledge of the material since I had no networkin courses, but rather I am just used to reading much more difficult texts and solving much more difficult problems. The only portion so far that my EE degree gave me an advantage in was the explanation of the physics of cable and fiber transmissions. The books explanation is written on a 9th grade level and would be simple reading for an arts major IMO.

As for preparation for the CNNA I can't speak with any authority since I have not taken the exam yet. Of course you will need other resources besides these books to prepare for the exam but I have to believe this provides a solid theoretical and to a some degree practical grounding in networking - assuming of course you also study CCNA 3& 4 CG's which I hope are as well written as this book.

I bought this book for my cisco academy class and consider it a waste of money.It is way too technical for someone just starting out such as myself.It very hard to read and very hard to understand.I bought Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide, 5th Edition (640-801) by todd lammle to use for my class and i can tell you...it is a hundred times easier to read and understand.

Don't buy this book unless your instructor specifically requires it. Terribly written with virtually no sign of editing, it's a struggle to read and, when covering extremely technical issues, virtually incomprehensible. Worse, the content does not exactly match the on-line curriculum, meaning that Cisco on-line tests typically ask questions about topics not covered in the relevant book chapter. Even worse, the answers to the tests in the book don't match the questions being asked. Buy the Sybex CCNA book instead; although it's not written to match the on-line course, it will help clarify networking, and not leave the reader frustrated and feeling cheated.

In short, this book is something of a disaster, and by no means should be used by someone who's simply looking for a textbook on computer networks. Much, much better would be "Computer Networking" by Kurose.

I hate writing negative reviews, but this book certainly calls for it.

I cannot believe Cisco Press even allowed this book to be printed. The community college I attend started using this book in August for their Cisco classes and even though I am fairly new to networking, I know enough to recognize obvious errors when I read them. At this point in the semester we have covered the first five chapters of the book and we have discovered numerous, and I do mean numerous errors. In addition to the errors, the book just goes into to much detail. This amount of detail is not a bad thing but if you are trying to focus on the exam objectives it is not necessary. If someone didnt know better and used this book to begin their networking education they are going to be very overwhelmed by the amount of detail presented in each chapter and misinformed on various concepts and technologies. I have looked through the Sybex CCNA book and found that it is much more accurate and easier to follow.

True there are some errors, however, if you are in the class and use this book, the errors are not that profound and shouldn't cause you any confusion. If you are confused because a word is misspelled or there are 4 technical errors throughout the book...you should not be going into the technology field...try a different career path.

I am using this book in a CCNA semester 1 class. Although it is by Cisco and therefore contains the information they want you to know, it is poorly written. It is as if the original text were 3 times as long, and to shorten it, they had to take out every third sentence, because it does not flow, and concepts are often only half-explained. I am *often* reading it and think "What????" (And I'm fairly certain it's not just me - I have a B.S. and M.S in Computer Science and plenty of real-world computer experience). All in all, I have to say that this is not a high-quality book.

Although it's not a substitute for the CCNA material, I really like the book called "Interconnections" by Radia Perlman.

I'm not sure about the other reviewers here but I found this book very, very useful.

I'm taking the online-acadamy and found the book supported the 3.0 curriculum very nicely. The hardcover book would go into greater depth and would aid in understanding. Reading online and following up by reading each chapter in the book really drove the concepts.

I have heard horror stories about previous books and curriculum but I think this 3rd edition has addressed those...

I gave 4 stars as the book does have some typos...I have read this book, cover to cover, and found maybe 5 (significant) errors - - most of which simply challenged my thinking and/or forced further reference; enhancing the experience.

This book will serve you well as a Companion Guide to the CCNA 1 and 2 Online Curriculum.

I ordered this title through Borders in P.R., I waited 12 weeks for it to get it, and I need to make a full review before starting with this new version at our Cisco Regional Academy, just because it's very important to see how it matches the curriculum, searching for errors...and I found from the beginning more than 32 pertaining the section of optics...it really dissapoints me to recommend this for my students, just because is not a good starting point to learn concepts or descriptions with those mistakes...I am actually teaching this at the Aspira Cisco Academy in P.R., I think it was to fast to develop this new version and its not the first time I found such things, I got a lot of titles with the same problems, instead of those books that are not fully revised, when thinking from the point of view of the people who are making a large investments in their educational preparation to keep them up to date, that's why I like to review them before any...recomendation.

I am teaching a networking course and am using the CCNA 1 and 2 Companion Guide as the required textbook for the class. I am very surprised that I am presently on Chapter 8 and I am still talking about Ethernet. I know Ethernet is an important subject matter, but it could be reduced to two chapters at best. The book,thus far, is way too technical for the students in my class. Thus, it simply isn't for students who are beginning their journey into networking. For the bang for my buck, I would recommend Todd Lammele's CCNA book, something to the point. The instructor could expand on the important material that the students need to know and the book would stress key points. I am CCNA and CCNP certified with practical experience so I believe I am qualified to know what is needed for students wanting to enter the networking field and like I said, the book has good info, but it is spread so far apart and is too technical for someone with little or no experience. I have talked to the Dean about this book and have recommended that another book be used. Cisco books are usually good for experienced people in the field.

I finished the first CCNA class with the new 3.0 curriculum. It was a nightmare. Nearly every student was failing because they made the mistake of reading the book. We soon figured out that the book was useless in preparation for the academy tests. Cisco was "worki8ng the bugs out". One of the complaints I had was Cisco-last semester- would take one sentence from the book and have it on the test. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. If you are in the Cisco Academy, spend the money on ink and paper and print out the online curriculum, which by the way, is totally different than the book-more focused to the test objectives. The first few weeks of the new curriculum found several hundred students at my school near failing because of "the bugs".