Customer Reviews

Network+ Exam Prep

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a really cool book in general networking, especially for passing the Network+ exam. Just buy this book and it will give you more than sufficient knowledge to pass the exam.

Although I've got my MCP, MCDBA, MCSE+Internet, and CCNA already, I still find this book is very useful in explaining what you need to know in order to become a good network admin. Some explanations aren't related directly to the exam but it will give you a good understanding of networking.

The most important one is it's really helpful for passing the Network+ exam. You'll find that most questions come from the book or the CD will appear in the real exam although worded differently.

And you won't be surprised that I passed the exam by 95% just in 17 minutes (I spent part of the remaining time reviewing my answers but it made no differences).

Excellent work, Melissa Craft & friends!

This book is an excellent primer on the world of networks. It was pretty easy to read but covered a real wide range of information, just like the exam. I thought the exam was pretty easy but it did cover a wide range of topics. The book must have prepared me well because I finished the exam rather quickly with a 95%. Either the test just wasn't as tough as I expected or this book was better than I thought. This was a lot of the same stuff as the Networking Essentials too, but with a little more detail and a lot better explanations and samples than the MS book. I wish I had this book for that test I wouldn't have flunked it the first time. The TCP/IP section was real complete too, I may just try the Microsoft TCP/IP exam next. This book is complete and all you'll need for this test and probably a few others too.

I had lots of hardware experience over the years and wanted to learn networking. I bought this book because of the reviews and was not disapointed. To be honest though I was a bit overwhelmed by everything covered after the first read. So I bought and read the Sybex Network+ book which was more for absolute beginners (though not near as thorough) like me and then went back to Exam Prep. Exam Prep on the second read was a pleasure. You will really learn the OSI model after reading this book. I finally know what a bridge, router, and mac address are and how they work. Network protocols like TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, and Netbui are no longer a mystery. The section on TCP/IP (including DNS, DHCP, WINS,and addressing) is outstanding and the explanation of subnetting is very understandable. TCP/IP and the TCP/IP utilities (ping, tracert, ipconfig, etc.) are important to know and will help you a lot if you go the MCSE route or any career in networking. It really helps to have an in house network lab to do the hands on projects, but I was able to pass with a 94% just having a single computer. This is the premeir Network+ book and I may sell or give away my other books but this one and Alan Carter's MCSE book will always be within arms reach for me.

This book is well done with plenty of easy to understand explanations (unlike some others.)It has a lot of real good information that I never knew (after 3 years as an admin.) Thanks for a great book. Like the other said I also had no difficulty with the exam, everything on it was covered in the book and a lot of the practice questions were right on. I finished ahead of time with a 95%. If this exam is your next goal this is the only book you need.

A lot of the study guides are excellent, but this one is one of the best I've ever seen. As a teaching tool, it is great because it organizes the material very succintly and very clearly follows the comptia subjects on the test. also, it tries to anticipate networking trends, especially Windows 2000 (one has to guess that the book was written in very early 1999). The hardest part about this certification is that because it is not vendor specific, an author is reluctant to get too specific about how to do things on each individual platform. This book solves this problem by presenting general information and then assigning "hands-on projects" at the end of the chapter in the respective NOS. These projects go over each specific steps for getting something done in a particular NOS. That is a very good idea even if the reader doesn't have access to the NOS. Perhaps these projects could be useful after taking the test when you do encounter a new nos and are too cheap to buy other books.This book is particularly nice because it gathers a lot of networking information together in a single book and contrasts their implementation in different os. Very useful after the test. A lot of the examples are NT, but it makes sense to do this from a market-share point of view. (I'm a Unix/Linux dude, so I am actually interested in the NT-specific stuff). One quirk that may or may not be good is that the authors put the answers to the chapter test on CD. That is good because it frees more pages of the book up to discussion of material. (sometimes these exam prep books seem to spend 20% of their pages just giving answers). On the other hand, it is a pain to refer to the answers on the CD. In short, this is a very well-written and informative book, both from a technical and pedagogical point of view.

This is definately one of the better exam prep books out there. I used it to prepare for both Network+ and Net. Essentials, and have done very well on both tests. It's not a particularly easy read, but at the same time the prose flows quite readily and the authors don't waste time with tangents and bad puns like some of the other books I've read (coughA+ExamCramcough. I was familiar with most of the material due to my networking background, and the book seemed remarkably error-free. I recommend this without any reservations whatsoever for anyone who's interested in not only passing the exam, but actually learning the material.

One caveat though: the sample questions are very mediocre, and are completely unlike the questions on the exam itself.

I wish more people would follow the example of this book and write things that I could use AFTER the test - rather than just writing to the objectives and leaving me cold afterwards. This book is relatively short, and covers all the exam objectives. But better than that, I can keep it to hand for use afterwards!

I really liked the TCP/IP stuff. I took the TCP/IP MCSE exam a month ago, and this book had enough information to pass that exam - all in less than a 100 pages! I can't imagine you'd fail the Microsoft Networking Essentials either! The way I look at it - this book is one you can use for three tests. Well written, lots of pictures. Great!

Well - on to another test. Recommend this!

I used this book and the companion Exam Cram & Exam Cram Practice Tests books & scored 92% on the Network+ test! The three books are all you need for certification, you can skip the brain dumps with these babies! Extremely well written & easily understood, I finished all three in just 4 weeks in my spare time & I had no computer background at the time.

First off, one rule when it comes to certifications. Never just consult one source, something is bound to be missing. Second, be wary when consulting reviews on this site. Some of the so called TOP Reviewers must be getting some kind of pay or compensation from publishers. I won't name names, but how can you trust them when practically everything they review gets five stars and many others have mentioned errors that they've missed. Warning, if the review reads like an annotated table of contents to the book itself, disregard it. My rule of thumb is to look at every review of a book that has a 3 star rating or below first. While some of these reviewers probably wouldn't be satisfied with anything, some mention points and errors that the happy-go-lucky reviewers are too busy raving to notice.

Now to the book. Let me just say, I think many things in this book are well done (particularly, the exercises). However, many more are not. I bought this book after consulting the reviews from this site and was satisfied at first. However, that quickly vanished. As a disclaimer, I have only read through Chapter 9 (out of 16) so far, however, I think it says something that I've found so many inconsistencies and errors by this point that I'm considering cutting my losses by ditching it and going with another source.

Examples of things wrong with this book:

1. Do not rely on the material for subnetting. If you're using this book and want to learn subnetting, then visit www.LearnToSubnet.com. This book makes a few glaring errors in the techniques for subnetting. Most appalling, the tables which it provides as a quick reference for subnetting are totally wrong. If you rely on these, you will be wasting IP addresses. 4 subnets (not 2) can be had from 2 borrowed bits, for example.

2. Poor editing. The time is not taken to explain some of the concepts or clarify. This book was obviously only reviewed and edited by people who had a lot of experience and did not notice the gaps that could be crucial to a novice. Example: The book first tells you that a MAC address is 12 digits. One chapter later, it tells you a MAC address is 6 octets. I had to skip ahead halfway through the book to find out what an octet is. Once you've found that out, it doesn't even bother elaborating that the MAC address is actually a 12 digit HEXADECIMAL number. This is just the type of thing you'll have to get used to.

3. No explanation in some cases. Example: The chapter on the Data Link Layer tells you that flow control, error control, and sequencing takes place here. The chapter on the Transport layer says it is responsible for the same things (in addition to others). Well, which is it? If it's both, what's the difference between the two? I shouldn't have to consult other sources after reading a 600+ page, $40+ dollar book.

4. Poor handling of errors. The Coriolis website has an errata database. Problem is, they don't give any way for a visitor to the site to submit errata. They have about 4 entries when I have found at least 2 dozen errors or misclarifications between the book and CD questions. I emailed Mrs. Craft, the main author, for clarification on the Bridges section. To her credit, she responded the next day while working on the road. I was impressed. However, she didn't answer completely the specific question I asked. When I nicely stated that and sent a follow up email, she did not respond. The next time I encountered a serious error I thought I would try the second author. He did not even respond after several days. I understand that it is the publisher's responsibility to keep the errata database up-to-date but the authors owe us the right information the first time (especially when you're spending significant money on an important exam and career direction) and support if they don't do it the first time. I'll never buy a book by Craft or Poplar again.

5. Writing lacks in areas, especially for novices. I have probably 1/100th the networking knowledge the authors do, yet I could do a much better job of explaining some of the concepts than they do. Sometimes, I have to read a section many times over to figure out what they're trying to say. Sometimes, I have to read the entire chapter over again. That can be expected with many subjects. However, sometimes I have to skip ahead several chapters to the next mention of a subject to figure out what they're talking about in my current chapter. Worse, yet, in order to gain competence with some of the ideas I've had to waste hours researching the same info on the web. I have over 13 years of experience working with computers from the Apple II+ to MS Dos 5.0 to Windows 3.1 to Windows 9x to Windows 2000. I also have a working knowledge of Java, C, COBOL, Visual Basic, Pascal, and HTML not to mention a BS in MIS. While my background is not directly related to networking, I would not have been able to clarify sections of the book for myself without some of this knowledge. If I have this many problems clarifying their writing with my experience, imagine how much trouble a novice will have.

In summary, while this book does have some good info, you will not want to pick it up if you are a novice or you are looking for hassle free study. Sometimes, making sure that you've got accurate information is more intense than studying the book. Do yourself a favor, and check out other options.

I did the exam, and just made the mark.By how much ? Enough, 82 %. Even though the book was printed in June 1999 and said the pass mark was 68 % , to my surprise as of January 2000 it 82 %. If I had not studied previously for the CCNA, I would have probably flunked it. It is a good book , none the less, the questions on the exam are much harder than the practice. And some questions in the exam where not even covered in the book. Like UART specifics, etc,etc..