Customer Reviews

CCNP Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack (CCNP Self-Study, 642-801, 642-811, 642-821, 642-831) (Flash Cards and Exam Practice Packs)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All new Cisco exams for the CCNP certification are being released and new study tools are also hitting the market at the same time. Trying to find good and accurate material can be a challenging as the exam itself and that's why this flash card and practice exam set should be used as a final prep tool.

There is about 500 cards per exam and for the most part the answers are complete, although a few of the cards have the correct answers but explanation as to why it is correct and this should fixed in the next release.

There is also a cd-rom with the book has about 1000 flash cards and 1000 practice quesitons, so this should give you plenty ofpractice material to work with. One thing I have found is that flash card studying does make passing exmas easier.

Overall a very good study tool to have around and once Cisco Press releases the study guide books this becomes an even more valuable final study tool.

CCNP Flash Cards and more!
This self study tool is the best off the shelf product money can buy for preparing to pass the current CCNP exams. The two CCIE authors are very knowledgeable and thorough. This book includes flash cards, practice questions, and quick reference sheets for all 4 CCNP exams. The electronic versions of the flash cards have been ported to work with Windows, Palm, and Pocket PC devices. I like both the printed book format and electronic flash cards.
What I found helpful within this book is the information presented in an easy to use, digestible format. The flash card format is comprehensive and flows from topic to topic throughout each exam. This book offers very useful "Quick Reference Sheets" at the end of each exam section. Each exam section also includes questions and answers for reinforcement of key exam objectives in digestible sections. The book's CD includes PDF versions of all the quick reference sheets and copies of all printed flash cards! Most of the time, the author's words are clear and concise--the book's layout is comprehensive and flows from cover to cover.
This book is split into four sections; BSCI, BCMSN, CIT, and BCRAN. This allows you to prepare for each of the single exams in the final hours. You can also use both the printed flash cards and electronic version on a hand-held device for maximum efficiency and time spent. The authors' technical background and knowledge are impressive. They must have had a difficult time working within the constraints of a flash card format and limiting their answers for clarity and exam preparation. Each page of the book includes two flash cards on the front page and the answers on the back. The book is indexed and tabbed for easy reference when you need to focus on a particular exam's topics such as BGP or STP. The book weighs in at just over 800 pages. The electronic flash cards allow you to focus on a particular exam and topic or shuffle the cards randomly per exam.
I was only able to locate a few small inaccuracies in this book. The few errors I did find were not technical in nature and won't be noticed by most readers. They won't affect your preparation and can be easily documented with an errata reference on the publisher's web site. Refreshingly, this book focuses not only on preparing you to pass the CCNP exams but really helps you to understand the exam topics involved! This book's author and technical reviewers have what it takes to present the exam topics in an efficient format for any certification candidate.
For the self-study candidate on a limited budget who wants a last minute exam prep tool, these flash cards are invaluable. They are presented in a well readable format and even the book itself is portable enough for the train ride or discrete cram time. When you want to prepare to pass the new CCNP exams, these flash cards, practice questions, and quick reference sheets are a must have!

In preparing for the 642-801, I found that there was too much information in the Paquet/Teare book to remember it all. I have no working experience with this exam topic so needed a way to fine tune my understanding.

The flash cards are in NO way similar to the questions on the exam, in format. The flash cards do not give you multiple choices and ask you to select the right one. The cards let you know whether you truly understand the topic or are just trying to weed the possible answers down to two likely ones.

I found that by using the cards, I was really able to zero in on the topics that I did not have a good enough understanding of.

I was disappointed to read one reviewers comments regarding the bulkiness of the book, "The format of the book is bulky and difficult - you have to HOLD it open."
1) The bulkiness only means that Cisco to not skimping on information provided and you are getting you monies worth with this book.
2) The pages are perforated. For each section (OSPF, BGP, etc.), I tore out the cards, mixed them up, and tested myself. When I felt I knew all the individual areas, I shuffled them all together allowing me to make sure I wasn't just memorizing answers given the order the questions were in. Many nights my wife found me wondering the house with cards in hand, quizzing myself. The cards (pulled out of the book) allowed me study anywhere.

This can not be used soley to pass the exam, but that is not the intention. Use this book at the end of your study to ensure that you have a thorough grasp of the topic.

These flash cards are very informative, as were the CCNA flash cards.

My problem is that I wanted to study them on the train to and from work using my Sony Clie or Palm m515. When I loaded the software on my Clie Peg-NZ90 (Palm OS 5), it crashed hard. I had to call Sony Support to get it working again, and it just wouldn't run on my Palm m515 (Palm OS 4.1). I got the same fatal error of both devices -- a 'Fatal MemortMgr.c, Line: 3564, Null handel' error.

The content of the book is great, but the palm OS software obviously was not tested very well.

I found this particular resource very useful for my preparation for the CCNP and CCDP recertification particularly the CDROM exam generator however there appear to be some anomolies in this tool.

Some better editing of the material is needed. The switch and router simulators appear to have inconsistent CLI interfaces. (ie. some of the configuration exercises allow command line expansion, while others do not).

The subject reference material which is in PDF format is also a bit light on. Where the exam generator refers to these documents for answers to particular questions, the answers sometimes are not contained in the notes (eg. some CLI commands).

I bought this based on the previous reviews. The book is very thin in content with about 250 cards per exam in the boook itself. It does not nearly cover the needed information. The CD is better with more flash cards per exam, and a testing engine, but still thin in coverage and explanations. It has information you can use, but not enough. If it was structured toward the exam requrements it would have been better. If you used the other Cisco press books, you don't need this, not even at the discounted price. As a comparison, the CCNA flash cards book was much better.

Generally a pain to use and work with. The format of the book is bulky and difficult - you have to HOLD it open. As someone else mentioned, it crashed my Palm hard. It also wouldn't run on my desktop PC or my laptop, so the CD was worse than useless - it was a a big waste of time.

The material seems decent, but it's so difficult to access that I just put it down and didn't pick it up again.