Todd Lammle
Todd Lammle strikes gold again with a new edition of
CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide which, in point of fact, isn't hugely different from earlier versions but nonetheless dominates its competitors. This is the best book on the market for bottom-up CCNA preparation, due in equal part to Lammle's thorough coverage (the CCNA test covers many tiny details), his skill in explaining concepts in prose and illustrations, and his care in designing exercises and practice questions. All the exam-prep elements are handled competently, as well, with annotations supplementing answer keys and plenty of comments about what Cisco expects its test-takers to say, as opposed to what may actually be true.
What's special about the Deluxe Edition? Its companion CD-ROM is somewhat better than before, since it now includes a browser-based tool that simulates a Cisco router's administrative interface (it can be hard to set up, though). The practice exam software on the CD-ROM is okay, though its questions are identical to those in the book. It would also be nice if the software kept track of your performance on exams over time, allowing you to identify and practice weaker subject areas. The book itself now features a larger and more detailed glossary, and a nice command reference. There's no need to upgrade if you have one of this book's predecessors, but count on a treat if this is the first Lammle CCNA book you buy. --David Wall
Topics covered: All of the material Cisco Systems says you have to understand in order to pass Exam 640-507 [new version: Exam 640-607] and earn its Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) professional rating, including the seven-layer network model, the essentials of Internet Protocol and its routing, the Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS), and wide area network (WAN) technologies.
1 The ULTIMATE CCNA Prep book! Just passed with a 913!
I am a Cisco Networking Academy student and I just passed the CCNA 640-607 Exam yesterday. This wasn't the only book that I used to prep for the exam, but this book was instrumental in providing me with the answers for the exam that the other books didn't. Along with this book, I used the Cisco Networking Academy online curriculum, ICND, Ciscopress Router and Switch eSim, Transcender, and Preplogic. Hands-on experience with routers and switches was the key to my success, but I could have easily passed this test by using only the this book. The test was a lot harder than the Transcender CCNA practice test. It's usually the other way around. Anyway, if you get only ONE book for exam prep, get this one. You will not regret it.
2 Routing Protocols
I agree, if you want to learn IP routing, this book will not take you anywhere close. For that you would need "Cisco IOS for IP Routing" by Andrew Colton or Doyle's books. However, Lammle's book would probably be all you need to pass the CCNA test. Unless you're a complete beginner, then you may want to add one or two other fine CCNA books.
3 Complete reference for the exam and to review
I think is a complete reference to pass the Cisco's Exam and reviewing your concepts.
You have virtual labs to configure different scenarios, and try many things. Nothing happen if you add a wrong line. And you can change easily everything.
You will have the entire book in electronic format and many other sources to learn in your computer.
But the exam version is not the last one. You can check in Cisco's site. However, the book is almoust complete.
4 The Best Book - the CD's are worth the price alone!
I used this book ONLY and passed the CCNA test on the first try...that is what counts for me.
I am a true 'newbie' and had NO experience with Cisco or routing.
The book was well layed out, easy to read, and obviously gave me the right knowledge to pass the test the first time.
The network simulator was invaluable, I don't think I would have passed without it. Not having access to a router, and no experience, the simulator really made the concepts in the book sink in for me.
Plus, knowing the comands is a must, and using the simulator made that 100 times easier than just sitting there looking at them in a book.
5 Awesome book! Get this for CCNA - period.
Awesome book.
I have moderate experience and a lot of this was childs play, but he goes further than what you need to know, which is good because it will help you with the trick questions which are probing you to see if you just memorized answers.
I'm going for the gusto CCNP and CCIE for the next 6 months so I bought the simulator. it's cool, and is a[n inexpensive] way to get a lot of hands on experience without your boss screaming at you for bringing the network down (I had that problem, jobless now though).
If you just want the CCNA and are on a budget then you MUST get the simulator so you can see how to use the commands, especially if you're going further than CCNA.
6 CCNA "Cliff Notes"
I found this book somewhat lacking. My personal preference when "learning" the material is to have more information than is needed to allow for a thorough "understanding" of the material. Lammle's book does have the information to pass the exam, but nothing more. If you want to memorize information for the CCNA exam (or are recertifying and just need to be refreshed), this is the book for you. If you want to learn the material, I recomend one of the Cisco Press books.
Additionally make sure to use the Sybex errata page as there are MANY mistakes in this book. A lot of them seemed obvious to me, but I have been doing this for a few years now. Someone just starting out may not notice many of them.
7 Recommended book to pass your CCNA exam
I prepared my CCNA exam with this book and I passed with 974 on 1000.
Very easy and pleasant to read.
Most of the book is clear and topics are explained indepth enough for you to pass the exam.
I really recommend this book as referene to prepare a CCNA because it cover exactly what you need to do it (and not more).
However I would recommend to keep concentrate during your reading because there are some mistakes (I would say something around 10 mistakes on the overall). Mistakes appear more and more as long as you reach the final chapters (8-10). (Beware the "Extended IP Access List Example" on page 461. Very confusing mistake regarding the swap of permit and deny commands).
Todd Lammle certainly should have had a deadline to write the book because the last chapter is written in a rush. And some topics would have require more details (such as Frame-Relay, ISDN, and DDR map command).
A last remark : Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is poorly explained and difficult to understand from this book if you never read something about it.
I would recommend to learn about STP from a different source.
Personnaly I used the "CISCO certification, Bridges Routers and switches for CCIEs" book from Andrew Bruce Caslow & Valeriy Pavlichenko (Editor : PH PTR). I borrowed it from a colleague of mine, and it appeared to be a very detailed guide about anything regarding switching, though it was not as cool to read as Todd Lammle books.
Oh, btw. Don't miss at any cost to read the appendix B about Catalsyt 1900, or you could miss your exam !
Don't misunderstand me.
The perfect book dosen't exist. You will always find mistakes in book or unclear topics.
But this CCNA study guide from Todd Lammle was really enjoyable to read, clear on an overall point of view, and efficient (I did it with 974/1000 successfull.)
And the exam test provided and chapter review questions though different from the exam question were undoubtly very usefull to prepare the exam.
Good luck ! ;)
8 Difficult for a beginner
I am a beginner in Cisco router and a non-English speaker. The first few chapters are good. However in the rest, especially the WAN part, I face a lot of problems in reading this book. The editors can use simple English and more diagrams to explain the difficult topics like Cisco Flash Card. Moreove the exercise sequence is not too match with the simulation program. If the editors can improve the above, this book is the great.
9 Great Simulator, Not so great book.
I never rely on a single book when preparing for a certification exam. CCNA was my 29th. Pass them all on the first try.
At work I have access to some production Cisco routers so I can get some hands on. But of course I can't make any configuration changes. And I've been intimately involved with half-a-dozen Cisco installations. But to be good at configuring Cisco routers from scratch, you really as much hands on as possible. So thank you Todd for your simulator. Even though the its only good for following the built-in labs (only a subset of the CLI commands are implemented), it's the next best thing to having your own router lab.
The book, on the other hand, is a waste. Todd must have been paid by the word. There were far to many screen dumps (he even tells you that two command produce the same output, then shows you the two identical screen dumps to prove it.) and far to few illustrations. And when it comes to screen dumps, there needed to be a lot more bolding or highlighting to bring out the areas of interest.
I know from other posts, that people have used this book exclusively to prepare for the exam, and that's fine, if all you're looking for out of a book is passing the exam. For me getting certified is a mute point. I'll pass any certification exam I'm after. So what I'm looking for in a study guide(s) that provide a knowledge base (foundation) that I can build upon to improve my job performance.
As I said I never rely on just a single book for exam preparation. Usually each book provides some benefit: a different prospective, or greater detail in one area or another. But in this case, I should have saved some money and purchased only the simulator instead of the combo.
PS: Don't be fooled into thinking that the simulator and book go together. They were written as two totally separate products. You can't read the book while trying out the commands on the simulator. Too many of the commands just aren't there, or only some of the parameters are supported. And for the same reason, you can't perform the book's labs on the simulator. The commands have to be entered in exactly as they are presented in the simulator's labs. It's simply the difference between how a real router works and how the simulator works. The simulator is still a great learing tool, but as a stand-a-lone product.
10 The best CCNA study guide
Last month I took the CCNA exam and I passed it with 978 out 1000. In fact I was studying the CNAP for one year but this book was the right complement to success in CCNA. Obviously the next step is to pass CCNP exam, getting help from Todd Lammle books. The material contains some errors but it's an excellent study guide.
11 Amazing book with an amazing amount of information!
This book is more like a whole self-study kit.
It includes a Router Simulator and over 1000 practice exam questions and 500 flash cards. For the price you cannot beat this deal.
Besides having the "famous" Todd Lammle's text, you get a huge amount of extras that I have not seen included in any other text ever!
This is worth three or four times what they charge for this book, but don't tell them that!!
12 One stop ccna.
I have been working on my ccna for three months. i ordered the expensive cisco prep lib. started reading got confused in the middle. then i looked for something else on the net and i found this. this book covers a-z of ccna in the easiest way available in the market. cisco press books are too confusing and no matter how much i tried i could not concentrate on any of that. Whereas in this i drowned automatically. Todd's humour in the middle of the text (to lighten up things) really got me going. All I have to say that without this book my ccna training would have been nothing.
13 Updated to the 640-607 exam- a real winner.
Todd Lammle has made a reputation for delivering CCNA Study Guide that will help you pass the exam the first time around, this book is certainly no exception. Cisco changed the exam from 640-507 to 640-607 and Lammle has kept pace with those changes in this must have reference manual.
Placing the exam objectives right in the front of the book, you then move to a assessment test that is both challenging and as a true measurement of the new exam as I have seen so far. Updated to the new exam this 825 page book should be the first place you go to study for the exam.
Layout of study guide is extremely important to the flow of material and that's why this book is so very good. Lammle starts off with internetworking overview and then to Layer 2 switching, from there you move to the IOS, routing, RIP, IGRP, VLANs, access lists, IPX, and WAN technologies, making this a very well rounded manual.
With 36 written and hands-on labs plus and added 7 labs in Appendix B for switching, coupled with over 200 review questions and tips and tricks, Lammle has once again given the reader everything and more they need to have an excellent shot at the exam.
Most books stop there but Lammle once again exceeds everyone by giving you 2 cdroms, the first is study tools like 200 practice questions, which include simulation type questions. 400 flash cards and 10 bonus exams along with the entire book in PDF format.
The second cd has a virtual lab to work with, including instructions for setup and use. While this book may cost a little more than others, the value and information clearly outweigh the cost difference as you have the number 1 book on the market.
14 All You Need to Pass the CCNA!
I absolutely agree with the other reviewers in that, given this book and basic networking knowledge, you do not need anything else to pass the CCNA. And for those of you who are worrying that this book is outdated because it covers the 640-507 test (not the 640-607, which Cisco released in March 2002), there is nothing to fear; I just passed the 640-607 using nothing more than this book to guide me!
15 989 on the CCNA - Thanks to Todd Lammle
Great book. It takes all of the topics of the CCNA and tells you just what you need to know for the exam. Explanations are easy to understand and right on the money. I couldn't have done it without this book.
16 excellent! you can tell it's written by a CCIE...
Awesome book. I have moderate experience and a lot of this was childs play, but he goes further than what you need to know, which is good because it will help you with the trick questions which are probing you to see if you just memorized answers. I'm going for the gusto CCNP and CCIE for the next 6 months so i bought the simulator. it's cool, and is a cheap way to get a lot of hands on experience without your boss screaming at you for bringing the network down (I had that problem, jobless now though). If you just want the CCNA and are on a budget then you don't need the simulator if you can visualize doing the commands. but get it if you're going further than CCNA. my only beef with the book is that a CCIE obviously didn't proof read it, the author shouldn't proofread his own work because things slip and about 4-5 times i found myself stumped and going through the book to find some correlation only to found that it was a typo, not a misspelling but a false double negative statement (he must have changed his mind on how he was going to say it and didn't complete it), i found a couple of them, and a couple review questions with the answer being contrictory to his explanation. so if you're find a contradiction, look it up and write/scratch the sentence.
Good luck!
17 buy this book for a +90% grade on your CCNA-test
Everything is covered, a pleasure to read. All you need to pass the CCNA is this book and basic networking knowledge (even without any cisco-experience). Oh yes; don't spend extra money on the sim-route software they try to sell together with the book: you don't need it, the book itself will do just fine !
18 He knows how to explain it!
Todd Lammle CCNA is fantastic. He knows how to explain so you can understand the concepts plus gives you more tools with the compainion CD to bring the concepts into focus for the test.
19 Simulator doesn't work well
The text of the book seems decent enough, but the whole reason I bought the book was to get the router simulator software. This is supposed to be limited in scope, but sufficient to support the labs in the book. However, too many of the commands don't work even when entered verbatim, as specified in the labs. Someone obviously quit working on the software before it was finished. I am going to borrow a real router and get my money back.
20 Great book!
if you are learning CCNA by yourself and have a ciscopress book, but just understand half of the stuff, this book clear any doubt about the subject, its written in natural language, easier to understand than any other book of networking.
21 Good content, poorly edited
The book is easy to follow. However, in several places typos and poorly worded review questions lead the reader to the wrong conclusion. Information is well organized and overall the book is a good investment of time. But the polish is missing in several places, especially Chapter 6.
22 ...
This book is ... ..Full STOP!!
it has not enough info.
Info it has is not in enough detail
+
It contains wrong info and they are in alot of detail too
The way it explains wild card in access list is just confusing... He doesn't even mention that it works in binary fomat which 0 represents checking and 1 means ignor..instead he made up this formula that are just impractical..
He talks VLAN and ISL but no where does he mention how you can set up a vlan and ISL on routers and switches...
I recommend Cisco press' ICND and certification guide...I bought this cert library which had those two books and internetworkikng tech hand book...it's awesome..
with Sybex I failed by alot and with cisco books i got 95x..
23 Excellent book on the subject
This book was well written and easy to understand. I have a background in networking, but had no experience with routers and switches. I used this book and the CCNA Virtual Lab, Gold Edition to prepare for the exam. I got a 967 my first time taking the test. Next up is the CCNP exams.
24 Does not instill confidence . . .
Although the text has many good points I am not confident that I can pass the test due to the many contradictions and errors encountered in the text and on the included CD-ROM. I have to ask myself if what I know is correct! I would not buy another Lammle book at this point . . .
25 Average rating, becuase...
Lammle generalizes a great deal in this text. Yes, he covers the fundamentals, but fails to give more detail information concerning LAN design, LAN Switching, and WAN protocol compatibility.
A text for beginners, but I would not rely on it alone for the examination...It is the details that will make you or break you on the exam...
26 Can't go wrong with this book
The CCNA study guide is solid, and accomplishes its stated purpose: prepare you to pass the exam. If you read this book, understand the material, and do the practice questions/labs, you've got a great shot at passing the CCNA the first time (I did).
There are errors, for sure, but you can check the sybex site for errata when things seem a little suspicious.
This book will get you ready to go hands-on with Cisco gear and master the basics. Starting from scratch, devote 1-2 hours a night to this text for 6 weeks, and you'll be ready to rock on the test.
27 That makes two
I used the 640-407 Study Guide by Todd Lammle, and passed the first time with a 897. Almost two years later and with the 640-507 Study Guide, by you guessed it, I passed with a 967. I don't work on Cisco routers, but need an understanding of what they are capable of because we use them in our network. I only say this to show that you can pass with this study guide even with no hands on.
I highly recommend the Virtual Lab if you can't get your hands on the real thing. Be careful in answering the questions in the book, because not all commands that are valid will work on the simulator. Also, work all the questions, even the Appendix.
28 Worth the money in my opinion
I used this book ONLY and passed the CCNA test on the first try...that is what counts for me. I am a true 'newbie' and had NO experience with Cisco or routing. The book was well layed out, easy to read, and obviously gave me the right knowledge to pass the test the first time. I do ,however, think a bit more time should have been given to ISDN and Frame Relay...but that is really my only gripe.
The network simulator was invaluable, I don't think I would have passed without it. Not having access to a router, and no experience, the simulator really made the concepts in the book sink in for me. Plus, knowing the comands is a must, and using the simulator made that 100 times easier than just sitting there looking at them in a book.
29 Can't Belive you would give this a 5 star rating
Although this is a very good book, I still can't give it more that a 4 star rating. Could you pass the CCNA test with this book? ... I am sure you could, but be careful of the large number of errors or missing information. I would reccomend "Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices" by Cisco Press to help keep you on track with the right answers. The CD-ROM with Sample Tests and Flash-Cards also contain a lot of errors.
30 Perfect for the exam
I'm sure you can pass the CCNA with this book even without any Cisco experiences as long as you read it through from cover to back. I passed CCNA with 956/1000 on my first try. But be careful, still a couple of typos and mistakes in the deluxe edition.The simulator lab is also helpful for the newbie, but cannot do every command you want. Good lock.
31 Great book, well worth the money!!
This is an awesome book. The writing is very clear and easy to understand to those not overly technical. I scored a 935 on the CCNA and this book helped tremendously. I had some experience with Cisco gear but there was alot about fundamental networking I did not know, and this book presents all the details very clearly with only a few mistakes. Use the CD, work all the labs and reviews and you'll pass this test no problem!!
32 Best Book for CCNA
This is a very good book. if you are a first time user to Cisco
Routers then this is the best book to use. This is book has lot of question and they are very similar to the questions that you
will find in the real examination.
33 It helps you get the job done
This book and the CD-ROM helped me get my CCNA certification. The practice exams on the CD-ROM are a big plus because they really prepare you for the "real thing". All-in-all, I am very happy with the book. The only reason I am rating it a 4 is because of the many typos on the book, sometimes even wrong or inconsistent information.
34 Lammle is once again at the top of his game.
When I passed the CCNA exam a year ago I used the CCNA Study Guide by Todd Lammle and passed the exam with a 924. Had I had this book I am positive I would have done even better. Lammle is the first name in Cisco Certification exam material and judging from the content of the book there is no doubt why.
Lammle approach to the exam is by far the best I know of and studying the book in the order presented gives you the best chance of passing the exam on the first try. With Internetworking basics like the OSI model and topologies like Ethernet are the very beginning to the CCNA certification.
From there Lammle has you working with switching, which I like because switching should come before routing. Then you move to the internet protocols, IOS, IP routing VLANs and router management. Lammle again makes sure that far more information than the exam requires is included.
After that you then start working with IPX, Access lists and then WAN protocols like HDLC, PPP, Frame Relay and ISDN. Each section has review questions, the new thing I am very happy to see is both written and hands-on labs.
The cd included has over 400 practice questions, over 300 flash cards for both the PC and the palm devices and entire e-book. Lammle again takes the opening and adds not 2 but 4 additional bonus exams.
Finally as part of the study process is the use of an actual router and since this can be an expensive investment, Lammle has given you a Router Fundamental Simulator and practice labs. All this in one book and at a price that should make everyone happy. Whether certified or not, whether looking to refresh you skills this book is a must have for every router technician.
