Todd Lammle | William Tedder
1 All in one shopping for your CCNA!
I bought the book and software seperatly as I didn't know you could buy this kit at the time.
I am telling you that you just HAVE to have this kit if you want to pass the CCNA new 607 exam with simulations.
2 This is the "HAVE TO HAVE" kit for CCNA!
I passed my CCNA exam after using this kit. I am an MCSE and MCP+I and now a CCNA thanks to these materials. The kit covers the vast majority of what you need to know to pass this exam.
After using several other books to prepare for other exams, this is by far the most thourough. The simulator did have some bugs, but it was still a valuable tool to simulate hands on practice. You can pass the exam using this kit alone, or got to ... for the complete router simulator.
This is excellent for those who want to learn on Cisco Routers and Switches and who are interested on CCNA exams. Certainly this is the best book, well written most of the topics, easy approach.
3 everything you need to pass the difficult cisco-test
Be sure to memorize/practice the exercices included in this book. You'll absolutely need them for the cisco-test (cisco includes router-emulation exercices, and the tests are adaptive !)
4 Don't be fooled
Don't be fooled. Despite what other people may say here this is not an easy book to get through unless you have extensive computer experience. And I'm no dummy. I went to a top 20 undergrad. You really need on-the-job experience with computer networks in order to understand and benefit from this book.
Also, don't even bother purchasing it unless you are already working in the computer industry. In case you didn't notice there are no jobs in computers now. Even computer science grads are having problems finding work. So don't buy this book thinking you will be able to find work if you pass the exam.
5 If this is the best, someone needs to write a good one!!
I'm amazed at the number of reviewers who gave this 5 stars. I passed my CCNA despite this book, as much as because of it. There is really no excuse for so many typos and poor explanations. And the E-trainer is truly a joke. If you're going for the CCNA, be sure to check into the alternatives.
6 Not so great, additional references needed for passing
This package with the simulator seems to be sufficient for learning the stuff on the exam, however there were some questions on the exam which are from material not covered in this book. So I would recommend that before taking the exam refer other books on the same subject, and also take a look at cram sheets available on the Internet. However the topics on VLAN and IP addressing were excellently covered by this book. Other than that if you have read books like Data Communications by William Stallings and Computer Networks by Tanenbaum , this book gives a sense of deja vu.
7 Not Perfect, But Good Enough
I managed a 956 on the exam just using this kit. Between the book and the simulator, this set does a very solid job of preparing one for the exam. In hindsight, I should have paid for a Boson test, or the Cisco Press book or something like that. You can get a skewed perception of what the real test will be like by taking the same sample test repeatedly. However, compared to paying thousands for classroom training, this item is a great buy.
8 Great way to get certified
This is a great idea: pairing a solid certification book with the simulated lab for hands on experience. You should try to get your hands on a real router, but this is the next best thing. The lab is a bit buggy (and now there is an updated "gold" version), otherwise this would be 5 stars.
9 This is DA Book!
I used this book some time ago to attain my CCNA--that was before CISCO raised the passing mark, too many CCNAs around--and I must say that after such a long time (in IT standards), this book still rules.
I'm relooking at this book simply because I'm teaching a class on CCNA, and felt that this book offers the best value-for-money! There's Wendall Odem's book, but it's slightly not as conversational in style.
The labs are great and the IOS command printouts clearly explained. If you study and follow the book to the letter, you will be well rooted in the foundations. Proof? I've finished my CCDP and CCNP :).
10 Get certified
I used this kit only and passed the CCNA 2.0 exam with a score of 946! Definitely worth it. Few errors here and there especially in the virtual lab trainer but still extemely usefull in preparing for the exam. If you want to pass the 640-507 exam, look no further!!
11 Read, Studied, and Passed the CCNA Test in One week
This kit was an excellent study tool. With no networking experiance I was able to learn the material and pass the test in just one week! I highly recommend this kit to everyone attempting to pass the test. The book is extremely comprehensive and the router simulator is good.
Additionally the discussion on subneteting was the best I have ever seen, very clear and easy to understand.
12 Got me my CCNA!!
This is one of the best Certification books i've seen. very helpful end of the chapter questions, end of the book questions, and before you get started questions... The book does have some errors, but the good far out weighs the bad, I did not use the e-trainer to study, just the book and i passed my first time taking the test, unlike with other certification guides. This book will get you your CCNA, but don't think your gonna be a Cisco guru ... the book does what it promises, gets you that certification... but you need years of experience to be a guru...
13 Great source for self-study!
Instead of taking courses for the CCNA, I decided to configure the self-study route (ha ha) and studied from a few books, including this one. Just passed CCNA with 94% marks! The trick is to find a good book like this one, study well and take lots of sample tests. Good Luck!
14 Pretty good
Lammle's book helped me get my ccna with a score of 860. The strong points of the book are his way of explaining and breaking down router configuration and protocols. There are what I believe to be slip ups though. Wan protocols seemed to be thrown in at the last minute with minimul explanation. There are errors or typos in the flash cards program for the palm operating system. And the emulator doesnt let you do all of the labs because it only supports a set number of commands. Bottom of the line to me is the fact that I got my ccna. And I got it with this book and alot of studying. Study the book, take the practice tests provided and study more.
15 Great Resource!!!!!
This is a great resource for preparing for your CCNA. I would have given it 5 stars but the Virtual Lab software needs some work. But this is no reason to discount this material. Although you might be able to pass the test solely on this material I would highly recommend hands on experience(nothing can replace that).
16 Excellent Study Resource
The best part of this kit is the inclusion of the CCNA e-trainer that is also available separately. You may not be able to pass the CCNA exam without actual hands-on router experience but this kit helps to fill a little of the void in experience. This kit is a perfect companion to a CCNA course you may be taking.
17 Worth Every Dollar!
I purchased the CCNA Cert Kit after finishing my studies in preparation for the Network+ examination. I'll admit that there's quite a gap of information between the two, but the kit got me right up to speed on the concepts of Routing. Despite some features that had been either disabled or don't work as result of errors, the RouterSim program was an excellent proving ground to test out what I had learned in each respective chapter. Don't be put off by its price tag... If you're serious about becoming CCNA certified, look no further.
18 Best Certification Guide I've Used
I passed my CCNA exam after using this kit. I am an MCSE and MCP+I and now a CCNA thanks to these materials. The kit covers the vast majority of what you need to know to pass this exam. After using several other books to prepare for other exams, this is by far the most thourough. The simulator did have some bugs, but it was still a valuable tool to simulate hands on practice. You can pass the exam using this kit alone, but I would recommend some hands on experience, or another book to supplement the material included. (No single book covers it all, but this one was close.)
19 Best way to get your CCNA!
This is the BEST CBT course I have ever taken. Excellent in explaining each topic you need to understand. THE ONLY WAY IN MY OPINION IN GETTING YOUR CCNA!
20 Una buena herramienta para aprender y pasar el examen
Este kit es de gran ayuda, incluye la informaci—n necesaria para pasar el examen de CCNA 2.0, estoy satisfecho porque gracias a el pude obtener 946 en el examen. Ademas este libro es un texto de referencia que deberia tener en su biblioteca toda persona que trabaje en dando soporte de primer nivel a LANs y WANs.
21 Excellent: A Book + A well equipped Cisco LAB
This is excellent for us who want to learn on Cisco Routers and Switches and who are interested on CCNA exams. Certainly this is the best book, well written most of the topics, easy approach.
e-trainer is remarkable, incomparable for those who have no routers, no experience. Todd is giving us a virtual router setup with a hidden instructor. I am an MCSE with little router experience. I have found this helpful. Thanks
22 Over-hyped, over-sold, under-corrected and downright lame.
Yeh, yeh, yeh, I know this is suppose to be the best book on the market, but geeze you'd think Lammle et. al. could put half as much effort into correcting the mistakes and errors as they do into the marketing... Yes, yes about 1/3 of the errors *are* covered on the errata page at their website... but guys, this is the second edition in, what, it's 5th printing?? Lots of errors, contradicitons, gross errors (similar with CD/flashcards). Virtually all printouts are "cut," and one has to search repeatedly for the very rare complete, i.e. helpful, printout. Some *very* poor diagrams throughout, e.g. figure 10.9 in which you have to guess which router is which, guess who has what addresses, guess which route is where, etc. - and this is suppose to be helpful? That's the book. And then we come to the complete debacle of an "e-trainer." What a mess. Yeh, yeh the first third works okay, but then it's very rapidly downhill from there. I got sucked in by the hype 'cause the "Virtual Lab e-trainer" was "Designed for Use in Conjunction with Sybex's" CCNA (Lammle) Guide. What the advertising didn't mention was that many (most?) of the labs in the book simply are not *in* the supposed "e-trainer." In some chapters only one in three labs is included, in others one-half of one lab out of four labs in the book is semi-on-the-e-trainer; another section has only one out of seven labs from that chapter in/on the "e-trainer." E.G. there is virtually no WAN coverage (no PPP, no HDLC, no ATM, no ISDN, and an extremely poor Frame-Relay). The IPX numbering scheme is amazingly fouled up (e.g. all three routers having the same MAC addresses??). It just goes on and on, or, more accurately, it doesn't go on at all. It sometimes does not remove static routes, it tends to apply clock rates to all serial interfaces, in telneting it'll actually change the hostname, duplicate hostnames, all sorts of things. To say the software is "buggy" would be an understatement. And, of course, there are a very great many commands not supported. This e-trainer mess comes across like a *very* bad piece of shareware/freeware.... Yeh, yeh, it might be better than nothing - but certainly not by much. And, yes, if you've never touched a router in your life it *might* be helpful (but, I suspect, it might just as easily be more frustrating than helpful). Buy the book, and hope you find the errors - and I am authentically sad if this actually *is* the "best" book out there. Habraken has a pretty good book. Forget the "e-trainer" though - just about a thorough waste of money. ...
23 Enough to pass the test , but not to excel
I had some experience with Cisco stuff. I finally commit to get CCNA. I start looking for a good CCNA guide, which can fill the gaps and help me recall. I bought this book with e-trainer. I never opened e-trainer or touch a router during the training. The information in the book was enough to pass the test from first time. I was quite frustrated with Frame Relay section of the book. My knowledge of Frame Relay was very vague and the book didn't provide enough information for me to feel prepared for exam. I had to find additional info about it. The book will definitely help you to pass exam, but doubt it that you can 1000 with it.
24 Thorough and Very Well Written
I bought this kit in the first week of February and took the test on February 28th. I passed the exam on the first try with a 946. This book is very well organized and very well written (save a few typos). It is really good at giving you all of the right information to where you will be able to carry it into a live network, not just to pass the test.
The only shortcoming if there is one, is the tests are straight forward, and the Cisco test is NOT that straight forward, but since the book gives you the right foundation, it was easy to make it thorough. Definately worth it!
25 Best Book / Teaser Trainer
I have looked at most of the available CCNA books. It isn't worth it, you just get confused. This book is enough to pass the test and learn about the basics of Layer-2 and 3 theory.
There are a LOT of mistakes in the first addition. The errata on the sybex.com website has all the mistakes, but whew!
The e-trainer is a frustrating tease. I was so fed up with it after the first lab that I was about to purchase a used router. Even the most basic lab(chapter 4) doesn't have all of the functions supported. However, like I said, it is a tease. The point of the e-trainer is to give you a path to Mr. Lammale's partner: RouterSim. If you have your invoice from this package, RouterSim will cost you $130 extra as an upgrade to e-trainer, or $230 without. So the minute you order this, I recommend going to routersim.com and picking up your updated copy because you won't have the annoyance of e-Trainer to deal with during the labs.
Buy this set, get the upgrade, make Sybex and Todd rich, pass the test, start your path to being 1% as rich as Todd!
26 It Works
Passed on the first try after 1.5 months of study. The e-trainer is great.
There are a ton of corrections in the book that you must go to the publishers web site to find out about and to correct but it is worth it.
27 This is a great CCNA 2 Test kit.
I have purchased the kit after reading the comments from other CCNA enthusiasts and they were right... this is defenitely the way to go to get your CCNA. Todd Lamme, wrote a good book! However, the Router Simulator had a few bugs in it that prevented me from entering free hand code to the router telnet simulation. It is still at version 1 and I think that it should be enhanced a little more. Moreover, like all tech books, there were a few minor typo mistakes that I saw in some illustrations, but nothing serious.
I passed the exam the 1st time with a 849/822 but it was because I did not study hard enough. What I used is this kit, Boson's CCNA exam Questions and Answers (that you get with the CDRom) and about 2 hours a day for 1 month of studying. Also, do go to the CISCO website to get some further reference.
Good Luck.
Next, CCNP!!!
28 very good preparation kit, covers the exam
This kit is probably the cheapest way to get certified for CCNA 2.0. My employer paid for the ICND training in preparation for the CCNA exam, and I have to say that this book covers the material in a more structured way. The labs with the virtual lab are good, but don't expect anything to work outside those labs. For the exam, the labs are enough though, but if you want more pratice with routers, this virtual lab is not enough.
29 Excellent book...
I passed the exam after reading the book and that was it. I didn't even use any of the included e-trainer virtual lab CD. I should have just bought the book without the kit. Although book contains some errors and typo I find the format very clearly written and easy to understand. However, don't expect to see those practise exam questions apear on your real exam word for word. It's not a MCSE exam... Not a perfect book but good enough to get you passed. I would buy it again.
30 Excellent
I had the Cisco official Course material for the CCNA2.0 course. I brought the CCNA2.0 certification kit it has been my best buy till date. The concepts have been really well explained and if you understand them one shouldnt have any problem passing the exam with high scores.I didnt bother to look at the Ciscos course materials cos I though this book was well organized. Dont expect the questions to be straight out of the books , read the book , check the review question dont memorize it and am sure everybody should pass. Also there were some errors in the book send an Email to MR.Todd and was surprised to get an email back telling me to look at the sybex web site and check the errata sheet. Looking forward to the CCDA and then CCNA
31 Absolutely terrible!
This is the first and last Sybex book that I buy. I think this book was written in Greek. I have bought a lot of computer books. I bought all ExamCram books when I was studying for my MCSE, their great.. But this book is down right awful!
Chap 4 and 5 were good but the rest of the book is very poorly written...
If you are looking for a book that is unclear and won't give you what you need then this is it.
Oh.. Their E-trainer and the hands on labs were ok but most don't work.. esp. the switch lab..
Good Luck..
MattMan/MCSE
32 Excellent source of information !
I bought this book and studied it for a month straight and it tought me everything that was needed for the CCNA. The sample questions were extremely close to the real test questions. It helped me pass the test on my first try. I highly recommend this book for anyone serious about the test.
33 way over done!
Yup, this will get you through the test but when you walk out of the testing center you will think like I did: I paid way too much to prepare for this test. All I really needed was just one book and no fancy fluff. Hey, you do not need router experience to pass this test, just know your material. Keep it simple and dont waste your money on fluff. Cheers
34 This is the best package!
This is the only package you need to pass new Cisco CCNA 2.0 exam.
Although, Cisco Press's exam kit is another good source for this exam, you will not get the same quality for the price you paying for this.
Good luck all!
35 if you want to pass the CCNA, this is a must buy
I was nervous about taking the CCNA 2.0 and a friend suggested the Sybex materials by Todd Lammle. I am indebted to that friend and Todd Lammle for life. Lammle takes what is exceptionally technical material and makes it understandable. If you're willing to trudge through the book and really put your mind to work, the material will become crystal clear. Lammle just doesn't provide the answers, he shows you why they are the correct answers, which will make you a more productive CCNA. I've read other Cisco books and this is by far the best. I also recommend CCNA Jumpstart by Sybex.
