CCNP: Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks Study Guide (642-811)

Terry Jack

1 A Great Book!
This is the second book from the Sybex Cisco Certification series I have purchased (after Todd Lammle's excellent CCNA book), and I was equally impressed with this work.

The layout was up to the standard I expected, and I found the text flowed along nicely with sound explanations that were easy to understand. Some of the labs use CatOS-based switches, and I am told that Cisco is removing these from the exam, but they were useful to me as we still have some in our network.

I particularly liked the chapters on QoS and switch operation, which I thought were covered in good detail, and I found studying from this book to be a rewarding experience, both in exam success and educational terms.

Based on the quality of this book I shall be buying more from the same series when I prepare for the next exams in the CCNP certification.

2 A sloppy production
I used the Cisco Press CCNA Certification Guide to pass the CCNA exam and then used the Sybex BCMSN Study Guide to study for the exams. Not only I found big different between the contents, I also found the production quite sloppy. Found some misprint in the book but according to sybex.com, there are no updates to this book, while there is a 4 page errata to the Cisco Press BCMSN Certification Guide, which I eventually pay an extra $50 for. Did the exam and found some terms which I have never found in the Sybex book while some of the chapters were not in the exam at all. Very surprised.

All in all the Cisco Press books are a much better candidate for CCNP and this book did not closely match the exam topics published by Cisco. I would not recommend this book to anyone studying for CCNP.