Todd Lammle | Carl Timm | Sean Odom
1 It's poor written
It's basically a very poor written book, especially compared to the famous Todd's CCNA book. You can easily find a lot of much better written and easier understood articles on the Internet than in this book on same topics. It just simply hurts the repution of Sybex in my opinion.
2 Carl Timm really pulls it together
Carl Timm who wrote most of this book and will write the updated 642 test version really knows this material. The preparatory reading from this book and Timm's style of writing (that is often credited elsewhere) really prepared me for the hardest of the CCNP tests. This is a crucial exam and topic as it covers material required for the BSCI test required for the CCNP, CCDP, CCIP and is good prep heading into the CCIE R&S. While I had critical experience in the field with this technology, the material is presented very well and is a great prep for the exam. The key is to read this material and understand it. This will not cram you for the exam, but lays the groundwork for better understanding of the topics which will carry you further than just passing the test. If you can correctly answer the practice questions throughout the book, you will demonstrate your command of the material (and pass the test).
3 From a BrandNew CCNP
I found the BSCI exam the hardest of the 4 and without this book I am not sure I would have passed. The Author (who I found out is mostly Carl Timm) did a great job teaching the information - not just the test - I found the questions in the back to be tough - real tough - probably tougher than the actual exam. BUT - if you can answer them you are in.
Don't memorize test questions - follow the book - pay attention to what the author is telling you and you are in. But you better know the information. Find a good sim or some equipment to play on and get THIS book.
I passed my last test today and I am stoked - So I thought I would share the credit some.
CCIE - here I come.
4 Not The Only Resource You Need To Pass
Let me first say I have not taken the exam yet so I am basing my judgment on the practice exams of Boson and Self Test. Also many people have personal preferences on how they like their technical material presented. That is maybe why you will find many good reviews on this book.
Usually I read the book then take the practice tests to prepare for the exam. This time after completing the book I started taking the practice exams. I found a number of questions where the answer could not be found in the book. An example of the questions were regarding EIGRP's advertised distance (AD) and feasible distance (FD) or also the advantages of ISIS. The answers are not readily apparent or do not exist at all in this text. A friend I work with has the BSCI Cisco Press by Gough and by looking for a few short minutes found many of the answers I had been looking for and could not find in the Sybex Llammle/Timm book. So based on the technical questions I am experiencing in the practice exams I am getting a copy of the Cisco Press Gough book to complete my preparation.
I too like Todd Lammle books but if the practice exams are anything like the real exam then you will need other materials to prepare you for the exam. The Sybex book does explain many topics very well and generally I think it is a good book. Just not the only one!
5 Good book but challenge questions not realistic enough
Todd Lammle's BSCI book was probably the first one to cover Cisco's new BSCI 640-901 exam with the inclusion of a chapter in ISIS. However be warned, the chapter on ISIS in Lammle's book does not cover a lot of areas that Cisco could bring up in the exam. Cisco published an addendum to the BSCN book by Catherine Pacquet on their web site a while back. You would be well advised to study that ISIS chapter. (It is 104 pages long!). You will find for instance that there is more to the ISIS backbone area than you read about in Lammle's book. Also the challenge questions in Lammle's book are likely to lull you into a false sense of security. The Boson tests will prepare you better for the BSCI exam. Having said that, I like Lammle's clear presentation of topics, especially the way he presents typed in commands and device outputs. I find these are much clearer than the equivalents in the Cisco Press BSCN and BSCI books. You may want to browse this book before making the final decision to buy.
6 CCNP/CCIP: BSCI Study Guide
Book prepares you for the exam. If you can answer the questions in book you can pass the exam without any problem. Very technically sound book. It can be used as a great reference manual after the test. I can't wait for this author to come out with more books of this caliber. This book is the next best thing to seeing the author live.
7 bsci study guide rocks !!
this book is an excellent prep for the bsci test!
it provides the necessary technical depth in an easy to understand manner-
complete with excellent illustrations, challenging sample problems, hands-on labs, and detailed knowledge tests.
this book + honest effort = certification!
8 Routing in depth
This book was extremely helpful in passing the BSCI test for my CCNP. It also gives the study information and labs exercises that will be very helpful in studying for the CCIE
9 Cisco certifications have a good reputation for a reason
This test covers such a broad range of subjects that the only way to pass it is to study and know the material. I used this book and the BSCN Book from Cisco Press and feel that this book gives a much better explanation of the concepts than the Cisco Press book. Especially in the area of VLSMs. Plus the BSCN book from Cisco doesn't mention IS-IS. If you have access to 4 or 5 routers the labs are good. I have fallen into the trap of using the test questions in these books to prep for the exam and you can get a false sense of security. Especially since Cisco now has simulations. Good book for studying the principles. Do the labs to help you to become familiar with the IOS commands.
10 Great book except for the "Challenge Labs"
This books covers BSCI exam fairly well but I found too many errors on the "Challenge Labs" at the end of the book. Before you get to the chapter, you are supposed to have a good knowledge of BSCI so that you can identify the errors on the "Challenge Labs" otherwise you will just get confused. I have to agree that this book does not TOTALLY cover the topics of the actual BSCI exam, but it is good enough to pass it, besides, very fun to read, which, on the other hand, don't believe Cisco Press's book is.
11 Not a good prep for the exam
I used and liked the Sybex books by Todd Lammle to study for my CCNA so naturally I started with this book when I decided I wanted to get my CCNP. The book has alot of good technical information but was not good prep for the test. I knew the book inside and out and was doing extremely well on the sample questions/scenarios. I felt completely lost during the test and was suprised to find that I had actually passed. This book has emphasis on the wrong areas and leaves some things out completely. I usually don't take the time to write reviews but I dislike this book strongly.
12 Too unclear to follow
I bought this book because I loved his CCNA one. But this book just turned out to be too difficult to follow: too many unclear expressions. You need another book before reading this one. I dont recoomend you to buy this one if you are new to BSCI.
13 I totally agree with "A reader from New Providence, NJ"
It is very difficult to follow what this book is talking about. I loved Todd's CCNA's book, but this one turned out to be a bit different. You reallly need a sub-material to follow this book.
14 Explanation of critical information is not very clear
I bought this book because it has a section that covered IS-IS which required by the BSCI exam and also because of positive reviews. However, there are many paragraphs through out the books were poorly written. The information that readers need to know are about the subjects seem to cover all but the author(s) failed to explain these subjects clearly. I found the Internetwork Design Guide document from Cisco web site explain the EIGRP convergence process much clearer and easier to understand than from this book.
Consider this paragraph explaining the Diffusing Update ALgorithm from this book:
(This is one of the six responses that the neighbor router will use to reply to the query. The second sentence is very difficult to understand...)
"6. If the neighbor has other neighbors besides the querying router, it will propagate the query to its other neighbors. When it doesn't have an alternate route, the route is through the router that sent the query, or the route is not through a feasible successor. The process will then occur on each of the routers receiving the propagated query."
You will found many similar paragraphs as listed in above example throughout the book. In order to thoroughly prepare for the exam, I found myself reading additional materials from Cisco and other sources. It would be best if one book is all that one needs to study for the test. I'm not suggesting not to buy this book but perhaps it is best if one should read the book from the book store first before making the decision to buy it or not.
15 Good book for the exam
Todd Lammle has done it again. I used his CCDA book and was very impressed by it and this book did not disappoint.
Be careful if you are choosing books for this exam, its NOT the routing exam so if you pick up one of those books, you will not know enough about ISIS and BGP. There are a lot of books for the routing exam, but not many for the BSCI. This book is timely, useful and pretty-much error free!
Anything discussed in the book is fair-game in the exam. Unlike some books in this area (eg BCSN by McGraw-Hill for the BCSN exam ) this book covers all you need to know and almost has the right emphasis balance on the topics. Some books attempt to concentrate more on topics you'd use more often in real life, to the detriment of topics you know nothing about but will be examined on, the book doesn't do that but it still not just an exam book and has usefullness afterward.
To get the most out of this book do the chapter questions and the chapter labs too as well as the challenge lab at the end. They're not fillers, they help you make sure you understand. And whatever you do, do not skip any part of the book as irrelevant, that's the bit that will be in the exam for sure. You may then prompty forget the topic AFTER the exam.
16 Man, am I glad I bought this book!
With Cisco changing the CCNP requirements from the Routing exam to this exam, this book is just what I needed! Thank you Cisco for doing this and then having this book avialable to study for the exam. Whew!
The new BSCI exam is basically the same as the old routing exam except they have IS-IS on the exam. This book has everything you need to pass the new BSCI exam and fill your CCNP requirements.
17 Lammle has done it again - no surprise here!
Having used Todd Lammle's CCNA study guide to pass the exam I found that his books have the unique ability to convey the information without losing the reader in the process. This book, while for the 640-901 exam can also be used to study for the 640-603 routing exam and it too is easy to follow.
In just over 640 pages you begin with the customary Sybex subject assessment test. From there you have over 60 written and Hand-on labs as well as over 75 challenge labs, what might be added to the next version is a simulator to go with the book.
The author's give more than enough information to exceed the exam objective, the material is presented in a clear yet detailed manner, which includes diagrams with screenshots of the router code to aide in the visual learning process.
Topics like IP Addressing, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF in both single and multiple arenas, IS-IS and BGP are discussed and practiced. The book has a cdrom which include the e-book the study guide as well as over 200 practice questions to prepare for the live exam. Once again Todd Lammle has succeeded in producing a top of the line manual and study guide.
18 Excellent!
I recently finished the CCIE Routing and Switching exam and decided to start down the path of CCIP. One of the complaints that I have always had is their are no good sources for IS-IS. This book contains the best coverage of IS-IS that I've seen. It will also give you and in-depth understanding of IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF, and BGP. I found the hands-on labs throughout the book and the challenge labs in the back to be extremely helpful. Well worth the price of admission!
19 Great book
I can tell this book is written by a CCIE. The lab and the practical examples are helpful. The chapters on ISIS and BGP are excellent. I believe this book is helpful for those studying for CCIE.
