Sean Odom | Doug Hammond | Hammond | Doug
1 Unbelievable
It is truly incredible that a book with this many errors could be published. The chapter on multicasting is a disaster.
2 Coriolis has a winner with this one.
To become a CCNP you have to take several exams, one of which is the exam 640-504 Switching. Leading the way in certification preparation books is Coriolis and this book should make taking the exam a little easier.
The authors for this book are very knowledgeable in the coverage of the switching side of Cisco as they begin your certification journey with switching fundamentals. What I liked about this book is how the authors were able to separate switching from routing in an easy to understand language.
After that you then tackle the breakdown of the switch and there is a section that goes over Several Cisco switches. The authors move onto the configuration, management and multicasting with switches.
The is coverage of ATM and LANE and I was able to learn about layer 2, 3 and 4 switching, making this a very complete book. As with other Exam prep books there is review questions and projects at the end of each chapter to gauge your learning.
And as with other exam prep books there is the cd-rom with practice questions in fixed, random, review and test all formats. Coriolis is again leading the way - excellent job!
3 If details are important, find another book.
the best thing about this book is that it will test how much you really know about Cisco switches. the technique it uses is that it has an endless number of typos and nearly as many inaccuracies. when you read any section regarding the specifics and details of a switch, check Cisco's site to verify. the test will ask some spec driven questions (regarding which switch can do what and would be best suited given these variables) and if you go strickly by this book, you will answer wrongly. if you have already purchased this book, don't let it be your only resource.
oh, BTW, the customer service department is a little on the weak side. i submitted four separate feedbacks, regarding the inacuracies and typos, and never heard, read, or saw any feedback.
go for cisco press. if you want to pass and take training and certification seriously.
4 Too Many errors
This book might be a good for others but not for me. I found some errors (I don't have any switch background) For examples. Answer for question number2 on chp 2 is B, not d. Answer for question number16 on chp 2 is d, not e. and on page 175, Global Configuration Mode should be look like this, Hostname(config)#. Not hostname#(config) I can not trust this book
5 This is great!
Out of all the Cisco Exams this is the Cisco Switching Exam for the CCNP 2.0 course is the first exam I have passed with reading the book only. Doug Hammond and Sean Odom did a great job and created a book for those with no Cisco experience. I like the imaginary CCIE character that walks you through the labs. That was cool in fact to have step by step lab resolutions. I like chapter 4 which lists all the switches and their features in bar graphs as well. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone studying for their CCNP 2.0 Switching Exam. Looking at the comments from other I see I am not a minority either.
6 This book is great!
As an instructor I use this book in my class finding that it covers every subject and has the answers to every Sylvan Test question from the Switching Exam. I read the review from the previous person and am tending to beleive it is Richard Deal posting a reveiw. #1 Odoms books is about 300 pages thicker than the Exam Cram. #2 The Exam Cram gives the basic answers to the test. The Prep takes you from knowing nothing to expert level. The books have two different purposes and are really meant to compliment each other.
7 Not necessarily better than Richard Deal's Exam Cram 1.0
... and not much thicker too. I kind of hope that Odon can produce a revolutionary piece of work - something like an exam version of Kennedy Clarke's Cisco LAN switching - but it is not to be. On many important topics like STP, VTP, VLAN - this book certainly did not surpass Richard Deal's work in terms of clarity in explanation and ease of study. Deal's end of chapter sample questions also appear to have better quality, and went to great length to explain why certain choices are not the answer - but not Odon. All in all, Odon's work is a fairly decent certification prep, and if you do not already have a LAN switching book - this one should be good enough to help you through the exam. As for me, I will stick to Deal's Exam Cram 1.0 for a while - and see if Syngress might come out with a better work.
8 Good Book
I have read two of the switching books out there and this is the one that I personally recommend and here is why. This book just doesn't stop at the study guide level for the CCNP Switching Exam but it also covers the the components of every LAN switch and their features. This has helped my purchasing decisions so much and everytime someone asks if a switch does something I just go to Chapter 4 and look at the bar graphs and tables for each switch. It has been a cool reference. I like the CCIE character that walks you through each step too. He makes it easy for a first timer on switches to figure out how to make the interfaces work and the configuration run correctly. This is a great book!
9 Good Book
I have read two of the switching books out there and this is the one that I personally recommend and here is why. This book just doesn't stop at the study guide level for the CCNP Switching Exam but it also covers the the components of every LAN switch and their features. This has helped my purchasing decisions so much and everytime someone asks if a switch does something I just go to Chapter 4 and look at the bar graphs and tables for each switch. It has been a cool reference. I like the CCIE character that walks you through each step too. He makes it easy for a first timer on switches to figure out how to make the interfaces work and the configuration run correctly. This is a great book!
10 Really Good
I have to say that this is one of the best study books I have read. I heard about the book through Groupstudy.com and their reveiws as being one of the best study guides available for switching. I have to give me official veiw as it is an A+ book since I passed my Remote Access test with 910 and passing was 755.
11 Very Good Book
I must admit I am a former student of Sean Odom's and so maybe I am bias. He guarenteed me that everything I need to know to pass the Switching Exam was in his book. I passed it with a 940 after reading his book a couple of times. I now only have the Routing Exam left and I will be a CCNP!
12 Very Good Book
I must admit I am a former student of Sean Odom's and so maybe I am bias. He guarenteed me that everything I need to know to pass the Switching Exam was in his book. I passed it with a 940 after reading his book a couple of times. I now only have the Routing Exam left and I will be a CCNP!
13 This book isn't bad
I got this book after hearing everyone rave about it on GroupStudy.com. I like the new approach as everyone has been talking about. Using an imaginary character to walk you through step by step is not a bad idea. It's kind of like not having any experience at all and filling in all the question marks. I wish that networking books were written step-by-step like this before I had experience. This has definitely restored my faith in Coriolis books as a whole.
14 Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks/Switching Prep
I have never felt obligated to post a review of a book. Especially a book about Cisco. However, I have never read a book that was so easy to understand and put anything techinical in plain English until I purchased this book. The imaginary CCIE Joe who walks you through the labs was a cool idea and I am so glad he is going to be in other books by Sean Odom as well. I spent the money and took the Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks course but it seemed Greek to me until I read this book. I hope the authors keep writing. -Carl Hagan, EXCITE
15 Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks/Switching Prep
I have never felt obligated to post a review of a book. Especially a book about Cisco. However, I have never read a book that was so easy to understand and put anything techinical in plain English until I purchased this book. The imaginary CCIE Joe who walks you through the labs was a cool idea and I am so glad he is going to be in other books by Sean Odom as well. I spent the money and took the Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks course but it seemed Greek to me until I read this book. I hope the authors keep writing. -Carl Hagan, EXCITE
16 What!!!
How do regular readers review a book before it is available. Are these review real? ...?
17 Switching Exam
This is one of the best switching instruction guides I have seen. It is hard for an author to try and make the different IOS's complexities seem easy. Both Sean Odom and Doug Hammond have done that in this book. This book is so much easier to understand than the Cisco Press version.
18 Switching
This is one of the best Switching books I have read. This book was instrumental in helping me pass my CCNP Cisco certification. Don't think twice about this purchase, It will be money well spent.
