super_si

want to study for my CCNA. Are there any books people recommend?

Got an online version that im reading but im not printing 750 pages off

S

BazH

I found the Sybex book, by Todd Lammle i think, quite an easy read.

super_si

got that in PDF

S

smokebelch

When I did mine around 2 years ago, I used the sybex one and the actual Cisco official study guide by Wendell Odom.

I cant stress enough just how much information is missing and how lacking in technical guidance/examples the sybex one is in comparison to the Cisco one.

I read the Sybex one first and then the Cisco one.
To complement them I did the sybex CCNA e-trainer which is an interactive CCNA course on disk with an instructor led type scenario.
I also sat in an evening study group in the Cisco technical centre with some cisco gurus (luckily for me I new some of them and wangled my way into the group )

All this coupled with hands on time with some very high spec cisco kit during the study group, having hardware set up at home and various simulators and I still only passed with 888/1000.

To learn the subjects properly takes mucho studying as there is such a broad spectrum of things you have to know for the exam and looking back, the offical study guide (which is about 4 inches thick and is written in a tiny font) is crucial and highly recommended.

The one I used has an isbn number of 1587200554 and is available VERY cheaply on amazon as this exam has been replaced.

I still have both books, the e-trainer on disk and the router simulators (which again are an absolute must) if you are interested.

Send me a pm if you need anything

King RA

is the CCNA alot harder than an MCSE to do and pass?

super_si

cheers ill contact you

S

BazH

To pass the CCNA the Sybex book is more than adequate (altho no use in the real world) but there is no substitute for hands on with the proper kit. There is more weighting on the simulation questions now so a router simulator (like the one mentioned by smokebelch) would be the minimum requirement and these tend to have a VERY limited command list.

smokebelch

The Boson router simulator is fully configurable with many selectable different types of routers and switches picked from the full product range of cisco gear...

Each one gets dragged and dropped into the simulated network envirionment that you choose to configure and each device has a fully functional command list etc that is a direct replica of which ever device you choose.
The Boson simulator is regarded as the best and is quite expensive (for those that pay ) ...