CCDA Official Exam Certification Guide [With CD-ROM]

This is all you need to get your CCDA! I just passed the DCN exam quite easily with flying color by refering to this book only. The book has lots of case studies questions on all chapters, besides good and brief explanations on the Cisco internetworking technology material. It even dedicates the last chapter for several extra case studies. All I can say is that they are more than enough to prepare you answering case study questions on the exam day. The CD has an electronic version of the book and more than 200 practice exams questions. Take and pass the practice exam several times and you are on your way to the CCDA!WARNING: - When you sit for the exam, make sure you read the case study questions VERY CAREFULLY and understand them before answering.- Keep in mind that DCN exam IS NOT for a novice. You'd better have a good understanding of basic internetworking stuff, know Cisco products quite well, and have real-world experiences. This is not an ordinary 'paper exam', but it challenges your capability to implement internetworking on real-world scenarios. For the first two, make sure you read all the chapters and the Appendixes. It is also a good idea to visit the Cisco web site and read all related materials. For the experience thing, nothing is better than 'tasting the honey by yourself'.(CCNA, CCDA, Network+, MCSE+I, MCDBA)

I bought this book last month and just took the test this past Friday and passed. I think the book is laid out very clear, with easy to understand examples and text. I found the case studes helpful and the Appendix material most valuable. It's too bad whoever writes the exams for Cisco doesn't think about the way they ask the questions. You will really need to understand the material so when you read the case studies during the test, you can attempt to figure out what the exam author is really asking you for. You have to remember to always think CISCO! The exam is 72 questions long and you have 2 hours to take the test. You will need it to read all the case study questions. My only real complaint is that the book teaches you how to interview a customer and extract information, but the test leaves you wondering what are they asking in the question. Either way, this book is an excelent desk top reference for anyone in Networking and IT.

The best way to pass Cisco exams is to use books by Cisco Press who support authors that actually employ verbiage similiar to what Cisco uses on their exams. For example: when studying for the CCNA support exam, I used only the ICRC courseware book with Cisco's Internetworking Technologies CD and scored a 906.Incidently - I have noticed that some writing reviews on this book have given it a thumbs down because "...it is based on the 'old' exam, or that the book "...only covered 10% of they saw on the exam." Actually, the CCDA (design) exam has not been changed and is still exam #640-441. However, the original CCNA (support) exam has been retired and superceded by #640-507. I wonder if maybe some are using this book in an attempt to pass the support exam? The CCDA covers design - the CCNA covers support.I like the way this book is laid out. I appreciate how the exam objectives being covered are listed before the study material. The book is well organized and is actually a good read - even if you are not going for certification. As always - a big plus with Cisco Press books is the superior paper quality, print, and graphics.It's a must have. You can probably pass the exam with this book. However - I would also purchase the DCN Courseware book - 'Designing Cisco Networks' - it goes into a little more detail and has great reference material in the back of the book which would certainly come in handy on the job.

This book is concise & well written, although you may want to read another book first (i.e. Todd Lammle's CCDA book) to get the in depth exposure, and then use this one to fine tune what you learned.The CD was a great overview, although I didn't see many of the CD questions on the actual test. But then, that's not the way Cisco operates...use this book to learn the material, "apply" what you've learned on the test, and you'll do just fine.And, yes...I did pass the test on my first try!

I was very impressed with the layout and content of this book. I was even more impressed with the lack of typos (except for a couple), normally found in so many Cisco Certification books.I have read the Sybex "CCDA" book and the Cisco Press "Designing Cisco Networks" book cover to cover. This new CCDA book is straight to the point, clear and concise. I highly recommend it for CCDA exam preparation. The exam objectives are listed in each chapter, and the material follows the format nicely. I can only hope that Cisco Press continues to put out books like this...clear and to the point!