CCNP(R) Practical Studies: Switching (CCNP Self-Study)

This is a very long book. It is full of detail, with configs & scenarios backing up the theory. Although if you are interested in following the scenarios on real equipment, you will need to take out a hefty bank loan to cover it.

This book is certainly "practical". There are some passages in each chapter for just reading, but the majority of pages in this book are showing actual commands and outputs from several models of Cisco switches. I intend to keep it arms lenghth from my desktop at work as a reference. What if you have a switch down one day because the operating system is corrupted? CCNP Practical Studies: Switching has what to do in this situation for both the Cisco IOS and Catalyst OS. Justin Menga's 958-page manual is not for beginners to Cisco, or for the CIO who just wants to know the "skinny". In these pages are the dirty details of how the lower layers of the OSI model work in today's campus LANs. Besides CCNP and CCIE candidates, any LAN administrator will find this book useful. The individual who reads this book should have a basic understanding of networking and Cisco equipment. The first chapter reviews the specifications and capabilities of at least six families of Cisco switches, familiarizing the reader with the equipment that will be used throughout the book. Special attention is placed on the 3550 series switch, which is covered in the CCIE exam. VLANs are covered from many angles in several chapters. This includes concepts, how it works with the big expensive switches verses the lower end models, and the Catalyst versus IOS models. Multilayer switching (MLS) is compared to the next-generation CEF-based Layer 3 switching. However, both are covered thoroughly since both will around for awhile. A great extra in the book for the certification candidate and teacher are the labs in Chapter 11 and the solutions to them in the appendices. I would really consider the entire book sort of a lab. But the ending labs cover the major parts of the book with two comprehensive assignments. Menga does seem repetitive at times. For example, he remids us several times that if we manually set the speed and duplex on one end of a switched Ethernet connection we should manually set it on the other end. This redundancy is perhaps justified by the probablity that Justin Menga has seen this error many times in network troubleshooting and it can also be an intermittent problem: the worst kind to solve. One can appreciate the amount of time it takes to write a book of this magnitude. The author had to have access to a number of switches and routers to produce all the output and screen shots in the book. He also shares a number of "notes" that are helpful. Such as, that Cisco has discontinued supplying a tftp server program and recommends a place to download freeware that he has tested. When reading computer self-study guides, occasionally one finds a volume that accomplishes its goal so well that no other book is needed. CCNP Practical Studies: Switching comes close to this ideal. Improvements that the book could have include a small glossary to help the student define terms that are unfamiliar.

First of all, let me start with table of contents (TOC).1: Switching Connectivity.2: VLAN Operations.3: Trunking and Bandwidth Aggregation.4: Spanning Tree.5: Inter-VLAN Routing.6: Layer 3 Switching.7: Multicast Routing and Switching.8: Traffic Filtering and Security.9: Quality of Service.10: Maintenance, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting.11: Comprehensive Switching Self-Study Lab.Appendix A: Comprehensive Switching Self-Study Lab Part I Solution.Appendix B: Comprehensive Switching Self-Study Lab Part II Solution.I agree with previous reviewer. This book reminds me of the Clark and Hamilton book. That book and this book should be side-by-side. The Clark and Hamilton is good for developing and reburshing your theoretical knowledge and some practical and real life configuration. But since the book was a legacy (the book mostly used Catalyst 5000 as configuration example with some Catalyst 6000 example as well), the Menga's book comes in handy to upgrade the knowledge and deliver new features.I don't really agree though with previous reviewer said that this book is too advanced for CCNP candidates. Hey, currently I am not even CCNA certified but I still can go along, even without equipments within my reach (only by reading and seeing the diagram and configurations). If you already have proper understanding of the Clark and Hamilton's book, devour infos on Cisco website, and some practical configuration knowledge; you will be just fine.As mentioned by previous reviewer, Menga tries to balance the discussion on both IOS-based and CatOS-based switches. He mostly uses 2950/3500 XL, 3550, 4000, and 6000 running latest CatOS and IOS as configuration examples. For instance he uses two 4000, one 2950, and one 3550 for STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) illustrations (although you can also use one 2948, one 2926G, one 2950, and one 3550 instead for cheaper version). He also mentions that you can use cheaper version (e.g. 2948 instead of 4000) or even no equipment at all and still understand at least 75% of the book content. Go to Cisco Press's website to find out what the least equipments you need to practise the labs.The book starts with Cisco switches product and technology, then it goes from foundation theory to configuration examples. Although the theory does not go as deep as the Clark and Hamilton's, it should be sufficient for brush up. Again, for those who have little of no switching knowledge, get the Clark and Hamilton's as well as the Menga's as side-by-side references. The link to the Clark and Hamilton's is already provided above for conveniences.For you who still need more knowledge, you can also get Karl Solie's CCIE Practical Studies Vol. II as complement. Don't get so nervous even both the Clark and Hamilton's and Solie's have title "CCIE" on them. Their contents are not for CCIE but for CCNA and CCNP instead. These three books will provide you a solid understanding of Cisco switching technology and configurations.

Do you guys remember Cisco LAN Switching by Clark Hamilton? That book is considered switching bible in networking industry. Now I'll say if you are dealing with Cisco switching in 2003 than this is your bible! This book discusses all new advancements in switching in depth. Justin's hard work is evident in every chapter and he must have put lot of effort in coming up with this book. Hands on labs are just awesome! For those labs only, I'll pay 50 bucks! The book covers all topics like VLAN, STP, VTP, Layer3 Switching, InterVlan Routing and QOS in detail. Clear and Precise diagrams are provided to aid your understanding. CatOS and IOS both get well deserved coverage. Author is not limited to any one switching platform in his examples but he is using 6500s with SUPS, 4500s, 3550 et al. Even hard to find topics like when to use MLS and CEF is discussed in amazing detail. The title is misleading, this book is way too advanced for CCNPs but it is a must-have resource for CCIE lab and field. If you are already a CCIE and might feel you don't need it, think again! This is one of those books which will always find special place in your bookshelf like Jeff Doyle, Richard Stevens. I can't say enough but it is simply a fantastic effort by Justin and Cisco Press. Five Stars!