Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices

I read this book twice in a month. I passed the exam first time with a score of 968/1000. It was harder than I expected but this book prepared me well. Cisco Press books aren't the easiest books in the world to read, however in my opinion they are the most comprehensive. I would recommend this book to anyone studying for the CCNA exam. If you're prepared to put in the effort, this book will reward you. Apparently, it's a direct port of the ICND 5 day training course. I've just finished my first read of BSCN from Cisco Press which is equally good.

...in a self-study regimen that costs a few hundred instead of thousands. I recommend this book as the first stage in self-study. Go through this book chapter by chapter, one pass just reading and looking at the figures and diagrams, the next pass taking notes. There are only 10 or 15 review questions at the end of each chapter and no companion CD with test questions so just learn the material before moving on. The writing and layout makes that easy though, as this book is very clearly written and makes heavy use of figures and examples throughout to reinforce the concepts in each chapter. Don't take the test yet though. After this nice introduction do the same thing with the Sybex/Todd Lammle CCNA Study Guide. Read it, then go back and really read it and take notes. You will find much-needed additional coverage of subnetting and CLI commands here, as well as an excellent sample test engine. Review your notes and really work this test engine before taking the real test.Finally, the Cisco CCNA Study Guide by Wendal Odom is worth running through at least once just to work your way to the extensive sample questions and CD, but by now you should be more than ready for the test anyway so you could use it as a lookup resource alone if your eyes glaze over on some chapters. Of course, get all the hands on experience you can. Touch it and feel it as much as possible. I have a friend who says he never really understood access lists until he held a router in his hands, but if you want to pass this test, just absorb a large percentage of what is in these three books and when you can pass the sample tests on the CDs consistently, go take the real test and pass.The CCNA 2.0 test is hard but it wasn't all that tricky to me; it just covers a lot of ground. The ICND book goes over that ground quite well as a starting point to earning your CCNA certification. Even though I complained to myself about it costing too much compared to the other guides on the market, overall it is well worth the investment if you are just getting started and want to pass.CCNA 2.0 training classes can cost thousands of dollars, but if you just invest a few hundred on books and some serious study time you can pass this test. You know you can, do it.

This book is not only well written but it helps ensure you understand and retain what you are reading through concept reiteration and questions at the end of each chapter. It is filled with excellent networking information that can certainly help groom you for taking the CCNA test. Unfortunately many readers of this book are under the impression that you can simply read it then pass the CCNA test. The ICND book and course are not designed for that specifically, they are to give you a good overview of Cisco technology and networking concepts, which they do quite well. You really should have access to at least a Cisco router or some sort of networking lab, whether in real life or online if you are interested in applying what you have learned.For those of you interested in going further and taking the CCNA test, I highly recommend the CCNA Exam Certification guide written by CCIE and networking guru Wendell Odom, also by Cisco Press. ISBN: 0-7357-0971-8

I used this book as well as Odom's Certification Guide (another excellent book!) and passed Exam 640-507 with 935. This book is an enormous improvement over its popular but poorly-written predecessor, ICRC. While ICRC is incoherent and opaque, ICND is written with a much better style and packed with almost error-free information on what you need to know for the exam. The author devotes the right amount of discussion to each topic, not too much but not little either. ICRC usually beats around the bush when it comes to the most confusing part, such as routing loop and its remedies, IP subnetting, and access list wildcard. Intriguingly, wherever ICRC missed, the book makes up for it with an excellent explanation. Looks like Cisco is listening as attentively as their switches.Plan enough time for this book. It will be an intensive reading project. I didn't highlight any page because, if I want to highlight anything, I would have to highlight the whole book. Good job, Mr. McQuerry!

This book does a great job of covering the 5 day ICND course material. It's a great addition to the instructor taught course. The nice part about this text is that it also covers many of the additional comments that the instructor may add during the course but you forget because you're focusing in on the course material while listening to them. It will definitely assist you in preparing for the CCNA exam plus a very good future reference for an occasional "memory jogger" of the introductory material.