

Series: Foundation Learning Guides
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Cisco Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1587058847
ISBN-13: 978-1587058844
Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 1.4 x 9.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #903,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #235 in Books > Computers & Technology > Certification > Cisco #600 in Books > Computers & Technology > Networking & Cloud Computing > Networks, Protocols & APIs > Networks #1130 in Books > Textbooks > Computer Science > Networking

Overall, I find that this book is helpful in studying for the 642-813 exam, but it is riddled with errors. It is helpful in learning the concepts in each chapter, but not trustworthy in the details. I have spent a lot of time correcting command syntax for example. There are also obvious typos, and I don't trust the review question answers without double checking against another source. In a way, I suppose it should help me be better prepared for the exam by doing this extra work, but I would rather the book be more reliable.
I've got several certs including CCNA, BCNE, Security+ and have read/used dozens of books to get them. This is by far the worst book I've ever come across in terms of the number of errors. I'm talking typos, misspellings, bad grammar, wrong use of language, broken English, errors in labeling of diagrams, etc, etc. It appears as though it was written by a 12-year old Malaysian kid that barely speaks English (no offense to 12-year old Malaysian kids).I'm on chapter 6 and have stopped marking the errors in my book. I've found literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these mistakes. Some errors are easy to identify and move on without affecting your understanding of what you're reading. But when there are errors in labeling of diagrams including IPs, port numbers, and VLAN numbers, how do I know if it is a typo or if my understanding is off and the diagram is correct?? It gets frustrating.It is starting to make me doubt the credibility of the authors. One would think that one of the world's largest and most respected hi-tech companies could put out a decent book. COME ON CISCO PRESS...YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS!Competition breeds excellence and a lack thereof breeds mediocrity. I think since there are so few other books on the subject, they can put out a POS and no one will squawk.The actual content is good and informative...which I guess is the important thing and the reason I give it 3 stars. But Gee whiz, it is hard to get past multitude of errors.
Looks like each of the author individual chapters. There is not flow to them; each chapter is written differently. Most of them are cut and paste from Cisco's web site. But if you think the copy/paste is worse, they have written on what they have understood about it on some chapters which makes it much worse.Based on the way they have written it looks like they are not from the field. There are no research or practical approach to anything. Topics like SNMP, RADIUS servers proves that they have just read document online and wrote the chapters.Worst book
I enrolled in Cisco Academy CCNP course, so had to purchase this as a textbook. This book was one of the worst book I had ever studied. As a MCSE, MCNE, CCNA with MS in Electrical Engineering, I could not understand this book. The more I studied, the more confused. This book lacks of consistency and clear explanation about the concepts. Lots of errors even on Chapter answers. The authors are so lazy, did not update erratas yet. Reconsider to use this book as a CCNP Switch exam. Not even worth for any reference book either.
I was really surprised at the poor quality of this book. After getting getting my CCNA certification through self-study, I've come to expect a level of quality from the Cisco Press books. There were so many mistakes in this book that it was difficult to learn the material. While reading, I would think that I understood a concept, but then an example would be inconsistent with my understanding (and the text). It was tough because I didn't know enough to just say "the book is wrong", so I had to stop reading the text and go learn the concept from an outside source. That made it an inefficient tool for learning.Also, the writing is not stellar. Some sentences are awkward. I find it distracting when I have to switch gears and try to figure out what the author is trying to say.Here are the positives: The book covers about 80% of the current Cisco SWITCH curriculum, so it definitely helps when studying for the CCNP tests. Also, the book had plenty of examples and clear drawings. If you're familiar with the previous Cisco Press certification guides, then this should offer no surprises.Bottom Line: Its a good study resource, but by no means can it be an exclusive study path for certification. Read critically, and if something seems out of place, you should look it up.
I've been working my way through this book in preparation for my upcoming CCNP Switch test. I work as a network engineer full-time and mainly on Cisco equipment so I'm familiar with a good many of the Cisco Press books and with Cisco's documentation in general (I mention this only to show that my problem with this book is not just me having trouble with technical understanding). This book is absolutely horrible. It appears no one even bothered to proof read it before it was published. I have found instances where the text refers to the WRONG switch when referencing a diagram (will refer to switch A when it meant switch B), instances where paragraphs are essentially repeated (occasionally just phrased slightly different but the same information but in some places near verbatim) and also instances where answers given to review questions in Appendix A are just plain WRONG. It sure makes it hard to learn from the book when you don't have 100% faith in what the book is telling you due to poor editing. I understand that this was the first book available for the new version of the CCNP Switch exam (642-813), but if I was Cisco Press I'd be ashamed to put my name on it.If you're looking to certify and haven't bought any of the CCNP books then I'd recommend checking out the CCNP Routing and Switching Official Certification Library (CCNP Routing and Switching Official Certification Library (Exams 642-902, 642-813, 642-832) (Certification Guide Series)). For under $100 you get books covering all three tests and much better CCNP Switch book!
Implementing Cisco IP Switched Networks (SWITCH) Foundation Learning Guide: Foundation learning for SWITCH 642-813 (Foundation Learning Guides) Implementing Cisco IP Routing (ROUTE) Foundation Learning Guide: Foundation learning for the ROUTE 642-902 Exam (Foundation Learning Guides) Implementing Cisco IP Routing (ROUTE) Foundation Learning Guide: (CCNP ROUTE 300-101) (Foundation Learning Guides) Implementing Cisco IP Telephony and Video, Part 1 (CIPTV1) Foundation Learning Guide (CCNP Collaboration Exam 300-070 CIPTV1) (3rd Edition) (Foundation Learning Guides) Designing for Cisco Network Service Architectures (ARCH) Foundation Learning Guide: CCDP ARCH 300-320 (4thEdition) (Foundation Learning Guides) Cisco Self-Study: Building Cisco Metro Optical Networks (METRO) CISCO ATM Solutions: Master ATM Implementation of Cisco Networks CCNP Building Scalable Internetworks (BSCI 642-901) Lab Portfolio (Cisco Networking Academy) Cisco CCNA Networking for Beginners: The Ultimate Beginners Crash Course to Learn Cisco Quickly and Easily Cisco CCENT Networking for Beginners: The Ultimate Beginners Crash Course to Learn Cisco Quickly and Easily Deep Learning: Natural Language Processing in Python with Recursive Neural Networks: Recursive Neural (Tensor) Networks in Theano (Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing Book 3) SSFIPS Securing Cisco Networks with Sourcefire Intrusion Prevention System Study Guide: Exam 500-285 Dish: 813 Colorful, Wonderful Dinner Plates My Sister the Vampire, No. 1: Switched Cisco Catalyst(R) QoS: Quality of Service in Campus Networks Switch On, Switch Off (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Wireless Lans: Implementing Interoperable Networks Managing Risk in Virtual Enterprise Networks: Implementing Supply Chain Principles 642 Things to Draw: Young Artist's Edition 642 Things to Write About