CCNA Intro Exam Certification Guide (CCNA Self-Study, 640-821, 640-801)

by Wendell Odom

Book Overview

Based on the CCNA INTRO 640-821 exam from Cisco Systems, this is an authorized Exam Certification guide. This book incorporates many product features to improve the student experience. This book and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1587200945
• ISBN13: 9781587200946
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Cisco Press
• Length: 473 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 7.6" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Good Overview of Cisco Basics

I read two Cisco preparation books prior to getting my hands on this one. Wendell Odom did a fantastic job of covering the basics of Cisco networking. If you plan on buying this book for the 640-801 exam, you should also consider his other book CCNA ICND (ISBN: 158720-083-X). Utilizing these two books really clarified any questions I had about Cisco switching and routing. This particular book is very basic and it describes much of the regular networking concepts in first few chapters. It then jumps into subnetting, VLANS and routing protocols. If you purchase the ICND book, these topics will be covered in much greater detail. Overall, the book is an excellent source in preparing for the CCNA exam.

An excellent resource for the new CCNA INTRO exam.

This book is best off the shelf study guide for preparing to pass the new CCNA INTRO exam. The CCIE author is very knowledgeable and thorough. I'm impressed by the list of technical reviewers who are all CCIE certified. What I found helpful within this book is the information presented in an easy to read, digestible format. Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours wading through printed or online documentation attempting to locate the answer to the simplest of questions! This book offers very useful "Do I Know This Already Quizzes" at the beginning of each chapter. Each chapter also includes questions and answers for reinforcement--there is a CD with more practice questions, and Boson's NetSim LE network simulator software allowing you to practice for the simulator-based questions on the real exams! Most of the time, the author's words are clear and concise--the book's layout is comprehensive and flows from cover to cover. Refreshingly, this book focuses not only on preparing you to pass the CCNA INTRO exam but really helps you to understand the technology involved! This book's author and technical reviewers have years of real world experience, and are probably more concerned with the reader's ability to understand the material more than anything else. For the self-study candidate on a limited budget, who really wants to understand what's required to be a successful CCNA, this book offers a well readable format. When you want to prepare to pass the new CCNA INTRO exam, this book and practice questions are a must have. But never rely on a single source of information!

I passed the test so....

it obviously did it's job. I've been an MCSE for years and I was a little anxious about taking a Cisco test because everyone said they were "so much harder" than the Microsoft tests.This book explained what needed to be explained pretty well. It went into detail when needed and didn't when not needed. Obviously you're not going to know everything by reading this book, but it's a good start. Especially if you don't have an MCSE background, it goes into some basic networking stuff pretty well. Even some things I wasn't aware of.The INTRO test threw me no surprises, as the practice tests off the CD that comes with the book were actually a little harder than the test itself. The simuations were pretty close to what I had on the test as well. If you can pass the practice tests (assuming you havn't memorized the answers, and can actually tell why one answer is correct and the others are not) then you will have no problem with the INTRO test.Make sure you download the updates from www.ciscopress.com as this is the 1st edition and the errata is up to 4th edition. I did notice a few errors on the practice tests on the CD before the software was updated.

Fantastic Book

Wendel Odom has done a great job with this title. The easy going voice of the book lends itself well to understanding a highly technical text. Analogies ranging from The Flintstones to the Post Office help to gel concepts. I would reccomend this book for network professional who has just never taken the leap to certification and needs to bone up, as well as someone looking for a strong fundamental grasp of networking.

If you are ready to become a CCNA - start here.

You know by now that you could take just one exam, 640-801 and become a CCNA. But what if you haven't enough experience or want to be able to break down the studying, well then taking one exam at a time maybe just the answer. This book is the INTRO or 640-821 exam which covers the networking fundamentals all the way up to the actual router configuration, which is the other exam. One thing about Wendell Odom is that he usually goes beyond the exam and this book is certainly no exception to that rule. In fact his coverage of switching from layer 2 through layer 7 is more than the exam, but then again isn't that what you really want. As usual the practice question in the book are much harder than the exam, another plus for Odom. One thing that is new is the addition of a router simulator, albeit a scaled down version of the Boson NetSim. Having spent some time on working with the full version, the LE Version should provide enough material to cover the exam and help you out. If you need the full version you can always go to Boson's website and purchase it. Finally, while there is also over 300 practice questions, for the money being spent I think that there should be a more to work with. Overall it seems to be a very good book to work with.