printable format  e-mail to a friend  comment on book More Reviews A Lab Simulation for CCIEs Building a Design Foundation T1 and The Link Protocols That Use It Prepping for CID CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide, Second Edition (Osborne/McGraw-Hill) CCNA Certification Kit CCNA 2.0 640-507 Routing and Switching Cheat Sheet

CCNA Test Yourself CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate Test Yourself Practice Exams: Exam 640-507 Syngress Media Editor Osborne McGraw Hill, November 2000, $19.99 ISBN 0-07212668X www.syngress.com

What do you look for in study materials for the CCNA exam? Do you study theory or syntax? How about just hammering away at a realistic exam simulator until you feel comfortable with your scores? Of course the best approach is to do all of the above—approach this test from all angles.

To pass the CCNA you need a good feel for the Cisco IOS, some hardware and some solid networking concepts. CCNA Test Yourself fills an important niche in study materials for this exam. It’s a review and review only. Some test review books go overboard and try to be more of a fast-paced training. CCNA Test Yourself stays focused on being a review.

The main text of this book is excellent. The content is well organized, to the point, and ties directly to exam objectives. The presentation of the concepts isn’t wordy and doesn’t try to accommodate all levels of people, just the ones who should be ready for the exam.

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The exam simulation software, on the other hand, isn't so impressive. It’s a download from the Internet. The download was easy, but I had trouble running the program and I lost interest for a short time. Later, I was able to get it running but wasn’t impressed with the interface. Compared to some of the other exam simulators, this one has a lot of room for improvement. For example, this software (unlike some other exam simulators) does not offer the ability to review a question immediately after answering instead of waiting until the end of the test.

As far as accuracy goes I found some errors (such as misspelling “CSMA” as “CSMS” and an exam question with the wrong answer). I also noticed that they didn’t mention VUE testing centers in the details at the beginning of the book. The typos and omissions, though, are minor compared to the overall value of this book.

Overall, this book is an excellent value. I would highly recommend it as a review guide for anybody attempting the CCNA test.

You can contact Jeff about "CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate Test Yourself Practice Exams: Exam 640-507" at editor@tcpmag.com.