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CCNA Certification Kit CCNA Certification Kit (includes CCNA Study Guide and CCNA Virtual Lab e-trainer) Todd Lammle, William Tedder Sybex, June 2000, $139.98 ISBN 0-7821-2729-0 www.sybex.com

Sybex's CCNA Certification Kit is one of the more expensive offerings available in the field at $139.98, but there are good reasons for the price. The kit contains the comprehensive and well-written book, CCNA Study Guide and includes an excellent router simulator in the e-Trainer Virtual Lab. I've reviewed several of the competing products, and I found that this is the best CCNA self-study training kit available.

A lot of material doesn’t always make a good book, but author Todd Lammle shows that in addition to being a technical expert, he's also a good author and great teacher. All of the exam objectives are covered in 10 chapters, spanning over 500 pages. Each chapter concludes with a review of key terms, IOS commands, a written lab, a hands-on lab and 20 review questions.

The book also includes an excellent introduction to the Cisco certification tracks, a 54-question introductory assessment test and a 70-question final practice exam. The explanations of the OSI 7-layer and Cisco 3-layer internetworking models are superb. These sections begin with background information on the reference models describing what they are and why they exist. An overview of each model is followed by a detailed description of each layer. Concepts such as encapsulation, flow control, and frames are presented clearly and in a logical manner.

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Errors are bound to appear in a technical text of this size, and this one definitely has its share. However, unlike other CCNA books that I've read, there's a listing of the known errors available on the publisher’s Web site. The errata corrected all of the errors I found, plus others that I didn’t catch.

The book comes with a CD-ROM that includes the standard offering of practice tests, a PDF version of the book and a few utilities. The practice test includes the same questions as the written text plus 2 bonus tests. The test engine isn't as full-featured as others I've used. There are also flashcards that can be used on a PC or a Palm Pilot.

The e-trainer Virtual Lab router simulator is the icing on the cake. This simulator provides enough functionality to turn theory into real skills. The software simulates a network with 3 routers, a switch and two hosts, and includes a small booklet with lab exercises that correspond directly to the Study Guide. The routers don’t support the full IOS command set, but they do support more than enough commands to prepare you for the CCNA test.

The valuable information in the study guide combined with the hands-on training provided by the e-Trainer is critical for developing important skills that will help you pass the exam. If you already have Cisco router experience and your goal is to “just pass the test”, this may not be the right study kit due to the amount and depth of the material. However, if you want to build a solid foundation of Cisco networking skills and obtain a certification at the same time, this study kit is a great choice.

Rick Brand, CCNA, CNE, Compaq ASE, is an Information Consultant working for CompuCom Systems, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can contact Rick about "CCNA Certification Kit" at egould@social.rr.com.