MCSA and CCNA Exams

Kiith

So i plan on doing both of these, and i'm looking to get a decent set of books to study. Should i stick with the official ones recommended by Microsoft/Cisco, or are there better ones available? What did you (anyone who's completed them) use to study?

p.s. Not sure if this is the right forum. Move as necessary i guess.

Static M.e.

For MS Exams,
I find the Microsoft Press ones quite good these days. They use to be so boring but they have improved a lot now.

They also cover the exam topics quite well and work well with CBT nuggets.

Its the Perfect forum

cance

the microsoft exams will be much easier to self study, cisco on the other hand is a little outlandish at first.

i would definately recommend a workshop or training session on cisco gear to get your head around it prior to attempting to study it.

microsoft exams on the other hand are friendly and easy enough to pick up as you go along.

accensi0n

In regards to the CCNA.

I'll be home-studying for this after I finish what I'm currently studying and this is what I plan to use.

CCNA Official Exam Certification Library
http://tinyurl.com/2b3ohz

Sybex CCNA by Todd Lammle
http://tinyurl.com/36kod9

Maybe The Bryant Advantage Package as well.
http://www.thebryantadvantage.com/UltimateCCNAStudyPackage.html


A home lab consisting of 3-4 routers(2600 series and 2500 series) and 2-3 switches.(2950's)

All the study guides above are highly recommended and from what I've read would be the top three.
Don't just get one of them though. Multiple sources is always way better.

I want to really really know this stuff. Multiple sources and loads of hands-on work will be the best way to go about it in my opinion.

First of all it's way more interesting if you have all the hands-on experience and secondly, you don't want to have a cert and then not be able to talk about or do what you studied. Would probably make you look worse than if you just didn't have the cert at all.

Here's the home page for the CCNA cert on the Cisco site (Want to know about something? Always start at the source)
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le9/learning_certification_type_home.html

And heres a great site with notes, practice labs and a forum about the CCNA.
http://www.techexams.net/ccna.shtml


Good luck and let us know on the materials you end up getting.

merkuree

Yep, multiple sources of course content (Cisco Press and Sybex) are the way to go.....

Test questions and on-line CCNA TV plus forums at the CCNA prep center on the Cisco site also help.

The platinum edition of the sybex also includes a router simulator and test questions.