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CCNA books, why are the CISCO ones so big?

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  • 26-09-2014 7:47pm
    #1
    arctan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 354 ✭✭


    trying to get the CCNA and a good bit throught the CISCO ICDN 1 book (going to do the two exams route)

    But it just struck me, this book seems a bit overkill ?

    I'd go through a chapter of 20 or 30 pages, which could be summed up in maybe 4 pages ...

    is the detail needed ? or is it overkill ?

    I realise it's also pointed at the complete novice, but it's getting far too drawn out for me atm, especially when I learn better by doing.


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    #2
    STEINBERG
    Registered Users Posts: 248 ✭✭STEINBERG


    That thing with the books is that the first half of them is the theory behind networking, but it goes really into the technical stuff.

    The rest of the book goes Cisco specific in how to setup routers and switched and all the protocols. Without that theory behind you, you may as well forget it. It is alot but it is there for a reason. Get your hands on Cisco Packet tracer for the physical toplogy side of things and you can put what you learned into practice also try to get Boson Netsim for the Cisco command line for the switches and routers.

    Check your PM


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    #3
    TallGlass
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,935 ✭✭✭TallGlass


    I'm reading via the books. I done the academy connection CCNA before around 2009.

    Trust me it is important to know the underlying fundamentals it makes it really easy to understand.

    Try not to rush the chapters, the detail is important to some of the commands when trouble shooting. If your going to rush it, the term is 'brain dumping'. Useful to really no one really.


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    #4
    CountyHurler
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,657 ✭✭✭CountyHurler


    Hi everybody... Just to give my two cents.. I did the CCNA in 2003 and passed it fairly easily, with just a few weeks work... Going back to get the updated CCNA now and I'm going the approach of taking the ICND1 and ICND2 separately..

    I got the CCNA Routing And Switching by Todd Lammle book. The book is good in general but when time is of the essence you could do without the lengthy self indulgent chapters... What I find really frustrating with these sort of books is that if the information is written badly, you can completely waste your time by reading them.

    For example, there is a whole chapter on Variable Length Subnet Masks... it's poorly explained, and the examples are laid out really badly... He goes through about three or four examples, and keeps referencing images (figure 4.1 etc) from four pages back.. you end up flipping back and forth and just getting confused... it's really sloppy... In comparison, I watched the CBT Nuggets 20 mins video on VLSM and fully understood it.

    I'm going to sit the ICND1 exam next week, but I'm kind of thinking now that I should have waited and sat both together.. Feel like I've just taken the easy option when I should just have gone ahead and sat the whole CCNA exam, especially given that I did the CCNA exam in 2003... Oh and most importantly, I've set up a few templates in Cisco Packet Tracer.... And I run through the setup of passwords, ACLs, static routing, OSPF, IPv6... I am trying to make it a little game that I set a time for how long it takes me to configure the whole network and then try to beat it.


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    #5
    STEINBERG
    Registered Users Posts: 248 ✭✭STEINBERG


    CountyHurler wrote: »
    Hi everybody... Just to give my two cents.. I did the CCNA in 2003 and passed it fairly easily, with just a few weeks work... Going back to get the updated CCNA now and I'm going the approach of taking the ICND1 and ICND2 separately..

    I got the CCNA Routing And Switching by Todd Lammle book. The book is good in general but when time is of the essence you could do without the lengthy self indulgent chapters... What I find really frustrating with these sort of books is that if the information is written badly, you can completely waste your time by reading them.

    For example, there is a whole chapter on Variable Length Subnet Masks... it's poorly explained, and the examples are laid out really badly... He goes through about three or four examples, and keeps referencing images (figure 4.1 etc) from four pages back.. you end up flipping back and forth and just getting confused... it's really sloppy... In comparison, I watched the CBT Nuggets 20 mins video on VLSM and fully understood it.

    I'm going to sit the ICND1 exam next week, but I'm kind of thinking now that I should have waited and sat both together.. Feel like I've just taken the easy option when I should just have gone ahead and sat the whole CCNA exam, especially given that I did the CCNA exam in 2003... Oh and most importantly, I've set up a few templates in Cisco Packet Tracer.... And I run through the setup of passwords, ACLs, static routing, OSPF, IPv6... I am trying to make it a little game that I set a time for how long it takes me to configure the whole network and then try to beat it.


    The last part of your post is your problem,,,,, you are trying to configure things to beat a specific time... That is the wrong way to go about things as it is inevitable that you will rush and make silly mistakes.

    Take your time and understand the material and concepts first. As for the VLSM, everybody does subnetting differently. The way in the book did not work for you but the vids you watched did. With subnetting you need to understand why it is done and then find your own litle naks for doing it


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