CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-105 Official Cert Guide

The book arrived damaged and dirty. Someone at the warehouse must have dropped it, and it must have gotten hit at least twice when it fell; furthermore, the box cover was intact. The CD inside is sealed and intact, and the pages have clean surfaces; that's a relief. But, I am not happy paying for a new book that gets to me looking dirty and damaged; it's not what I paid for.

Surface of book had deep, long scars on the front cover. That has no bearing whatsoever on the content of the book. Heck, it reminded me why I ordered the hardcover version in the first place. Would have been nice though if it would have gotten to me undamaged though, I like to take care of my books....

Surface of book had deep, long scars on the front cover. That has no bearing whatsoever on the content of the book. Heck, it reminded me why I ordered the hardcover version in the first place. Would have been nice though if it would have gotten to me undamaged though, I like to take care of my books....

Just got the book last week and have started going through it. I will update as I get further though. Although the first snag I am hitting is the provided DVD in the back of the book. My PC does not have a disk drive. My coworkers PC's do not have disk drives. The Pearson Network Simulator Lite is available on the provided disk, but seems that it's not available as a download directly from their website. The provided activation code gives access to Pearson Test Prep practice test, but not the NetSim Lite. Maybe I can go find an old PC at the library that still has a disk drive and get the Lite NetSim moved to a flash drive......

The books have great information in them, but the disks that come with them (the practice exams... etc) are somewhat limited. The practice exams don't work at all. I have contacted tech support at the ciscopress.com website to try to get this resolved, but I haven't heard anything back from them. Their support is not easy to get a hold of for any of the issues I've had with any of their products.
The books are good, but don't count on the extras being a massive help.

(I idiotically ordered this book on it's own, then the cert library, not realizing that this book came in that library. I left an identical review on the library's comment lines due to the disappointment of not being able to utilize the practice tests they advertise.)

Are you ready to go after your Cisco certification? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Wendell Odom, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that provides a complete study system for the Cisco published exam topics for the ICND1 100-105 exam.

Author Odom, begins by introducing the central ideas and terms used by TCP/IP, and contrasts the TCP/IP networking model with the OSI model. Then, the author delves into the concepts and terms used when building Ethernet LANs. He continues by covering the concepts and terms used for the data link layer for WANs, including HDLC. Then, the author introduces the basics of IPv4, including IPv4 addressing and routing. He then complete most of the detailed discussion of the upper two layers of the TCP/IP model, focusing on TCP and applications. Next, the author explains how to access the text-based user interface of Cisco Catalyst LAN switches. He continues by showing you how to use the Cisco CLI to verify the current status of an Ethernet LAN and how it switches Ethernet frames. Then, the author explains how to configure Cisco switches for basic management features, such as remote access using Telnet and SSH. Next, the author shows you how to configure a variety of switch features that apply to interfaces, including duplex/speed and port security. He continues by examining the various ways to design Ethernet LANs, discussing the pros and cons, and explains common design terminology. Then, the author explains the concepts and configuration surrounding virtual LANs, including VLAN trunking. He then focuses on how to tell whether the switch is ding what it is supposed to be doing, mainly through the use of show commands. Next, the author walks you through the entire concept of subnetting, from staring with a Class A, B, or C network to a completed subnetting design as implemented in an enterprise IPv4 network. He continues by exploring all things related to address classes and the IP network concept created by those classes. Then, the author shows you how an engineer can analyze the key facts about a subnetting design based on the subnet mask. He then discusses how to add IPv4 address configuration to router interfaces and how to configure static IPv4 routes. Next, the author explains how routers work together to find all of the best routes to each subnet by using a routing protocol. He continues by discussing how hosts can be configured with their IPv4 settings, and how they can learn those settings with DHCP. Then, the author begins with a classful IPv4 network, and asks why a particular mask might be chosen, and if chosen, what subnet IDs exist. He then focuses on how to use two key troubleshooting tools to find routing problems: the ping and traceroute commands. Next, the author looks at the most common IPv4 problems and how to find the root causes of those problems when troubleshooting. He continues by examining how standard IP ACLs can filter packets based on the source IP address, so that a router will not forward the packet. Then, the author looks at both named and numbered ACLs, and both standard and extended IP ACLs. Finally, he recommends a plan for the final preparation of taking the Cisco certification exam after you have finished the core parts of the book.

This excellent book works through the complete concept, configuration, verification, and troubleshooting sequence for the router NAT feature, including how it helps conserve public IPv4 addresses. Also, this great book presents the Cisco per-device license management practices through the use of PAK licensing.

This book is great for learning how to configure switches and routers besides preparing you for the CCENT TEST. The delivery is a little dry at times but I really got a feeling that I was absorbing the material well and could apply it in real life. I really like the test material that came with the book, there were a lot of questions that really tested my knowledge and showed me were I needed more work.