| Author |
What do you think of the Sibex CCNP kit ?
|
|
| lanfeust 2002-09-04, 4:09 pm |
| I just passed my CCNA today, thanks to my Sybex CCNA guide.
I ve been reading the posts about the right books to buy for the CCNP exams and it appears that you were recommanding most of the time these books :
BSCN by Catherine Paquet
BCMSN Karen Web
BCRAN by Catherine Paquet
CIT by Laura Chappel
In my opinion the Cisco Press CCNA 640-607 book was not that good compared to the Sybex guide I have at the moment. And the 4 books above are copy past from the cisco press (I'm not sure at 100%).
Si i'm just wondering wich one should I buy and which one are up to date / or what part of these books are not up to date ? (there is a new edition of the sybex ccnp exams in october/november)
So should I wait untill october to get the new sybex pack or should I buy the 4 books above because they are really excellent ?
Thanks for your help. | |
| akarklins 2002-09-04, 9:24 pm |
| Hello,
I would say that the sybex CCNP books have some detail but fall short on focusing on the material you need to pass the tests.
I have also used the sybex virtual trainer and found it had problems. All in all every tool helps to add a dimension to your knowledge.
If you want to focus on the tests look directly at CiscoPress books. The CiscoPress sample tests also fall short. But, I found that many of the questions on the actual test could be looked up in the CiscoPress books and have some sort of simular wording.
I am not sure when the new 600 series books are coming out but they probably would be a better sample of test questions.
I have used the older 400 and 500 series Cisco Press books and found them helpful.
I have also used exam cram CCNP, and sybex for my 407 CCNA exam, transcender and created my own study sheets. They all add up but nothing replaces hands on, on the job scenarios. Also remember to check the CCO web site in addition to the documentation CD, they are excellent sources of detail information on commands.
Good Luck in your quest!! | |
| lanfeust 2002-09-05, 7:16 am |
| Thanks for helping me in my quest  .
Is there really more details in the Cisco Press books than in th Sybex ones ?
Do you have both the cisco and the sybex CCNP books to campare or do you refer to other sybex books ?
I thought that the Sybex ccna book (august 2002 edition) was much more easy to understand because of the way it was written compared to my "old" (2000 edition) CCNA cisco book borrowed from a friend of mine.
That's why I'm still wondering which one I should buy, but maybe Ciscopress improved a lot in the way to teach in their books since 2000 ? | |
| akarklins 2002-09-05, 9:17 am |
| Hello again,
I have used the CiscoPress books for all the subjects in CCNP including the practice tests.
I have used Sybex virtual trainer for all CCNP subjects. Also used Sybex for Support and REmote ACCESS.
Also Examcram and transcender for all subjects.
I agree that the CCNA sybex was good for its time (3 years ago).
I recommend using what ever works. If you find that Sybex gives you the edge then use it. But as a representation of the exam questions Cisco Press books seem to have it. They are burried in there but they are there. Its not like the questions at the end of each chapter match the test, but rather are somewhere in the chapters.
When taking the exams eliminate the wrong answers and then decide on the remaining correct ones.
Also suggest more than one source of study and don't forget the CCO and documentation cd's. They are included with every product or free on the web.
Good Luck | |
| lanfeust 2002-09-05, 10:07 am |
| Ok thanks again you almost convinced me.
I'll just wait for someone else to give another point of vue and then I will probably buy the cisco press books.
Anyway I will probably wait untill the 600 series comes out. | |
| akarklins 2002-09-05, 10:11 am |
| Just as a side note. I am not sure if the 600 will be coming out right away. I read on a forum post that there were no immediate plans for 600 series CCNP.
But just because its written somewhere does not mean its true.
you may want to check it for yourself. | |
| lanfeust 2002-09-05, 11:53 am |
| The 600 series are nowhere on the ciscopress web site, not even in the coming soon section.
Maybe you can help me to understand one last thing, what is the difference between :
Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks and CCNP Switching Exam Certification Guide
Building Scalable Cisco Networks and CCNP Routing Exam Certification Guide
There are many differents guide books for the same exam, which one should I take ? | |
|
| Try searching for book recommendation in the ccnp forum, most of it were pretty much covered to death on the pro/con.
to sum it up, most ppl have various preference, bscn cp is 100%, rest split for cp cert guide or exam prep. most use 2+ books, with sybex switching having some say is pretty good and then the more experience used exam cram for brush up.
that's pretty much it...
about new exams... ppl have pass the new exam with the old book, that should indicate to you taht they are more than sufficient in its coverage of the technologies listed in the exam objectives (which has not change). | |
| angel328 2002-09-05, 3:18 pm |
| Still Cisco books are good reference for Cisco Exams, especially for CCNP.I used it in preparation for my CCNP exams such as Remote Access and Switching. The cisco will not only teach how to pass but the most important is, it will teach how use it in real scenario. And I think that's more important.
I also did try Remote Access by Sybex and guess what, I was able to answer the problems after each chapter without even reading the whole chap. The problem is, the approach of Sybex book is very easy which is not in the real exam.
But still, it depends on you. so goodluck to you. | |
| lanfeust 2002-09-07, 2:59 am |
| Ok here is the official answer from ciscopress about the 600 series :
The recent updates to the CCNP exams included
only a refresh of the test bank. No new objectives have been added, and so the topics to be studied are the exact same as those for the 500 series exams. Therefore, we do not have plans to update our books for this most recent refresh, since the content is identical.
Note that we are working on and have eleased some hands-on self-study products, including a full line of CCNP Practical Studies books (Routing is already out), and a full line of Cisco Interactive Mentor titles. | |
| lanfeust 2002-09-08, 11:49 am |
| Ok I've decided to buy these books for the BSCN, remote and support :
BSCN by Catherine Paquet
BCRAN by Catherine Paquet
CIT by Laura Chappel
But I am still confused with the BCMSN book I should buy. I've been reading a lot of post talking about the CCNP books and it appears that neither BCMSN by webb nor BCMSN by Boyle were good to buy. In fact, some people say that these books are just horrible to read.
What should I do ? Should I use the sybex book just for the switching exam because some people say that it's a good one ? | |
|
| In addition to the BSCN book add a few papers on IS-IS to your studies... | |
| lanfeust 2002-09-08, 2:30 pm |
| Can you tell me what does IS-IS mean ? 
Edit : I just did a research on "catherine paquet" with the forum search engine and it appears that it's always the same "SureshHomepage" guy who is speaking about the great BSCN and BCRAN books of that woman.
Can someone agree with him ?
And my question about the "poor" cisco press BCMSN books is still there. | |
| scrounger 2002-09-10, 12:09 pm |
| I agree with the majority. I used just the Sybex CCNP Switching guide when I took my 640-504 exam and I BARELY passed. I did a lot better on my Routing exam using Cisco Press (Routing cert guide and BSCN). I think Cisco Press is the way to go for the CCNP exams because of their close attention to details and exam objectives. Sybex doesn't step it up enough for the higher level exams. The difference between the exam cert guides and BSCN, BSMSN, BCRAN, CIT is that the latter are the official coursebooks you would receive if you took a Cisco training course. They do overlap a bit but are a great supplement to each other.
Good Luck! |
|
|
|