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Title: Cisco CCDA Training Kit by Cisco Systems Inc. ISBN: 1-58720-004-X Publisher: Cisco Press Pub. Date: 20 September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $119.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (4 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: A somehow disappointing cut-and-paste
Comment: The exam focuses on three areas: a broad overview of network technologies, a set of methodologies and guidelines for designing a network, and marketing information about Cisco products.
The book (it is actually a large PDF file, no computer-based training, as another reader pointed out) is somehow disappointing, in the sense that it is a careless cut-and-paste of good training papers and/or excerpts from pre-existing good and well written books.
Apparently, nobody cared to proofread the result. Just to give you a feeling:
at page 5.13 there is a "network health checklist", which claims to be the same network health checklist of chapter 3, "reported here for reader convenience". Unfortunately, it is different from the "network health checklist" at page 5.31 (8 items to check against 14), which shares the same claim.
There are many forward references to chapters 6,7 and 8, while there are only five modules.
Appendixes are also referred to throughout all the book, but none of them can be found.
You will also enjoy some "deja vu" experience (on page 4.19 and 4.34, for example), and from time to time you'll wonder if you have missed a page.
Sometimes the text is unreadable. For example, at page 3.89 and 4.89.
The ROI analysis for customer ABC at page 5.42 shows how you can draw the wrong conclusions in order to sell a new network project to an "actual customer" (to be honest, this is the only case in which I have found a true error in the book)
In conclusion, the lack of organization in the book makes more difficult to make a synthesis and to grasp the "big picture".
Despite this, the book reflects the exam contents, and the mock exam is very similar to the true one. This can be a good reason to buy the book.
I can provide you with these advices:
1. I have prepared both CCNA and CCDA before taking any actual exam, and passed CCNA two weeks before CCDA. I think it has been a good idea, do the same if you can.
2. Download CCDA exam notes (examnotes.net)... Those notes have a good summarization of all the steps necessary to do a good network design according to Cisco, and they can help you organize the parts of the course oriented towards methodology
3. During the exam, take note of the case studies when they are presented to you. You may want to draw a network map as well. You will leverage those information later, since you will be faced with three or four case studies during the exam, and there will be other subsequent questions on the same case study.
Good luck
Rating: 2
Summary: PDF plus Test Engine
Comment: I've taken other CBTs from Cisco, mostly on the web. Those were usually Powerpoint presentations with audio. I was very disappointed with this training.
The "CBT" is actually just a PDF that has been indexed by the menu-driven "study engine". Except that the PDF was written exclusively from the study engine. This is evident when you start with Chapter 1 and it takes you to page 53 in the PDF. Immediately, the PDF starts referencing material covered in the earlier pages (which you haven't read yet).
Like the other reviewer, I printed out the PDF on a duplexing printer (377 pages on 188 pieces of paper) and am reading the PDF in sequential page order.
THE GOOD: The test engine is very good and will allow me to "familiarlize" myself with the type of questions I might get on the test.
Rating: 4
Summary: Is good for exam but could use a little work.
Comment: You complete the CCNA exam and now you ready to tackle the CCDA exam. You want to find some sort of application software to aids in your study. Cisco wrote the exam so why not let them give you a hand with the CCDA Training Kit.
As with the CCNA kit this also auto starts and under Windows 98, NT and 2000 the installation was easy and done in less that 2 minutes. I had to disable my anti-virus software but other than that no problems were encountered. The reading assignments will give you the material you need to comprehend before taking any practice exams. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in order to use this feature.
There is also a study mode to give the chance to review any assignment. You can work at your own pace to make sure you understand each of the concepts. There are also practice exams to test you knowledge as you learn.
You have the option to register the software right on line and the questions seem together than any others I have come across. Finally you can run the application without the cd and overall this seems to be a good CCDA package.
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Title: CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate Study Guide, 2nd Edition (640-861) by Todd Lammle, Andy Barkl ISBN: 0782142001 Publisher: Sybex Pub. Date: 16 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
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Title: CCSP Cisco Secure VPN Exam Certification Guide (CCSP Self-Study) by John Roland, Mark J. Newcomb ISBN: 1587200708 Publisher: Cisco Press Pub. Date: 02 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: CCNA Certification Library (CCNA Self-Study, exam #640-801), Sixth Edition by Wendell Odom ISBN: 1587200953 Publisher: Cisco Press Pub. Date: 14 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $59.95 |
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