Sunday 23 August 2009

CCNA Books - Use Our Checklist So You Can Buy The Right CCNA Book

By Francis Teo

CCNA books are an excellent choice when you want to study for the CCNA on your own or just as a supplementary material to the CCNA classroom-based course you might be taking. There are so many books in the market today that you might be confused as to what to buy. Here is a checklist which you can use as a reference to choose the right CCNA book:

1. Version of exam - Cisco tends to revise the CCNA, ICND1 and ICND2 exams on a regular basis. You can expect this to happen about once every 1-2 years. When this happens, new material is added to the exam and you'll be required to know this if you want to pass the exam. You need to ensure that the book you buy is for the current version of the exam. You can do this easily by checking for the exam code which is usually printed on the book.

2. Technical qualifications of authors - The top names in the CCNA book writing field are certified CCIEs with many years of experience. The best books also have highly qualified technical reviewers.

3. Publisher of book - Sybex is a well-known name when it comes to CCNA certification. It has an excellent series of books written by Todd Lammle. Cisco Press books are also excellent, because it is the only official publisher of Cisco exam materials, you can be sure that Cisco Press books follow the latest syllabus and requirements of the CCNA exam. If you can afford it, you should have at least a few Cisco Press books.

4. Exam samples - Check to see if there are any exam samples included in the book. You will definitely need this to get some extra confidence before you go for the exam.

5. Printable electronic copy - I find it very convenient to be able to print only the chapters I need from the electronic copy and bring it along to read.

6. Videos - Some books have included bonus videos which will teach you more about the harder topics in the CCNA exam, for example, subnetting. These are more useful then just using the print book and are a good plus.

7. Price of book - The price of the book is also something to consider. Most of the Cisco Press CCNA books are only available in hardcopy and are more expensive. Sybex CCNA books are usually available in both hardcopy and softcopy and thus are usually cheaper. Please weigh the cost carefully as you don't want to be study with a substandard book and fail the exam!

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