CCNA ICND2 Official Exam Certification Guide

Second Edition

• Master ICND2 640-816 and CCNA 640-802 exam topics with the official study guide

• Assess your knowledge with chapter-opening quizzes

• Review key concepts with Exam Preparation Tasks

• Practice with hundreds of exam questions on the CD-ROM

Wendell Odom, CCIE® No. 1624

CCNA ICND2 Official Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, is a best of breed Cisco® exam study guide that focuses specifically on the objectives for the CCNA® ICND2 exam. This fully updated edition presents complete reviews and a more challenging and realistic exam preparation experience.

Senior instructor and best-selling author Wendell Odom shares preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve both your conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills. The material is presented in a concise manner, focused on increasing your understanding of exam topics and preparing you for the numerous challenges the exams present.

CCNA ICND2 Official Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, presents you with an organized test preparation routine through the use of proven series elements and techniques. “Do I Know This Already?” quizzes open each chapter and allow you to decide how much time you need to spend on each section. Chapter-ending Exam Preparation Tasks sections help you drill on key concepts you must know thoroughly and help increase your speed in answering questions, a difficult hurdle many exam candidates face on the new exams. A Final Preparation chapter guides you through tools and resources to help you craft your final study plan. Special troubleshooting sections help you master the complex scenarios you will face on the exam.

The companion CD-ROM contains a powerful testing engine that allows you to focus on individual topic areas or take complete, timed exams. The assessment engine also tracks your performance and provides feedback on a chapter-by-chapter basis, presenting question-by-question remediation to the text. The bonus DVD contains more than 60 minutes of personal video mentoring from the author focused mainly on bringing difficult subnetting concepts to life.

Well-regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, and challenging practice questions, this book provides you with more detailed information and more realistic practice exercises than any other CCNA study guide, enabling you to succeed on the exam the first time.

CCNA ICND2 Official Exam Certification Guide, Second Edition, is part of a recommended learning path from Cisco that includes simulation and hands-on training from authorized Cisco Learning Partners and self-study products from Cisco Press. To find out more about instructor-led training, e-learning, and hands-on instruction offered by authorized Cisco Learning Partners worldwide, please visit www.cisco.com/go/authorizedtraining.

Wendell Odom, CCIE® No. 1624, has been in the networking industry since 1981. He currently teaches QoS, MPLS, and CCNA courses for Skyline Advanced Technology Services (www.skyline-ats.com). Wendell has worked as a network engineer, consultant, systems engineer, and instructor and course developer, and has taught authorized Cisco courses for the majority of the last 14 years.

The official study guide helps you master all the topics on the CCNA ICND2 exam, including

• Virtual LANs and Spanning Tree Protocol

• Static and connected routes

• VLSM and route summarization

• IP access control lists

• OSPF and EIGRP configuration

• Point-to-point WANs

• Frame Relay

• VPNs

• Network address translation

• IPv6

• Troubleshooting

Companion CD-ROM

The CD-ROM contains an electronic copy of the book and 200 practice questions for the ICND2 and full CCNA exams, including simulation and testlet questions, all available in study mode and test mode.

BONUS DVD

The DVD contains more than 60 minutes of personal instruction from the author!

This volume is part of the Exam Certification Guide Series from Cisco Press®. Books in this series provide officially developed exam preparation materials that offer assessment, review, and practice to help Cisco Career Certification candidates identify weaknesses, concentrate their study efforts, and enhance their confidence as exam day nears.

Category: Cisco Press—Cisco Certification

Covers: CCNA ICND2 Exam 640-816

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 16 Ratings

Worse than the part 1... - 2009-08-07
Reviewer Rating:
I began this book ready to knock it out then ace the test. I'm about a third of the way through and I simply feel like Odom has simply given up on trying to actually explain himself. I'm reading the VLSM calculations in chapter 5 right now and have come to the conclusion that he just wants to give examples now with ZERO explanation as to why you'd do anything. For example: page 210, step 5 contains the answer to two possible classful or classless scenarios. Odom, however, gives no reasoning behind why the first 4 subnets would not work in a question that would not allow the zero subnet. Why are they not allowed?! Maybe I missed his explanation somewhere earlier but a recap sure would be nice. This book is plagued with this type of shoddy reasoning and like other people are saying, I too think he is just making words up at this point. I'm also sick of rereading paragraph after paragraph just to understand what he's attempting to say. Mr Odom, please, please, please write a study guide that puts the scenario setups before the explanations. Start a new topic with a scenario, answer the scenario then explain why you did what you did. Do not explain the topic, give reasoning about some scenario that was setup 2 chapters before, begin another example, give the reasoning, restate what you've just said 10 different and more confusing ways, then give the answer to summarize. It's confusing! topic, scenario, answer then explain...

Not a good learning tool - 2009-10-19
Reviewer Rating:
I've sat on this book over a year now. I'm including the ICND1 as well. Out of all of the materials I've used to study for the CCNA, this is by far the least effective. Don't even think about this book unless you already have a decent grasp on the topics discussed.

This book is hard to read, and difficult to understand. It doesn't flow well and isn't particularly well laid out. A specific example would be to look at some of the network diagrams in Chapter 2. It's too much, too fast. The diagrams are not documented. I found myself staring at one diagram in particular for over 10 minutes trying to figure it out. This is in chapter 2. It's not that I'm not capable, it's just that it does not make any sense!

This book just isn't very good. It's a painful, confusing read. I would have thought that a Cisco Press book would be a lot better.

I can safely say that after studying and passing the A+ and Network+ Certifications, being very close to passing the CCNA (no thanks to this book), and having studied and passed several other certifications, this is the worst study material I've paid for. There are better materials.

Lacks critical CCNA material - 2009-10-05
Reviewer Rating:
The ICND1/ICND2 books lack critical information needed to pass the CCNA or ICND1/ICND2 exams. For example, the author states in the ICND2 chapter on OSPF that "DR (designated router) and BDR (backup designated router) election is covered in Cisco CCNP course material... however this material is *critical* to passing the CCNA exam.

While taking practice tests in from one of Todd Lammle's books, I found myself completely stumped by some of the questions - material that was never covered in Odom's book(s). I cannot in good conscience recommend these books to anyone that is looking to pass their CCNA exam, unless you buy at least another book or two as filler.

excellent for my review - 2009-08-03
Reviewer Rating:
I had let my certification lapse and needed to know what is currently being tested. I found a few test questions that were incorrect, but in general the questions in the sample tests were more difficult that the test. Trudge through the samples and you should be fine on the real thing.

This is the CCNA resource to use - 2009-06-30
Reviewer Rating:
I have read both of Wendell Odom's ICND1/2 books, and also the CCNA book by Todd Lammle. This book is very different. Much more thorough and detailed, and in my opinion a better resource for passing the exam. This book provides a comprehensive resource and study plan for passing the ICND2/CCNA exam.

There were a few errors. This book is in it's fifth printing, so most of the errors have been corrected over the previous two years. However there is a comprehensive errata document available for download that should be used to correct the few that have been discovered in this printing.

The "do I already know this" 6-10 questions at the beginning of each chapter I found very useful as a catalyst to pique my interest and keep me focused as I was reading through the chapter. (This may only be useful if you already have experience and/or intend to re-certify).

The overall structure and layout of the book is excellent. It is logically structured by chapter, linked to topics/learning objectives. The individual chapters are logically structured, introducing concepts first, then configuration, and finally troubleshooting. The index and table of contents are useful and laid out in a similar fashion.

The overall presentation of the material is also very well done. This is not just a re-packaging of information that is available in support articles or online documentation. The authors occasionally provide background material and history where it can be useful to grasp the concepts. They provide recommended approaches for troubleshooting the various technologies under discussion. They know when to dive deep and when to not inundate you with superfluous information. This is not a book that was slapped together in a couple of months. It is the culmination of years of knowledge and experience. It was written by an expert, and is very polished and professional in both content and presentation.

The Boson exam environment (BEE) is excellent. It is a spot-on realistic simulation for the real exams. Boson updates their exam environments frequently to fix any known issues and add functionality. (Make sure you download version 1.5 or later of the BEE from Boson). The exam provides 150 questions, with options such as randomizing the questions and answers, the ability to save your exam (if you want to resume later), and the ability to only show questions that were previously answered incorrectly.

The complete eBook is included in PDF format. The table of contents is hyperlinked. Another huge plus: when you are taking the Boson practice exam, and click "show answer", there is a hyperlink to the exact location in the eBook where the topic is discussed. Very nice!

I cannot figure out why this book + practice exam only costs $27. This is a tremendous value.

A final word. The Cisco exams are very challenging. Much more so than only a few years ago. The Boson exam helps prepare you for this, but you should read the entire book, understand the concepts, and take the practice exam. If you are re-certifying, you only need to take this one exam (ICND2). But if you are new, reading the ICND1 book and taking that exam first is highly recommended. The 640-802 (CCNA) is much more comprehensive than only the ICND2 exam, and is unforgiving if you are not prepared.

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