CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Deluxe Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125

Todd's book goes into all the CCNA objectives for ICND1 and ICND2 for 100-105/200-105 exams. I would highly recommend this as a foundation to get the objectives down but keep would recommend secondary sources sources such as YouTube, Lynda.com, free 7 day trial for CBTNuggets (Lazaro Diaz -amazing teacher), and UCertify to branch more into the objectives required to pass the 200-125 exam. Keep in mind that some objectives are not well detailed so again I would suggest using secondary sources for objectives.His chapters are very well organized. He starts off with the purpose of the concepts as well as going into in hands on CLI demonstrations. At the end of each chapter he will have a summary of what you learned, what you need to know to pass the exam, ten written questions, multiple labs (which can be used with included sim that comes with the book), and 20 review questions. His teaching is easy to understand for those new to networking. Keep in mind he will not go into what is a fiber cable, coax cable, how to crimp network cables, how to use a toner tester or optical refraction test and what is a networking/telecom closet. I would highly recommend studying and passing the Network+ exam first for those who have zero networking enterprise experience beyond setting up a basic home wireless network. This book is strictly for understanding switch and router technology and how to program and troubleshoot them, along with understanding concepts in LANs and WANs. The book will assume you already at the level of Network+. Dont worry about subnetting. His subnetting chapter breaks it down as well. After reading the chapter I am now a subnetting wiz. He even goes into guiding you with mental subnetting examples. For those who have a Lynda account he is also is on Lynda.com only for the ICND1.I wish Todd had CCNP books but I will have to sadly look elsewhere.Again it is a very good book. I emailed Todd Lammle before purchasing the book and was surprised to see him answer some of my questions I had before buying the book. He was very quick to answer within a few hours. Make sure to register an account for free at netcad and get the free Cisco packet tracer download which was all I used to pass the CCNA exam. Make sure to lab daily and to understand the material well.Get the book and good luck to those seeking to becoming CCNA certified. Its possible but you will have to put in the work reading and digesting each chapter along with labbing.

If you are not fairly well into networking, Chapter 1 is going to intimidate you. Mr Lammie tests you on some topics at the end of the chapter that are not completely covered until later in the book (mostly chapter 2); and I found at least one review question that the answer key is wrong about.But this is a book of over 1,000 pages that takes you well into the world of Routing and Switching, just writing and editing this volume had to take many months. Maybe there is an error or two, maybe chapter one doesn't flow like I'd like it too - but the fact remains: This book is still tremendously effective. He tells you to forget everything you know about subnetting, as he promises to teach you a better way. Fact is, his 'better way' is so good, I can't remember how I calculated subnets before - but now, I can almost do it all in my head, and I have only had the book 16 days.I am sure this book will enable me to pass the exams, given enough time with the book and with the (strongly recommended) home lab that he suggests you assemble. If you enjoy the journey of learning, and give yourself enough time, this book and a home lab (or at least Cisco's Packet Tracer) should get you the Certification. In any event, you WILL learn routing and switching.Buy it.

EDIT:<<I went on UDEMY and got the Chris Bryant CCNA class to go along with the book. He covers the same material which makes it easier to understand and remember when you go through the book. The book is very organized, I am just dumb when it comes to this stuff.>>I like that it gets straight to the point and doesn't add a lot of unnecessary fluff.I am not a smart guy btw. I just picked this book up hoping to get my CCNA certification.The book is very upfront, the only challenge to it is the time commitment since it's a very long read.There are online tools that go with it as well so that is very helpful.I thought I knew a lot about computers, routing, and networking until I opened this book. I used to set up networks for myself, friends and family for years, that happened to be just really shallow knowledge compared to what this book teaches. Some of the knowledge you may already have will only help a little.But if you apply yourself to learning, and study often, you should be fine, especially if this stuff interests you, and if you are here, you are likely interested in knowing more so you'll probably do just fine if you try.Good luck