CCNA: Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices (Cisco Coursebook) Book

Here's a book that clearly and concisely explains the low-level internetworking concepts that make the Internet go. If you read Internetconnecting Cisco Network Devices and come to understand its subject matter, you'll be well prepared to pass the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam (640-507) and do a great job at almost any networking career you choose to pursue. This book explains Internet-standard data communications protocols (the TCP/IP suite and routing algorithms particularly) in terms of their implementations on Cisco routers, switches, and software systems. By doing so, it prepares you to install, configure, manage, and troubleshoot Cisco equipment.If you're starting from near zero on the networking knowledge scale (and even if you're not), it'll be likely you'll want to read this book from beginning to end. The authors lay down a conceptual foundation (including excellent coverage of the Open Systems Interconnection reference model) in early chapters, and subsequently proceed to place Cisco-specific knowledge on top of that base. The text frequently seems dry, but it's clear that its authors and editors went to considerable trouble to get their facts right and drive home big concepts with illustrations. Test-preparation aids are limited to a dozen or so review questions (with brief, minimally annotated answers at the back of the book), so it's clear that this book is about knowing the material, not preparing for an artificial test. It does its readers a service. --David Wall, Amazon.com Topics covered: The contents of the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam (640-507), which verifies knowledge of interconnections among networks as implemented with Cisco equipment running Internet-standard protocols.Read More