Book Review

If you are preparing for the CCNA exam, then you might consider going through various course content and materials as part of the preparation. There are lots of resources available on the market today.  The CCNA Certification Library is the official study book resource from Cisco currently in its third edition.  While many newcomers will typically run out and buy this book,  it’s important to note this book might not be your best option when trying to study for the CCNA exam.  Read on for my complete review.

CCNA Certification Library Contents

The book(s) contains a detailed compilation of every major topic covered on the CCNA exam.  The start of each chapter gives a 10 question quiz to determine how much you need to study a particular chapter.  At the end of each chapter you will get practice questions, which will give you some simple scenarios to test your knowledge and skills.  Each chapter is also provided with the extract of the chapter and important points to be noted.  There are various troubleshooting sections added to the chapter, which help enhance your problem-solving skills for the exam.

The book package also consists of CDs and a DVD as well, which proved tutorials and examples referenced throughout the book.  The supplied assessment engine will be able to provide you feedback based on how you have performed chapter wise, and also provide the answers to all questions within the books.  What seems like a complete study package actually ends up falling short for a few reasons.

Thoughts to Consider

While the CCNA Certification Library provides more information then you’ll ever need to know for the exam, there are some concerns worth noting around just that very point. This book is very useful when used as a reference guide both for studying and after your exam.  However, it must be noted that if you are preparing for CCNA exam, this may not be the best choice. This is because of the complexity in writing styles and the information overload in almost every chapter provided in this book.  It’s not an easy read and in no way is structured around specifically studying and passing your CCNA exam.  The book is more of a brain dump from Cisco and every topic that comes up on the CCNA.

CCNA Study Guides

With the help of targeted CCNA study guides, you can learn the exact material you need to know to pass your CCNA exam effectively and easily.  In order to prepare for your own CCNA exam, you should really consider picking up a quality study guide and use the CCNA Certification Library as a reference if needed for different topics as they come up.