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WAN Technologies CCNA 4 Companion Guide Author: Allan Reid Format: Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Cisco Press; Bk&CD-Rom edition (August 22, 2006) ISBN-10: 1587131722 ISBN-13: 978-1587131721 |
WAN Technologies CCNA 4 Labs and Study Guide Author: John Rullan Format: Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Cisco Press; Study Gd edition (August 30, 2006) ISBN-10: 1587131730 ISBN-13: 978-1587131738 |
Review by James Pyles
December 28, 2006Books are usually reviewed separately, however both of these publications are inexorably linked as study and lab texts for Cisco's Netacademy WAN Technologies course (part 4 of the CCNA Network Academy curriculum). Of course, they are meant to be used in concert with the online content but can also be independent of it and thus can be said to "stand alone". Still, there are two different authors involved and information is presented differently. What if one book is excellent but the other...well...isnt? Here's where we find out.
After overcoming a wave of nostalgia from my own Networking Academy experiences, I recalled that it's just about impossible to evaluate these books separately...at least it is if you want to preserve the purpose for which they were written. Whenever you are in the Companion Guide and come across a note such as Lab 1-2 Configuring PAT (1.1.4b), you are compelled (well, I am anyway) to pick up the Lab Guide and look up the reference. I felt rather "incomplete" not being logged into a router so had to be satisfied with reconstructing the experience from memory.
One thing that did help was having the full version of Packet Tracer v3.2 on the CD inside the Companion Guide. The Challenge Questions and Activities section at the end of each chapter included exercises involving Packet Tracer. Exercise files are available to be downloaded from Cisco Press so with CD in hand and an Internet connection, you can work on the tasks without having a Cisco lab physically tucked away in your bedroom. Please keep in mind though, that in the actual classroom (if you didn't know this already) you do practice on Cisco equipment, so Packet Tracer won't be your only tool.
I found that the Companion Guide was well equipped to take the student through the basics of WAN technologies and the Lab Guide provided a "hand-in-glove" mapping between concept and practice. The Companion Guide also makes it clear that you are not guaranteed to pass with this material alone. The front matter in the book references various online resources as well as Wendell Odom's CCNA Certification Library (CCNA Self-Study, Exam #640-801) (Cisco Press; Bk&CD-Rom edition, August 12, 2003, ISBN-10: 1587200953).
Putting together a certification study program involves collecting and organizing various elements. WAN Technologies CCNA 4 Companion Guide and WAN Technologies CCNA 4 Labs and Study Guide are two (or one depending on your point of view) important elements for any student of the Networking Academy and provide the basis for understanding and working with WAN technologies at the CCNA level. "Hands on" is the key for learning many things including networking and that's the foundation these guides provide. To quote Captain Kirk, "We learn by doing".