The CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) certification is the second step toward the CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert) certification. This book is mapped to the Advanced Cisco Router Configuration course. It includes coverage of all exam objectives.
Best-selling certification author Todd Lammle (
CCNA Exam Notes) comes through again with the
CCNP Exam Notes: Advanced Cisco Router Configuration guide, writing a very clear overview of the key information needed to pass the exam.
The book does a commendable job of taking some of the very complex technologies involved in Cisco routing (EIGRP configuration, OSPF interconnection, dial-on-demand routing configuration) and boiling them down to the essential concepts. Lammle follows the old journalistic saw of "tell 'em you're gonna tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you told 'em" by prefacing each section with a short blurb, moving into the main text, and then following up with a set of factoids, key terms and concepts. A minor gripe is that key terms and concepts should probably go before each section, not after.
The writing itself is among the best in certification guides to date, illustrating the internal "thought processes" of routing protocols clearly and without extraneous text. By concentrating on the reasons why the fact that, to take a simple example, RIP broadcasts the entire routing table every 60 seconds can be a problem, it helps the reader to understand in what networks RIP works and when OSPF or EIGRP might be a better choice.
The book's clarity and conciseness fails in one major aspect: the actual IOS commands used to set the router. The ACRC Exam Notes does an extremely competent job at detailing the exact steps required to configure routers for each task noted, but frequently provides little explanation as to what each command does in detail. To be fair, however, the book tells you at the beginning that there is no substitute for hands-on Cisco router experience, and seems to assume that you will have extensive access to a router to back up the lessons learned here. This could be a problem for the vast number of "book learned" certificate-seekers out there, but professionals seeking a "freebie" certification won't be troubled--nor will those who have prepared with other study guides.
Also, the book gives little attention to the complex Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)--if you don't know it beforehand, you certainly won't know it after you read this book, either. It may be that BGP isn't a topic that comes up on the ACRC much--but if that's the case it should be specified, since Exam Notes points out many other critical areas that are frequently quizzed on.
Another slight problem is that the multiple-choice quizzes following each section are extremely limited (four at most per section, usually two) and tend to be absurdly simple questions that at times exactly parrot the Exam Essentials. Considering that the Cisco exams are among the tougher exams in the industry (Is there any certification exam tougher than the CCIE?), a sample exam at the end or even more in-depth questions would not be out of line here.
Still, considering its low price, this guide is well worth the sawbuck it'll take to get it. It's perfect for the professional who wants to make sure they've got it down before the test or for the beginner who's looking to get a high-level overview. --William Steinmetz, Amazon.com
Topics covered: Managing and configuring access lists (regular and extended), configuring OSPF and EIGRP in small and large-area networks, the four types of queuing configurations, optimising routing updates, DDR routing, connecting enterprises to ISPs, source-route bridging and configuring both ISDN and T1/E1 options.
