CCNP: which (recent) books for preparation for bcran

[gramses]

Hi Cisco guys,
I passed yesterday my ccna, and I'm looking forwards to begin with ccnp; actually I had to prepare for the ccna also with ccnp stuff as complementary documentations including older LearnKey videos.
I decided to begin to prepare for the BCRAN exam rather than the difficult one BSCI and BCMSN (would like to pass the CIT at last). Is this a feasable order to go through CCNP?
Do any body knows which is the best book (recent and evt revied editions) to prepare the bcran, as I heared or read bad reviews on cisco press (self study bcran-

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587051486/qid=1143291172/302-9580698-0371214).

would be thankful for any advice.

 

[gramses]

another question,
from the cisco press there is mentioned:
Self studies
Practical studies
Certification guide

what's the difference and what to recommend?

 

[gramses]

I had to look for it at self before wasting forum space:

Learn: CCNP Self-Study: Building Cisco Remote Access Networks
Experience: CCNP Practical Studies: Remote Access
Prepare: CCNP BCRAN Exam Certification Guide, Second Ed.
Practice: CCNP Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack

sorry guys

 

[CiscoGuy33]

gramses,

I have the CCNP CBT Nuggets (from CBT Nuggets) and I like them a lot.

I also am using both Cisco Press and Sybex books right now as well as Cisco Press/Boson CCNA sim and a very extensive CCNP lab made up of several 2500 and 2600 routers and 2900 switches.

I passed the Advanced Routing exam - hardest exam I have ever taken! CCNA was a walk in the park compared to my first CCNP test. All I can say is that you need to know routing backwards and forwards and it helps to have a stack to practice on - IS IS, EIGRP, OSPF, BGP - I think I even remember a RIP question.

I am working on Switching now.

Practice: CCNP Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack - I just saw this at Borders tonight and it looked good - 1,000s of questions on Flash cards with answers on the back - has a CD also.

Congrats on the CCNA and good luck on the CCNP.



E.A. Broda
CCNA, CCDA, CCAI, Network +

 

[techkiwi]

I am currently working towards BCRAN using the Ciscopress Exam Certification Guide which has gotten not terribly good reviews. One thing to remember is NEVER rely on just one source. I am using this book as a starting point but backing it up with lab work and CCO.

The difference between the self-study and the exam certification books is that the self-study books are more in-depth than the exam certification books. The self-study books (

http://www.ciscopress.com/series/publisher.asp?st=44059

)are designed for learning the material from scratch, whereas the exam certification books (

http://www.ciscopress.com/series/publisher.asp?st=44066

)are designed for reviewing the material once you've learned it. I used self-study books to pass BSCI and BCMSN, decided I would try something different for BCRAN. I may regret it! I'll let you know once I've sat the exam.

Graham