The CCNP Switching Exam Certification Guide is a fine study guide--and we say that because you'll definitely need to dig in your heels a bit to get the most out of this book, and it's not a primer by any means. But it's the next best thing you'll get to a Cisco class, and if you're prepared to put in your time on this book, it will reward you quite nicely. The Exam Certification Guide maps closely to the exam objectives and covers them at about the level of depth you can expect to see on the exam--which is no surprise, given that it's written by Cisco. It's also written in a very dense, text-bookish style, and is much closer to an actual user manual than many of the "soft" test preparation books out there. Whether you view this as a plus or minus really depends on your point of view:
*If you're new to switching technology or are a book learner, you may see this book as hard to get through, since the usual "friendly" explanations and padded paragraphs are totally absent.
*If you're a tech who's looking for as much quick information as you can possibly get, or if you're passingly familiar with the tech to begin with, this book will be exactly what you're looking for.
Despite the brevity of what this book does, it explains things well and thoroughly. The writing is clear and concise, even when the concepts may not be, and the wealth of diagrams, flowcharts (this book is big on flowcharts and rightfully so), and tables help clarify and condense the information you need to know for the exam. And, because the information is coming from the horse's mouth, there are fewer technical errors than are usually present in even the best exam books.
If the book can be said to have a flaw for the serious techie, it's that this is a "learning" book, not a "testing" book. You'll definitely understand the concepts, but the questions at the end of each chapter are open-ended (as opposed to the multiple-choice questions you'll see at the testing centers) and don't necessarily prepare the reader for the pressure-cooker process of having to quickly choose between several similar-sounding answers with subtle distinctions. The book itself presents large masses of information without necessarily hinting at what sections are critical for passing the exam and which ones aren't. In that sense, the CCNP Switching Exam Certification Guide prepares you for real life but may fail you on the exam.
However, that's why we say that diligent preparation will save the day. Unlike other books, which focus exclusively on the "quick fix" solutions that get you through the exam but may cause you to make an idiot of yourself in real life, this book is concerned with the whole shebang. It takes more work to absorb the morass of information--but getting part of this book may ultimately be more useful than snarfing down entire, lesser, preparation guides. Recommended. --William Steinmetz
