ISBN1587131641

This book is a general introduction to networking the Cisco way. It is used as a textbook by many of the training academies that are preparing students for the Cisco CCNA exam. It is also recommended by most of those that don't absolutely require it as an additional source of study and practice materials.

This is the first book in the series and begins with 'What's a Network.' From there it goes step by step to the last chapter which is on TCP/IP Transport and Application Layers. The book is written like a text, and when the course of study is finished it should be kept as a reference book. It also contains numerous questions as a way to check your understanding of the material and your readiness to pass the certification exam.

The CD-ROM that is included with the book contains additional information, interactive media that visually demonstrate key topics, and other learning tools.

When I first saw the title of this book, I thought is sounded too simple. Not sure that I wanted a "basic" book on my professional bookshelf. Maybe "essentials" or "principles" would have been better. But, I took a look at it. When I saw the section on hexadecimal I thought that, again, it might be simple a book. But, it wasn't.

Yes, it covers the fundamentals, but that's what it is for. I would recommend watching the interactive lessons, first. You get a quick dose of information, some of which you might already know. That will probably help speed up the browsing process.

For the intro level material, I'll probably still keep it on my bookshelf at work.

I am 48 yo and I am studying IT to re-qualify myself to find a new job.
Years ago I studied networks basics but I really didn't grasp the subject.

Now I read this book and I found clear explanations that led me to better understanding what's going on in LANs and WANs.

There are only two chapters that I found hard to follow, because they are heavily focused on the IEEE specifications (that sure are important but also very complex and full of confusing achronyms), but that apart, now I can say that my knowledge about LANs, NICs, MAC, LLC, Hub, Switches, Routers, ecc.. ecc.. is really clear.

It's well written and very useful if you works in IT fields or even if you are curious to understand the fundamentals of networking, that is a very complex subject.