31 Days Before Your CCNA Exam: A day-by-day review guide for the CCNA 640-802 exam (2nd Edition)

In short an interesting title, exclusively written for the Cisco Network Academy students, who are preparing for the Cisco CCNA 640-802 Certification exam. The author Allan Johnson takes a very broad look at practical way to make you understand the concepts in 31 days in a very concise way. He has emphasized on concepts and terminologies used in Cisco CCNA 640-802 Certification exam in an interesting way which definitely helps you to summarize your learning. Although the title "31 days before your CCNA Exam" aims at Cisco Network Academy students, but it can be used for the Cisco CCNA 640-802 Certification aspirers who does self study. The author Allan Johnson divided the title suiting in to 31 chapters, which are so concise you can finish each chapter in an hour. The cream of the title "31 days before your CCNA Exam" is the section called "Exam day and post exam information" which gives the CCNA Certification aspirers guidelines on what to expect after the completion of exam as well as what they should do if they fail to pass the exam on first attempt. One more section that I really liked is "CCNA Skills review and practice" which helps you to practice the CCNA skills which includes most of the CCNA 640-802 exam configurations skills in one topology, which covers topics like VLAN configuration, frame-relay configuration, inter vlan routing, EIGRP,VTP, port security , STP. You can practice those topologies either on Cisco Packet Tracer or GNS3 graphical network simulator. Overall the title "31 days before your CCNA Exam" is a true gem, but cannot be a only source for passing CCNA 640-802 exam, this title is good for the some one who is looking for quick reference on CCNA 640-802 exam topics in an well organized way. I thank Cisco Press and Jamie in particular for providing me the copy of "31 days before your CCNA Exam" Contents......Page 9 Introduction......Page 26 Part I: Networking Basics......Page 32 Devices......Page 34 Media......Page 36 Networking Icons......Page 38 Physical and Logical Topologies......Page 39 The Hierarchical Network Model......Page 40 The Enterprise Architecture......Page 41 Network Documentation......Page 42 Study Resources......Page 43 The OSI and TCP/IP Models......Page 44 Growth of Network-Based Applications......Page 48 Study Resources......Page 50 The TCP/IP Transport Layer......Page 52 The TCP/IP Internet Layer......Page 57 The TCP/IP Network Access Layer......Page 58 Data Encapsulation Summary......Page 59 Study Resources......Page 60 Part II: Switching Concepts and Configuration......Page 62 Ethernet Overview......Page 64 Legacy Ethernet Technologies......Page 65 UTP Cabling......Page 67 Benefits of Using Switches......Page 68 Ethernet Addressing......Page 69 Ethernet Framing......Page 70 The Role of the Physical Layer......Page 71 Study Resources......Page 72 Evolution to Switching......Page 74 Switching Logic......Page 75 Frame Forwarding......Page 76 Accessing and Navigating Cisco IOS......Page 77 Storing and Erasing Configuration Files......Page 82 Study Resources......Page 83 Basic Switch Configuration Commands......Page 84 Configuring SSH Access......Page 86 Configuring Port Security......Page 87 Shutting Down and Securing Unused Interfaces......Page 89 Study Resources......Page 90 Troubleshooting Methodology......Page 92 Verifying Network Connectivity......Page 93 Interface Status and the Switch Configuration......Page 96 CDP as a Troubleshooting Tool......Page 99 Study Resources......Page 101 VLAN Concepts......Page 102 VTP Concepts......Page 107 STP Concepts and Operation......Page 109 RSTP Concepts and Operation......Page 111 Configuring and Verifying STP......Page 113 Study Resources......Page 116 Sample Topology......Page 118 VLAN Configuration and Verification Commands......Page 119 Configuring and Verifying Trunking......Page 122 Troubleshooting VLAN and Trunking Problems......Page 124 Study Resources......Page 126 VTP Configuration and Verification......Page 128 VTP Troubleshooting......Page 133 Inter-VLAN Routing Configuration and Verification......Page 134 Troubleshooting Inter-VLAN Routing......Page 136 Study Resources......Page 137 Part III: Addressing the Network......Page 138 IPv4 Addressing......Page 140 Subnetting in Four Steps......Page 143 VLSM......Page 147 Summarizing Subnet Addresses......Page 149 Private and Public IP Addressing......Page 150 Study Resources......Page 151 Addressing Devices......Page 154 ARP......Page 155 DNS......Page 157 DHCP......Page 158 Configuring on a Cisco Router as a DHCP Server......Page 159 Network Layer Testing Tools......Page 163 Study Resources......Page 165 Overview of IPv6......Page 168 IPv6 Address Structure......Page 170 Transitioning to IPv6......Page 173 Study Resources......Page 175 Part IV: Routing Concepts and Configuration......Page 176 Packet Forwarding......Page 178 Routing Methods......Page 180 Classifying Dynamic Routing Protocols......Page 181 Dynamic Routing Metrics......Page 183 Administrative Distance......Page 184 IGP Comparison Summary......Page 185 Routing Loop Prevention......Page 186 Link-State Routing Protocol Features......Page 187 Study Resources......Page 189 Router Internal Components......Page 192 Router Bootup Process......Page 193 Router Connections......Page 195 Study Resources......Page 197 Basic Router Configuration......Page 198 Verifying Network Connectivity......Page 206 Study Resources......Page 208 The Cisco IOS File System......Page 210 Manage IOS Images......Page 214 Recovering a Lost Password......Page 219 Study Resources......Page 220 Static Route Configuration......Page 222 RIP Concepts......Page 228 Study Resources......Page 240 EIGRP Operation......Page 242 EIGRP Configuration......Page 245 EIGRP Verification and Troubleshooting......Page 252 Study Resources......Page 257 OSPF Operation......Page 258 OSPF Configuration......Page 264 Verifying and Troubleshooting OSPF......Page 270 Study Resources......Page 274 The Basic Commands......Page 276 Discontiguous Networks......Page 277 Troubleshooting RIP......Page 278 Troubleshooting Neighbor Adjacency Issues......Page 279 Study Resources......Page 281 Part V: Wireless Concepts and Configuration......Page 282 Wireless Standards......Page 284 Wireless Frequencies......Page 285 Wireless Encoding and Channels......Page 286 CSMA/CA......Page 287 Wireless Security Risks......Page 288 Wireless Security Standards......Page 289 Study Resources......Page 290 Implementing a WLAN......Page 292 Study Resources......Page 295 Part VI: Basic Security Concepts and Configuration......Page 296 The Importance of Security......Page 298 Common Security Threats......Page 301 General Mitigation Techniques......Page 304 Maintaining Security......Page 306 Study Resources......Page 307 Part VII: ACL and NAT Concepts and Configuration......Page 308 ACL Concepts......Page 310 Configuring Standard Numbered ACLs......Page 313 Configuring Extended Numbered ACLs......Page 315 Configuring Named ACLs......Page 317 Adding Comments to Named or Numbered ACLs......Page 318 Study Resources......Page 319 Verifying ACLs......Page 320 Troubleshooting ACLs......Page 322 Study Resources......Page 326 NAT Concepts......Page 328 Configuring Dynamic NAT......Page 332 Verifying NAT......Page 334 Troubleshooting NAT......Page 335 Study Resources......Page 337 Part VIII: WAN Concepts and Configuration......Page 338 WAN Technology Concepts......Page 340 WAN Connection Options......Page 344 VPN Technology......Page 351 Study Resources......Page 357 HDLC......Page 360 PPP Concepts......Page 362 PPP Configuration and Verification......Page 365 Study Resources......Page 367 Frame Relay Concepts......Page 368 Configuring and Verifying Frame Relay......Page 374 Troubleshooting WAN Implementations......Page 380 Study Resources......Page 383 CCNA Skills Practice......Page 384 CCNA Skills Practice (Answers)......Page 391 CCNA Skills Challenge......Page 405 Part IX: Exam Day and Post-Exam Information......Page 406 What You Should Receive After Completion......Page 408 Summary......Page 409 Determining Career Options......Page 410 Summary......Page 411 A......Page 412 C......Page 413 D......Page 416 E......Page 417 F......Page 418 H......Page 419 I......Page 420 J-K-L......Page 421 N......Page 422 O......Page 423 P......Page 424 S......Page 425 T......Page 427 U......Page 428 V......Page 429 X-Y-Z......Page 430 31 Days Before your CCNA Exam, Second Edition, offers you a personable and practical way to understand the certification process, commit to taking the exam, and finish your preparation using a variety of Foundational and Supplemental study resources. The book breaks down key exam topics into 31 daily review sessions using short summaries, lists, tables, examples, and graphics. A Study Resources section provides you with a quick reference for locating more in-depth treatment of a days topics within the relevant Foundational and Supplemental resources. Use this day-by-day guide to organize, prepare, and review all the CCNA objectives. The features of the book empower you to fit exam preparation into an otherwise busy Tear out visual calendar summarizes each days study topics Checklist highlights import This updated edition breaks down key exam topics into 31 daily review sessions using short summaries, lists, tables, examples, and graphics. A Study Resources section provides users with a quick reference for locating more in-depth treatment of a day's topics within the relevant Foundational and Supplemental resources