CCNA Security Course Booklet, Version 1.0

There is no figure in the whole book. You must refer to Cisco Academy Online material to find the associated figures in all chapters.

This is a verbatim transcriptions of the online materials. No diagrams and pictures! Since some of the tables and command outputs were graphic files online, they are not in this booklet either.

Although I like the convenience of the "offline" nature of having this booklet, the lack of illutration almost renders it useless, especially considering how much emphasis CCNA Security is focusing on the SDM.

It seems that Cisco rushed this booklet to press just to have it out there without considering its impact. I understand this is v1.0, but it feels like an alpha release.

All that being said, though, if you are taking this course with Cisco NetAcad, it is nice to be able to highlight and make notes on the booklet - the only thing saving it from me giving it 1 star.

This book is a bound printed version of the Cisco Network Academy security course. It does not have the fancy animation and graphics as the online course has and actually it references those graphics but if you are like me and don't like reading on a computer screen or like to highlight and make notes in books than this is a good addition to the course. This book nor the lab manual comes with a CD with Packet Tracer labs so you will have to have an Academy account and enrolled in the course to download them but Packet Tracer does not have all the setup for all of the labs for the course so you will need access to actual equipment and the Cisco SDM (or run it in Demo mode) to get the full experience.

This book with the lab manual and a copy of Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS) also from Cisco Press will definitely help you secure the knowledge needed on the job and passing the Cisco CCNA Security exam.