Cisco Certification: Introduction To ISDN, Part V by Chris Bryant
The major reason I recommend getting your hands on real Cisco equipment rather than a simulator is that real Cisco routers give you the chance to practice and learn show and debug commands. The knowledge you acquire from debugs is invaluable. Frankly, it's this knowledge that puts you above the... R2#debug ppp negotiation PPP protocol negotiation debugging is on R2#ping 172.12.21.1 BR0:1 PPP: Phase is AUTHENTICATING, by both BR0:1 CHAP: O CHALLENGE id 1 len 23 from "R2" BR0:1 CHAP: I CHALLENGE id 1 len 23 from "R1" BR0:1 CHAP: O RESPONSE id 1 len 23 from "R2" BR0:1 CHAP: I SUCCESS id 1...

Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification- Deciphering Ping Results by Chris Bryant
As you study for your CCNA and CCNP exams, particularly if you're getting hands-on practice in your home lab or rack rental service, you're going to be sending a lot of pings. As a CCNA or CCNP candidate, you know that five exclamation points (!!!!!) as a ping return indicates that you have IP... As a CCNA and CCNP, you've got to know how to diagnose the problem and resolve it. ... Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 22.2.2.2, timeout is 2 seconds: 3d23h: IP: s=172.12.123.1 (local), d=22.2.2.2 (Serial0), len 100, sending R1#traceroute 22.2.2.2 Type escape sequence to abort.

Cisco CCNA Certification Exam Tutorial: Variance And Unequal Cost Load Balancing by Chris Bryant
To pass the CCNA exam, you've got to know how to work with IGRP and EIGRP unequal-cost load balancing. You may not see much IGRP in production networks anymore, but you'll see a lot of EIGRP, and part of fine-tuning your EIGRP network is making sure that all paths are in use while allowing for... IGRP unequal-cost load balancing takes some practice, but as you can see, once you get the metric it's easy to work with. ... There is another valid path that uses the 172.12.13.0 network, but is not currently in use.

Cisco Certification: A Survival Guide To The Cisco Cable Jungle by Chris Bryant
One of the most confusing parts of beginning your Cisco studies is keeping all the cable types separate in your mind, and then remembering what they’re used for. This often occurs when a CCNA or CCNP candidate starts putting together their own home practice lab, and they suddenly realize that... Finally, there’s the DTE/DCE cable. ... Without a rollover cable (also commonly called a “console cable”), you can’t connect your laptop directly to a Cisco device. ... This is the blue cable that comes with new Cisco devices, and it’s the one that engineers tend to hold on to with their lives.

CIsco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: Introduction To Policy Routing by Chris Bryant
Policy routing is a major topic on your BSCI exam, and you'll find quite a bit of policy routing going on in today's production networks. But what exactly is policy routing? Policy-based routing, generally referred to as "policy routing", is the use of route maps to determine the path a packet... Knowing policy routing and how to apply it are essential skills for passing the BSCI exam, earning your CCNP, and becoming more valuable in today's job market. ... Since there is no action listed, this packet would return to the routing engine to undergo the normal routing procedure.