MPLS Fundamentals

I've finally finished reading and noting the CiscoPress MPLS Fundamentals book. It's only appropriate that I give my thoughts on the book. I was hoping it would be a bit like the Routing TCP/IP book - an easy read which slowly builds your knowledge until you look back and say "Oh my gawd how did I learn all that?". Well it was nothing like that. Some chapters were really "crunchy" full of facts and not enough words to make it clear or easy to read. Other chapters were just plain repetitive (the QoS one for example). I found it a little annoying how it introduced subjects. Often there would be two alternatives presented in a reasonable amount of depth followed up by a paragraph saying... "Cisco implemented option 1". There was also some plain bad editing - at least a few places where the example did not marry up with the text around it, and some where they talk about some numbered items and refer to one that doesn't exist in their list (ie they'd have a list of 4 items and refer to item 5).

Even after all of that I'd have to say I don't regret getting the book. It did cover most of the topics that are in the CCIP MPLS outline to a reasonable depth and covered a few extras that are useful. There were a few chapters that I could have skipped - but I read them anyway because the CCIP MPLS outline and the associated course differ so you can't be too sure what really is going to be on the exam. My recommendation would be to read the MPLS Fundamentals book cover to cover before you start writing notes. Then start again from page 1.

There is still a bit of a gap betweeen the book and the exam outline, so I am going to do a little more reading (not sure if I will grab another book or hit the DocCD and Cisco site). Either way I think I have about two weeks before I'll hit the exam - I'd like a week of solid GNS3 work at night as well as a while to go through my notes and flesh out the bits that the Fundamentals book didn't cover.