This practical desk companion doubles as a comprehensive overview of the basic knowledge and skills needed by CCENT, CCNA, and CCNP exam takers. It distills a comprehensive library of cheat sheets, lab configurations, and advanced commands that the authors assembled as senior network engineers for the benefit of junior engineers they train, mentor on the job, and prepare for Cisco certification exams. Prior familiarity with Cisco routing and switching is desirable but not necessary, as Chris Carthern, Dr. Will Wilson, Noel Rivera, and Richard Bedwell start their book with a review of the basics of configuring routers and switches. All the more advanced chapters have labs and exercises to reinforce the concepts learned.