Ok to compliment the approved ccsa coursework., 17 Sep 2005
The book lacks the depthness of the ccsa exam syllabus but makes it up with the detailed Q & A's.
I passed my ccsa using the coursework manual and this book to compliment my revision.
The book comes with a cd which has an electronic version of this title and a set of 20 test questions that resemble the real exam questions. Though I would opt for the selftest revision questions.
Good Luck.
Good but not complete, 05 Jul 2004
I just passed the CCSA exam using this book.
Not everything in the exam is covered by the book. The two most glaring inadequacies, in my opinion, were the lack of time devoted to SmartDefense and Storm Centre. These two topics appear in some depth in the exam and the book does not match up to the requirements. I found myself having to answer the Storm Centre question using nothing more than educated guesswork.
On the other hand, the book covers the important topic of authentication thoroughly and clearly, and this was an exam section where I did well.
So if you're coming to this exam with some experience or knowledge of the product, the book will help you fill out the gaps, but be aware that if those gaps are quite large, as they were in my case, you will most likely need some extra help.
Very good - but with a few minor flaws, 06 Mar 2003
This book is perfect if you wish to stduy for the CCSA NG FP3 exam. The text is very well laid out with a very in-depth, but very readable, explanation of the different topics that are needed to understand and (More importantly) pass the CCSA exam.
The only minor niggle is that the book's self text exam software is slightly flawed and some of the text doesn't relate exactly to the figures in the books. This should not, however, detract from wanting to buy the book as it doesn't affect the validity of the content.
In summary, if you want to learn more about FW-1/VPN-1 FP3 or take the CCSA NG exam, then buy this book, don't let the minor niggles put you off, I have the other CCSA book published by McGraw-Hill and this simply doesn't compare.
Great study aide, hot topic, 03 Jan 2002
This book covers all of the key points of the CCSA exam. It goes into a lot greater depth than the course material does by itself, and it is a lot less expensive.
Contrary to belief, this exam is NOT retiring in the near future. There is not a planned expiration at this time. I recommend doing this exam since most companies have not moved to NG yet.
A good book, but limited now in its use., 03 Dec 2001
This book covers all of the main topics that you would need to get you along the road to passing your CCSA. I don't personally see the relevance of covering encryption, since this is a CCSE exam topic. Overall however it is well written and if studied carefully should enable a pass, however, the course documentation also covers all of these topics. I have a real problem with exam cram type books in general, there is no real substitute for the course and practical experience.
Be aware that the book covers only CP2000 and aince Next Generation is now shipping a CP2000 CCSA pass wil only have relevance for another 6 months. I would consider this carefully.
Pro's and cons of this book., 11 Mar 2004
I have used this book in preparation for my CCSA NG exam and it doesn't cover half of the neccessary topics that you need.Things like smartdefense, smartview tracker and smartdashboard were not covered at all in this book but you need that knowledge for the exam. If you are attempting the CCSA NG exam this book should be "one" of the books that you use and not the only "one". There were several spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Doesn't look like it was proofread at all. However this book is clear and precise in the ways that information is laid out & delivered.
Good content let down by hopeless English, 28 Jan 2004
The content of this book is excellent - I have found it to be really useful not only as an exam preparation but also at work, especially as I am a relative newcomer to Firewall-1 NG.
I have some practical experience in FW1 version 4.1 and this book has helped a great deal with my migration to NG. It contains not only facts you need to know for the CCSA exam (which is my immediate target) but also many practical tips for the real world, e.g. how to accommodate requirements for hosts inside your network to do DNS queries.
But I have a major gripe with this book, and that is the very low standard of English grammar which the author has used. I have found numerous examples where his lack of understanding of punctuation, or even how to put together a sentence which makes sense both mean that the point he is trying to make is lost nearly completely.
This gem comes from page 56: "Make sure you do a file save, although for each object you create it is saved at the time of creation this is not true for rules you have added." In my opinion this makes very little sense at all. What is he talking about? Here's another example of muddle and mystery from page 98: "DNS forward lookups, given www.corefacts.com will always find an IP address providing the site wants to be found."
Unfrotunately there are many examples of this lack of clarity of expression everywhere in the book. It seems to me that when you're explaining such complex matters, it pays to write with precision and to say exactly what you mean; not run together strings of sentences with commas when a full stop is what you need (another error which happens on almost every page).
Does the author have access to a technical editor of even moderate competence? The evidence seems to suggest not.
OK - seems to be rushed in the making, 29 Dec 2003
CONS:
NOT a book for certification. The price of this book does not justify the material provided. The THEORETICAL! descriptions are vague and the details of chapters like SIC, CA's and Cryptography / VPN's is a joke. Fortunately I bought other NG books and I have experience which made up for these things lacking.
PROS:
This books is the best book I have seen in such a way that the Author explains in detail the PRACTICAL steps of configuring CVP, VPN's etc. If I have to set something up, I'll use this book to refer to because the 'exam books' are to filled with nonsense.
This is a good practical reference guide which, if wanting to study for exams, should be used in conjunction with another refrence. Certainly not to be used as a single refrence for exams.
It also seems that the author rushed through the book, which I suspect may be due to the AI exams / courses being released in the near future.
Preparation for the Checkpoint NG Certification, 01 Apr 2003
This is a very comprehensive and detailed book about NG. The author has used his extensive implementation experience when writing this book. The guide starts off giving a detailed explanation on all firewall and network termonology without sounding too technical, the explanations are easy to read and understand. For the CCSA all of the topics are covered and the test questions at the end of each section are pretty detailed.
The CCSE section is more in depth and subjects like securemote are very well explained, this guide can easily be used during live implementations. There is also a section on Feature Pack 3 considering that Checkpoint recently updated these exams.
VPN-1/Firewall-1 CCSA/CCSE - Neil Mackie, 15 Mar 2003
This book provides an excellent knowledge base for anyone wishing to sit the CCSA/CCSE, providing essential background information, as well as Checkpoint specific details.
This book seamlessly guides you through all aspects of implementing a Firewall-1 NG to CCSA/CCSE standards. Providing illustrated examples throughout the book, as well as information that could only be given from an in-depth knowledge of the product (issues known within Firewall-1 and how to get around them).
An easy read, leaving you with a good understanding of both the software and in the concepts it implements. I recommend this book to anyone wishing to sit the CCSA/CCSE.
