This book can provide a solid foundation for the serious effort of preparing for the Cisco Certified Network Professional Switching exam. To best benefit from this book, use the following study method:

1. Take the assessment test immediately following this introduction.（The answers are at the end of the test.） Carefully read over the explanations for any question you get wrong, and note which chapters the material comes from. This information should help you plan your study strategy.

2．Study each chapter carefully，making sure you fully understand the information and the test objectives listed at the beginning of each chapter. Pay extra close attention to any chapter where you missed questions in the assessment test．

3．Complete all hands-on exercises in the chapter，referring to the chapter so that you understand the reason for each step you take. If you do not have Cisco equipment available，make sure to study the examples carefully. Also，check www.routersim.com for a router simulator.

4．Answer the review questions related to each chapter，（The answers appear at the end of the chapter，after the review questions．） Note the questions that confuse you，and study those sections of the book again．

5．Take the practice exam In Appendix A．The answers appear at the end of the exam．

6．Try your hand at the bonus practice exam that is included on the CD that comes with this book．The questions in this exam appear only on the CD．This will give you a complete overview of what you can expect to see on the real thing．

7．Use the products on the CD included with this book．The electronic flashcards，the Boson Software utilities，and the Edge Test exam preparation software have all been specifically picked to help you study for and pass your exam．Study on the road with the CCNP: Switching Study Guide electronic book in PDF，and be sure to test yourself with the electronic flashcards．

8. Make sure to read the "Key Terms" and "Commands in This Chapter" lists at the end of the chapters．Appendix B includes all the commands used in the book，including explanations for each command.

To learn all the material covered in this book，you'll have to apply yourself regularly and with discipline. Try to set aside the same time period every day to study, and select a comfortable and quiet place to do so．If you work hard, you Will be surprised at how quickly you learn this material．All the best！

目
录
Introduction
Assessment
Test
Chapter
1The
Campus
Network
Chapter
2Connecting
the
Switch
Block
Chapter
3VLANs
Chapter
4Layer
2
Switching
and
the
Spanning
Tree
Protocol
STPChapter
5Using
Spanning
Tree
With
VLANS
Chapter
6Inter-VLAN
Routing
Chapter
7Multi-Layer
Switching
MLSChapter
8Hot
Standby
Routing
Protocol
HSRPChapter
9Multicast
Chapter
10Configuring
Multicast
Chapter
11Access
Pollcies
Appendix
A
Practice
Exam
Appendix
B
Commands
Used
in
This
Book
Appendix
CInternet
Multicast
Addresses
Glossary

......

A campus network is a building or group of buildings that connects to one network, called an enterprise network. Typically, one company owns the entire network, including the wiring between buildings. This local area network (LAN) typically uses Ethernet, Token Ring, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technologies.

The main challenge for network administrators is to make the campus network run efficiently and effectively. To do this, they must understand current campus networks as well as the new emerging campus networks. Therefore, in this chapter, you will learn about current and future requirements of campus internetworks. We'll explain the limitations of traditional campus networks as well as the benefits of the emerging campus designs. You will learn how to choose from among the new generation of Cisco switches to maximize the performance of your networks. Understanding how to design for the emerging campus networks is not only critical to your success on the Switching exam, it's also critical for implementing production networks.

As part of the instruction in network design, we'll discuss the specifics of technologies, including how to implement Ethernet and the differences between layer 2, layer 3, and layer 4 switching technologies. In particular, you will learn how to implement FastEthernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Fast EtherChannel, and Multi-Layer Switching (MLS) in the emerging campus designs. This will help you learn how to design, implement, and maintain an efficient and effective internetwork.