Accessing the WAN: CCNA Exploration Companion Guide

Accessing the WAN, CCNA Exploration Companion Guide is the official supplemental textbook for the Accessing the WAN course in the Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Exploration curriculum version 4. This course discusses the WAN technologies and network services required by converged applications in enterprise networks. The Companion Guide, written and edited by Networking Academy instructors, is designed as a portable desk reference to use anytime, anywhere. The book’s features reinforce the material in the course to help you focus on important concepts and organize your study time for exams.

New and improved features help you study and succeed in this course:

• Chapter objectives: Review core concepts by answering the focus questions listed at the beginning of each chapter.
• Key terms: Refer to the updated lists of networking vocabulary introduced and turn to the highlighted terms in context in each chapter.
• Glossary: Consult the all-new comprehensive glossary with more than 250 terms.
• Check Your Understanding questions and answer key: Evaluate your readiness with the updated end-of-chapter questions that match the style of questions you see on the online course quizzes. The answer key explains each answer.
• Challenge questions and activities: Strive to ace more challenging review questions and activities designed to prepare you for the complex styles of questions you might see on the CCNA exam. The answer key explains each answer.

Bob Vachon is the coordinator of the Computer Systems Technology program and teaches networking infrastructure courses at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Bob has worked and taught in the computer networking and information technology field for 25 years and is a scholar graduate of Cambrian College. 

Rick Graziani teaches computer science and computer networking courses at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. Rick has worked and taught in the computer networking and information technology field for 30 years.

How To: Look for this icon to study the steps that you need to learn to perform certain tasks.

Packet Tracer Activities: Explore networking concepts in activities interspersed throughout some chapters using

Packet Tracer v4.1 developed by Cisco. The files for these activities are on the accompanying CD-ROM.

Also available for the Accessing the WAN Course

Accessing the WAN,

CCNA Exploration

Labs and Study Guide

ISBN-10: 1-58713-201-X

ISBN-13: 978-1-58713-201-8

Companion CD-ROM

The CD-ROM provides many useful tools and information to support your education:

Packet Tracer Activity exercise files

• A Guide to Using a Networker’s Journal booklet
• Taking Notes: A .txt file of the chapter objectives
• More IT Career Information
• Tips on Lifelong Learning in Networking

This book is part of the Cisco Networking Academy Series from Cisco Press. The products in this series support and complement the Cisco Networking Academy online curriculum.

Bob Vachon

is the coordinator of the Computer Systems Technology program at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, where he teaches networking infrastructure courses.

He has worked and taught in the computer networking and information technology field since 1984. He is a scholar graduate of Cambrian College, and he received the prestigious

Teaching Excellence Award in 1997. Vachon has been a Cisco Networking Academy instructor since 1999 and has been CCNP certified since 2002. He has worked with Cisco

as team lead, author, CCNP certification assessment developer, and subject matter expert on a variety of projects, including CCNA, CCNP, and global partner training courses. He

enjoys playing the guitar and being outdoors, either working in his gardens or white-water canoe tripping.

Rick Graziani teaches computer science and computer networking courses at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. He has worked and taught in the computer networking and

information technology fields for almost 30 years. Before that, he worked in IT for various companies, including Santa Cruz Operation, Tandem Computers, and Lockheed Missiles

and Space Corporation. He holds an M.A. in computer science and systems theory from California State University Monterey Bay. Graziani also does consulting work for Cisco and

other companies. When he is not working, he is most likely surfing. He is an avid surfer who enjoys longboarding at his favorite Santa Cruz surf breaks.