Reviews + Awards

CBT Nuggets appears to have taken a lesson from the fast food industry. You don't need an MBA or masters degree in culinary arts to know that bite-size chicken snacks haven't skyrocketed in popularity due to their taste. Convenience is the major selling point.

Following that lead, CBT Nuggets built one of the most popular lines of training aids by breaking IT instruction into readily manageable chunks. The nuggets are concise, easily absorbed training videos. Rather than force you to sit through long instructional modules, these short presentations make it easier to master complicated topics. The video snippets also make it possible to take advantage of idle half-hours here and there by squeezing in study time whenever possible. Longer training sessions just won't fit into such breaks...

Well it has been a long time coming but I have finally got around to watching my CBT Nuggets for CCNA. I have only done the first CD so far but I can honestly say I am amazed (as I was with the MCSE set). These videos are the best thing to hit the certification market since the big companies decided we had to prove our knowledge. The difference between these videos and other training materials is that, not only will you pass the test, it also serves as a constant reference tool in the real world...accurate on every topic.

The trainer for this series is Emilio Valdez, who seems to be a complete expert on this topic. In his profile http://www.cbtnuggets.com/webapp/trainers?id=10 we learn he started as a line of sight microwave technician, worked through many Fortune 500 companies and lives and breathes this stuff. I'm reminded of what Dan Charbonneau (founder of CBTNuggets) wrote once. Emilio was employed by a company that couldn’t afford new routers or switches. This equipment was too outdated to handle the required tasks. And they had no budget to buy new equipment? Did he give up? No, instead he just dismantled every device and completely re-wired and configured the boards and electronics inside! He was then employed to train everyone on the equipment, and supply support for the rest of the staff. Amazing!

In recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to review the CBT Nuggets CCNA package. The product consists of 4 CD’s containing a number of training videos on each, covering all the CCNA objectives.

The training style of the nuggets is unlike the normal methods of classroom training or reading from a book, but rather an excellent combination of the two. This method removes the monotony of the text book and the inconvenience of the classroom. Each video presents new theories and concepts, followed by actual examples and working of the theory on actual routers, switches and PCs.

Emilio Valdez is an excellent tutor with his expert knowledge of both Cisco products and the CCNA, combined with a simplistic teaching style and well interjected with humour.

These nuggets are well suited to both the student with little or no Cisco knowledge, through to the experienced engineer looking to complete the CCNA. Each theory is taught not only to examination level, but beyond that, to complete understanding in a real world scenario.

In my opinion, this is definitely the best CCNA prep software available. I will most definitely be using Emilio’s CCNP nuggets in the next step of my Cisco certification path.

One of the hottest certifications today is the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) by EC-Council. Although this cert has been around for several years now, it seems as though 2006 is the year that the IT training industry has caught onto it as well. With numerous books on the general topics of ethical hacking and penetration testing hitting the market in the last 12 months, it was only a matter of time before we started seeing titles for specific certifications in this area.

CBT Nuggets, some of my favorite IT training videos, has added a Certified Ethical Hacker Series to their library of titles. James I. Conrad takes his shot at showing you the ropes in 11 hours of videos broken into 21 nugget-sized chunks. Although this is clearly not enough time to show the viewer everything there is to know about defending your network from hackers, their tools and techniques, it should be plenty of time to get your studies headed in the right direction.

Although this is a video series, and watching never hurt anyone, you are invariably going to want to try out some of the cool stuff that James shows you. Always keep in the front of your mind the fact that...

CBT Nuggets are the work of Dan Charbonneau. Dan is an MCSE and MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer). He also holds several certifications from Novell and Cisco. Dan owns and operates his own consulting and training firm.

What are CBT Nuggets? CBT (computer based training) Nuggets are an inexpensive, comprehensive video training curriculum. Now, before you start thinking that because these courses are extremely inexpensive (under-priced may be more accurate) that they are inferior, think again.

Hi I am Mayank from India. First of all I would like to appreciate that CBT Nuggets is doing a great work in training people in learning great IT skills, I would really like to focus on your trainer "Jeremy Cioara", I saw some videos done by him on the topic of CCNA, and all I would like to say is this guy is really AWESOME thats the only word to describe him, reason being I have seen a lot other videos from other companies and they all sound like bookish and you get a feel as if you are reading a book, but jeremy teaches in a way that you really get a feel of actually sitting in a classroom and just having fun learning the topic at a mastery level, this guy really has a command over the subject that he teaches and I would say that he really knows networking inside-out, the good thing about his teaching is that he gives real life examples and does funny discussions at times of course related to the topic which keeps the viewer interested and focused on learning.

I am a networking student and I searched a lot of institutes where I could find any person like him who has such a knowledge and help me learn the technology but to my despair I could not find one and I had to come back to CBT Nuggets and I felt great about what Jeremy teaches has zero errors and overall great stuff.

All I would say is keep up the great work going and please dont loose this guy he really is an asset for CBT Nuggets and a great mentor for millions like me around the world who really needs someone knowledgeable like him. Please be informed that in no way I know Jeremy Cioara and this is not intended for any personal benefit, I just finished watching the OSPF video and was really amazed by how he explained it and just felt like writing to you about him. Once again I would like to thanks CBT Team in their great effort.

Thanks

Mayank

I've been touting CBT Nuggets for quite some time now, so when given the opportunity to write my first official review of one of their courses, I jumped at the chance. It was difficult to decide which set of nuggets to review. I didn't want to write about a product that I had already seen, but I wanted to stay within my area of expertise - security. And, to push the limits even more, I wanted to choose a topic for which I might not have immediate and glowing praise. I wanted to purposely test my loyalty to CBT Nuggets and their products. With that in mind, the choice was easy... Exam-Pack 70-350: Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004.

For those of you unfamiliar with CBT Nuggets, let me take a step back. Starting with the basics, CBT stands for computer based training. The nuggets in the product name refer to splitting the subject material into nugget-sized pieces of 30 – 50 minute videos. CBT Nuggets have always concentrated more on the content than the production value. For this reason, their videos may not look as good as their competitors, but the information is also not lost in a forest of heavy graphics or an overbearing GUI. This also allows CBT Nuggets to be less expensive than other video sets. Notice I wrote less expensive and not cheap. The quality of CBT Nuggets products is anything but cheap.

That being said...

Take a step in the right direction and towards MCSE certification by considering video training as a viable--and in some cases preferable--method of study. In this Daily Drill Down, I will show you how video training can help enhance your MCSE preparation by taking a look at two offerings from CBT Nuggets and LearnKey...

I started by downloading some demos from various vendors. These initial forays surprised me; some were excellent, others much less so--and that's being diplomatic. Doubtless some of you have had similar experiences. I decided to narrow my quest by searching for positive comments from some quality sites dealing with IT certification and career progression. Then I pinpointed what I felt were the two most promising products: CBT Nuggets and LearnKey's MCSE Sessions...

Obviously, Charbonneau (of CBT Nuggets) is extremely knowledgeable about his subject. His presentation is amiable, clear, concise, and, most importantly, accurate. Typically, Charbonneau introduces a topic and uses a virtual whiteboard to illustrate theory principles and draw diagrams to clarify. I especially liked this approach because it really felt like I was sitting in a classroom having a one-to-one lesson. On more than one occasion, Charbonneau brought to light various points and issues that are not covered in the Microsoft Press 70-215 course book. Following these explanatory intros, Charbonneau moves on to demonstrations, using his own lab network to illustrate his points. The sessions on Permissions and the Windows 2000 Boot Process, among others, are outstanding. When it comes to price, the CBT Nuggets videos are extremely competitive...

I preferred CBT Nuggets' use of the whiteboard, even if it was a little rough around the edges by comparison. Although Spurlock's (of LearnKey) explanations are accurate, Charbonneau's (of CBT Nuggets) are not only accurate but also crystal clear. Charbonneau has a knack for explaining topics using very few words. I can imagine that those new to Windows 2000 (whether they are old hands at NT4 or not) will benefit from Charbonneau's explanations...

I don't usually write reviews of training products, but when CBT Nuggets sent me their Linux+ series and I experienced it first hand, I had to make an exception. Since I was in a position to actually need the training, I was able to truly assess its value. Here's what I found:

The title "Training Video" is almost a misnomer; although you do watch the instruction on your computer screen, this is much more engaging than any video you'll pop into your VCR. Although you don't directly interact with this training - there's nothing to type, and no quizzes or questions to test your retention of the information - it somehow manages to feel more interactive than training resources I've used that do have those features. I suspect that's due to the friendly enthusiasm of instructor Perry Fizzano, who conveys the ins and outs of the Linux operating system as if he was sitting beside you...

CBT Nuggets have delivered yet another tremendous training product. Having used CBT Nuggets products previously, I had high expectations for this Exam Pack, and once again they produced a quality training tool.

In this ISA 2004 Exam-Pack, Jeremy Cioara not only provides great technical content through these training videos, but also delivers the content in the context of every day scenarios. I particularly like Jeremy’s approach to these videos, where he starts by...

Imagine if you will, classroom instruction on Windows 2000 at an affordable price. Imagine that you have a top notch, knowledgeable instructor - not some low rent dweeb straight out of boot camp. Imagine a flexible schedule where you receive instruction according to your whims rather than having to submit to someone else's. Finally, imagine enjoying yourself and learning a LOT. Does this sound too good to be true? Not in the least. You can have all this and more in a series of MCSE training videos called CBT Nuggets, which are available on CD-ROM and can be viewed on your personal computer...

I'm looking at an excellent training series from CBT Nuggets (http://www.cbtnuggets.com). I looked at the two-CD set for the Network+ Series. CBT doesn't make any assumptions as to your prior knowledge -- they start with the basics of networking here. While the first lesson may be common sense things that most of us would already know, for a beginner, this first lesson would provide an extremely useful background. I've seen plenty of training packages that make far too many assumptions, which would cause a novice to throw their hands up in despair. This one makes the extra effort to explain everything from the very beginning.

The multimedia presentation isn't too graphics-intensive, so it loads up quickly, even on my vintage PC. The only "talking head" you see is in the introduction, the bulk of the lessons are audio, with an accompanying whiteboard that presents notes and diagrams from the instructor that accompany each point in the lesson. An arrow moves around the screen to highlight specific sections, depending on what is being discussed. The diagrams and notes are hand-written, instead of having been prepared by some highfalutin' graphics guru with more special effects authoring software than any one person should be allowed to possess. I like the hand-drawn diagrams; they give the whole lesson series a personal touch.

The two CDs are divided up into separate lessons, which are detailed on an initial "Playlist," which shows each title and the length of each lesson. When the lesson launches, you have the ability to pause, fast-forward, and rewind.

There is a Web-based "Virtual Lab" that is accessible from the main menu. The "Virtual Lab" is a thoughtful section that adds something extremely useful, and that is pictures and close-ups of different components that are discussed in the lesson. There are many times I would have found this to be a useful innovation in other tutorials. Although I may completely understand a theoretical discussion, I still want to know what all the pieces look like. The individual lessons don't have exams or practice sessions, but you can find these in the Virtual Lab.

The packages are affordable and I like the personalized style. The Network+ CD I reviewed is priced at just $199; prices vary for each title but all are quite reasonable. CBT Nuggets has training CDs for MCSE 2000, XP MCSE, CCNA, Linux+, A+, Network+, and Server+.

Dan Blacharski
ITWorld.com

First of all, let me tell you a word about the trainer: Perry Fizzano. This gentleman really knows his stuff! While some may find he speaks really fast, the feeling of being bombarded by useful tips and tricks is always appreciated when cramming for an exam: it makes you feel you receive what you paid for.

Perry will take you on a trip through the linux operating system. The first part of this combo package really focuses on the Linux+ certification. It gives you a good start and a basic foundation of the Linux operating system. I found the examples easy to understand and the demonstrations filled with day to day tricks that helped me in my job.

The second part of the combo package focuses on the Red Hat Certified Engineer certification. This part has walked me through a deep trek into the operating system. There was a lot of time spent on maintenance and troubleshooting which I found very useful. This also demonstrated that the author has genuine Linux experience (which is not always the case with trainers).

I've been listening to and taking notes from the videos of the CBT Nuggets A+ Series for the past few days. Already, there are two people here in the Cramsession office who want to steal them from me!...this A+ series of videos is like having a private A+ technical trainer teaching you at home, at your own pace, going over just about everything the A+ exams might throw at you....What I love about these videos is that they aren't preparing you for questions on an exam, but are rather teaching you to be a PC Tech. Focusing on parts, processes, ideas, and concepts, these videos are very helpful whether you are just starting out or are almost ready to take the exams. I highly recommend the A+ Series from CBT Nuggets for anyone studying for the current A+ exams.

...This has been talked about and hinted on, over the past few weeks, but I have not had the time to get around to giving this product its full dues - that it so rightly deserves.
I was sent by the courtesy of CBT Nuggets, their Full MCSE Pack to test and review on this site (mcsebraindumps.com). I must firstly point out that I am in no way obliged to say it's good if it isn’t. I just promised them that I would give it my true honest opinion, and boy oh boy did they live up to their expectations.

I was studying for my 216 test, which some of you guys call 'the beast’- so these videos (or nuggets as they are referred to) were absolutely invaluable to me passing the hardest test M$ throws at us. I wish I could say that I watched every video in the Pack but unfortunately that would equal 46 hours or more and I am not in that position, but I can assure you I will be watching them for the next few months even though I have now attained my MCSE. I believe the knowledge gained from the instructor, Dan Charbonneau, will be useful for anything I have yet to encounter.

Within the 216 CD there are 14 nuggets, averaging between 25 and 50 minutes on the following topics: (you also get CD’s for 210, 215, 217, 219, 220, 221 also but as I said I concentrated on 216 for this review)

Configuring and managing DNS
Configuring and managing WINS
Configuring and managing DHCP
Configuring Dial Up and VPN Access
Configuring and managing Routing With Windows 2000
Windows 2000 as a Radius Server
Configuring NAT with Windows 2000
Configuring Web Services with Windows 2000
Interoperating with Unix and SNA
Interoperating with Novell and Apple
Troubleshooting a Windows 2000 Network
Configuring IPSec with Windows 2000
Configuring a Public Key Infrastructure
Clustering and Network Load Balancing

So as you can see, for just one exam they have pretty much every topic covered. Dan Charbonneau is by far the best instructor I have come across and the way he explains these tricky topics just leaves you thinking ‘oh yeah...’ and ‘so that’s what they mean...’ The whole way through these videos you get these lovely ‘its clicked’ feelings.

A few points I shall pick up on because I was so impressed with the ‘its clicked’ feelings I got. The first one is VLSM and CIDR - the way Dan explains binary subnetting and the working out of hosts and subnets is so excellent that it has stuck in my mind for life now. Also the Certificate services ‘click’ in a big way. The way he explains it in real terms and situations helps you understand.
The way these Nuggets work in general is this;
- First Dan draws on a white board the situations and solutions relevant to that particular Nugget, so you get a full understanding of what you need to happen and why.
- Second Dan Will run through in realtime video the actual configuring, with and without wizards, of these topics on his mini network; so you actually get hands on practice without having to get access to a nice lab to test it on.
- Third Dan will prove to you that what he has just done actually works by pinging the relevant subject, or using Terminal Services to connect to a DC to show you what is happening.

So in my honest opinion no strings attached, these Nuggets are by far the best training material I have ever come across, they knock the socks off any instructor led course I have attended, for the pure fact that Dan is a better teacher, and you can watch them over and over again at your own time and leisure.

They do give free videos to watch over the web, but bear in mind the sound quality is fairly bad due to bandwidth reasons, catch them at http://www.cbtnuggets.com

I would finally like to say a big thank you to the good people at CBT Nuggets for providing me with the material to use and review.

Andy Watson

We recently had the opportunity to review the Windows 2000 MCSE Package by CBT Nuggets. What an incredible product this is! It is by far the best training product that we have seen yet for Windows 2000 and is a fantastic value. CBT Nuggets are video lectures by Dan Charbonneau that are shipped on CD-ROM and viewed with Windows Media Player. The videos are in classroom format and are comprised of live footage of the demonstrations with an audio lecture. Dan explains the subjects so clearly that it is virtually impossible to not understand the topics covered. You have the ability to follow along with the demonstrations and develop hands on experience that make this much more than a certification prep product - This product teaches you the material...

Fortune smiled upon me yesterday morning when I managed to get "first dibs" on the review copy of the 70-220 Exam Pack we had just received from CBT Nuggets. This product has earned a reputation for quality around our office (mainly populated by cert-hungry alpha geeks), so you can imagine the fights that break out whenever cool new training material arrives. This latest CBT Nuggets Exam Pack will help you prepare for Microsoft exam 70-220, Designing Security for a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network....I really wish that the 70-220 exam pack had been available before I challenged the W2K Security Design exam last April. All of the training on this CD was absolutely spot- on for the exam. Here is what I particularly liked...

About a month ago I had the pleasure of reviewing the CBT Nuggets Windows 2000 Training Pack. After finishing up the review and posting it to the BrainBuzz site, I filed the pack of CDs away with the rest of our training materials. I think they sat there for all of five minutes before one of my co-workers disappeared with them. Since then, the CBT Nuggets Training Pack has become a popular item around our office. This is noteworthy, as BrainBuzz receives a fair number of training materials to do product reviews on. While it's normal for BrainBuzz employees to squabble over who gets what book next (hey, we're ALL alphageeks, OK?), there's never been this level of competition over a training product in our office before. Because of the continuing popularity of the CBT Nuggets Pack in our office, I figured that I should revisit the product and review the material for each exam separately...