CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification Guide (4th Edition) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you want to learn about switched networking, voice and wireless, this is an excellent text. It is well written, easy to read and understand. I especially liked the wireless section, which explained Cisco's LWAPP architecture. I am using some of the concepts in my enterprise network designs.
But,the reason I bought the book was to supplement my networking experience in helping me pass the 642-812 exam. I diligently studied this book along with an older 642-811 text, took notes, reviewed the material, took the pratice exams from the CD, and praticed configuring Cisco switches. This method worked well for me in the past, scoring high on most exams (this one was for recertification).
For some reason Cisco has made this exam MUCH more difficult than past exams. The exam questions were much more complex than the pratice questions in the book and CD. My suggestion would be to read this book, but suppliment it with other material and EXTENSIVE hands on switch configuration and analysis.

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CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification GuideFourth EditionMaster all 642-812 exam topics with the official study guide Assess your knowledge with chapter-opening quizzesReview key concepts with foundation summaries Practice with hundreds of exam questions on the CD-ROMDavid Hucaby, CCIE® No. 4594CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification Guide, Fourth Edition, is a best of breed Cisco® exam study guide that focuses specifically on the objectives for the BCMSN exam. Successfully passing the BCMSN 642-812 exam certifies that you have knowledge and skills necessary to implement scalable multilayer switched networks. CCNP BCMSN Official Exam Certification Guide, Fourth Edition, follows a logical organization of the BCMSN exam objectives. Material is presented in a concise manner, focusing on increasing readers' retention and recall of exam topics. Lead network engineer and consultant David Hucaby shares preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve your switching knowledge through the use of the consistent features in each chapter. "Do I Know This Already?" quizzes open each chapter and allow you to decide how much time you need to spend on each section. Exam topic lists and Foundation Summary tables make referencing easy and give you a quick refresher whenever you need it. Scenario-based exercises help you think about exam objectives in real-world situations, thus increasing recall during exam time. Challenging chapter-ending review questions help you assess your knowledge and reinforce key concepts.The companion CD-ROM contains a powerful testing engine that enables you to focus on individual topic areas or take complete, timed exams. The assessment engine also tracks your performance and provides feedback on a module-by-module basis, presenting question-by-question remediation to the text. Well regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, and challenging review questions and exercises, this book helps you master the concepts and techniques that will enable you to succeed on the exam the first time.David Hucaby, CCIE® No. 4594, is a lead network engineer for a large medical environment using Cisco multilayer switching and security products. He also is an independent networking consultant focusing on Cisco-based solutions for healthcare and banking clients.The official study guide helps you master all the topics on the BCMSN exam, includingSpanning Tree Protocol conceptsVirtual LAN (VLAN), VLAN trunking, and inter-VLAN routingGateway redundancy technologies and protocolsWireless LAN topologies, components, connectivity, and standardsImplementing a Cisco Unified Wireless NetworkWireless client access Access layer voice conceptsPreventing and mitigating attacks against switched network securityCompanion CD-ROMThe CD-ROM contains an electronic copy of the book and more than 200 practice questions for the BCMSN exam, including simulation-based questions, all available in study mode, test mode, and flash card format.This volume is part of the Exam Certification Guide Series from Cisco Press®. Books in this series provide officially developed exam preparation materials that offer assessment, review, and practice to help Cisco Career Certification candidates identify weaknesses, concentrate their study efforts, and enhance their confidence as exam day nears.Category: Cisco CertificationCovers: BCMSN Exam 642-812$59.99 USA / $74.99 CAN

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CCNP TSHOOT 642-832 Official Certification Guide (Official Cert Guide) Review

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(More customer reviews)The latest revision to the CCNP track has removed ONT and ISCW and replaced them with the TSHOOT, or troubleshooting exam. This exam is designed to test your ability to troubleshoot various problems that a CCNP-level engineer will see in their day to day jobs. The Official Certification Guide for the TSHOOT(642-832) exam goes a long way towards preparing you to take the exam. Written by Cisco training veteran Kevin Wallace, this guide hits all the high points of topics found in the TSHOOT exam.
For veterans of the CCNP program, the TSHOOT exam will bring back memories of the old Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting or CIT (642-831) exam. For people new to the CCNP program, this exam should be a lot of fun and a decent way to test your understanding of the way the various technologies in the ROUTE and SWITCH exams work.
The book is divided into 14 chapters that are as follows:
1. Introduction to Network Maintenance
2. Introduction to Troubleshooting Processes
3. The Maintenance and Troubleshooting Toolbox
4. Basic Cisco Catalyst Switch Troubleshooting
5. Advanced Cisco Catalyst Switch Troubleshooting
6. Introduction to Troubleshooting Routing Protocols
7. OSPF and Router Redistribution Troubleshooting
8. Troubleshooting BGP and Router Performance Issues
9. Security Troubleshooting
10. IP Services Troubleshooting
11. IP Communications Troubleshooting
12. IPv6 Troubleshooting
13. Advanced Services Troubleshooting
14. Large Enterprise Network Troubleshooting
15. Final Preparation
Each chapter begins with a "Do I Know This Already? quiz that is fairly standard in Cisco Press exam books. This allows you to skip over chapters that cover topics you may already be well versed in.
The first 3 chapters cover the fundamentals behind how to perform maintenance and troubleshoot effectively. If you are experienced in these things, you probably won't see anything that you haven't seen before. If you don't have a lot of background with Cisco networking, you will want to pay close attention to these first 3 chapters. They lay the foundation that is required to understand the remaining chapters.
The rest of the chapters move from switching, to routing, to security, and on to a variety of other topics that you will deal with in a standard Cisco network. Each of these remaining chapters, except for the last one, will present you with a brief amount of material that is of a foundational nature. If you are expecting a full review of the topics like spanning tree or OSPF, you will be disappointed. The TSHOOT book is not designed for that. You will want to review the ROUTE and SWITCH CCNP exam books first. What you will see in terms of foundational information are quick blurbs about each technology. For example, in the BGP chapter you get a brief reminder of how BGP routes or prefixes wind up in the general IP routing table. You will also get a refresher on how BGP makes its path selection.
After the foundational information, you will immediately move into the various commands that are used to troubleshoot the particular technology in question. According to chapter 15 in the book, 90% of the exam will be centered around the use of various commands to troubleshoot. With that in mind, I would estimate between 30 and 40% of the book is CLI output. The author shows you the various "show" commands that are used along with a variety of "debug" commands you can use as well. The relevant parts of the output are hi-lighted and explained in the standard format you see in many other Cisco Press books. If the author were to include examples of every possible command that could be used for troubleshooting, the book would be 3 times the size it already is. What you will see for sure are the most common commands used to troubleshoot the particular technology each chapter covers.
This leads us into what I think is the most valuable part of the book. Each of these technology chapters end with one or more trouble tickets. A problem is presented along with CLI output from one or more devices. There is enough information given for you to make a guess as to what the root cause of the problem is and how to correct it. The solution is presented following the various CLI screens used to provide troubleshooting information. Each solution is explained fairly well and generally includes additional CLI output to further illustrate the validity of the solution. The chapter wraps up by mentioning key terms as well as providing a list of troubleshooting commands associated with each technology covered in that chapter.
A CD-ROM is included with the book that has 100 practice questions for the TSHOOT exam.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book to read. If you are already functioning at a CCNP level, I recommend you focus on the trouble ticket sections in each chapter. Those sections more than any other will help solidify your understanding of the various route/switch technologies covered in the TSHOOT exam. You will be able to move fairly quickly through this book. I work with just about everything mentioned in this book on a daily basis and was able to finish the book in about a week. I averaged about 2 chapters a day. At around 500 pages, it would seem this book would take longer to read than a week. However, a fair amount of pages consist of CLI screen shots and they take up a lot of real estate in the book. For those who are not well versed in this material but have a basic understanding of the concepts, you should be able to get through a chapter a day with relative ease.

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CCNP TSHOOT 642-832Official Certification GuideKevin Wallace, CCIE® No. 7945CCNP TSHOOT Exam PreparationMaster CCNP® TSHOOT 642-832 exam topicsAssess your knowledge with chapter-opening quizzesReview key concepts with Exam Preparation TasksPractice with realistic exam questions on the CD-ROMThe official study guide helps you master all the topics on the CCNP TSHOOT exam, includingCommon network maintenance tasks and toolsTroubleshooting modelsCisco IOS® troubleshooting commands and featuresTroubleshooting Cisco Catalyst® Switches and STPTroubleshooting BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP routing protocolsRoute redistribution, security, and router performance troubleshootingIP services and IP communications troubleshootingIPv6 troubleshootingLarge enterprise network troubleshootingCCNP TSHOOT 642-832 Official Certification Guide is a best-of-breed Cisco® exam study guide that focuses specifically on the objectives for the CCNP® TSHOOT exam. Senior instructor and best-selling author Kevin Wallace shares preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve both your conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills. Material is presented in a concise manner, focusing on increasing your understanding and retention of exam topics.CCNP TSHOOT 642-832 Official Certification Guide presents you with an organized test preparation routine through the use of proven series elements and techniques. "Do I Know This Already?" quizzes open each chapter and enable you to decide how much time you need to spend on each section. Exam topic lists make referencing easy. Chapter-ending Exam Preparation Tasks sections help drill you on key concepts you must know thoroughly. The companion CD-ROM contains a powerful testing engine that enables you to focus on individual topic areas or take complete, timed exams. The assessment engine also tracks your performance and provides feedback on a module-by-module basis, laying out a complete study plan for review. Well regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, and challenging review questions and exercises, this official study guide helps you master the concepts and techniques that will enable you to succeed on the exam the first time.CCNP TSHOOT 642-832 Official Certification Guide is part of a recommended learning path from Cisco that includes simulation and hands-on training from authorized Cisco Learning Partners and self-study products from Cisco Press. To find out more about instructor-led training, e-learning, and hands-on instruction offered by authorized Cisco Learning Partners worldwide, please visit www.cisco.com/go/authorizedtraining.Kevin Wallace, CCIE® No. 7945, is a certified Cisco instructor who holds multiple Cisco certifications including CCSP®, CCVP®, CCNP®, and CCDP®, in addition to multiple security and voice specializations. With Cisco experience dating back to 1989 (beginning with a Cisco AGS+ running Cisco IOS 7.x), Kevin has been a network design specialist for the Walt Disney World Resort, a senior technical instructor for SkillSoft/Thomson NETg/KnowledgeNet, and a network manager for Eastern Kentucky University.This volume is part of the Official Certification Guide Series from Cisco Press. Books in this series provide officially developed exam preparation materials that offer assessment, review, and practice to help Cisco Career Certification candidates identify weaknesses, concentrate their study efforts, and enhance their confidence as exam day nears.Companion CD-ROMThe CD-ROM contains 100 practice questions for the exam developed by Cisco Press and delivered by the Boson Exam Environment (BEE).Boson's ExSim-Max premium practice exams available at www.boson.comCategory: Cisco Press—Cisco CertificationCovers: CCNP TSHOOT exam 642-832

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Networking Bible Review

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(More customer reviews)Very Readable, Outstanding Book
This book was a very pleasant surprise, it is both easy to understand and contains a lot of in depth information on topics that interested me. Contained in this book are the introductory topics such as architecture and topologies that you need to understand modern networking, presented along with examples that extend the concepts to current networking designs.
Among the chapters I liked the most were the ones on network discovery and mapping, bandwidth and throughput, and particularly the one on modern routing. Each of these chapters not only explains the underlying theory involved, but shows how the industry applies the different technologies to make modern networking possible. Signaling theory, sampling, multiplexing, traffic engineering, and other complex topics were introduced in a way that made me feel that I finally understood them for the first time. The discussion wasn't dumbed down, but started at an introductory level and proceeded to very advanced treatments. I think it is a testament to the quality of the writing that the author's approach worked so well.
The first part of the book is on theory, the second on hardware, and the third part is on system types. Hardware is presented on a practical level with enough theory to be able to understand how the hardware is deployed. I like the discussion of what a network interface is quite a lot. It's nice to find topics such as home networking, peer-to-peer networks, personal LANs, LANs, WANs, WiFi, SANs, and high performance networking discussed and containing up-to-date information. There are presentations on topics such as The Onion Router (TOR) network, torrents, and many other topics that I haven't seen in any other networking book.
I wasn't as impressed with the TCP/IP protocol treatment, it was more general than I would have liked and not as detailed. However, all of the requisite topics are there and if you are new to the subject the information will get you up to speed. I've never really understood how storage networks relate to regular networks, this book clarified the relation between the two completely. I loved the chapters on streaming media, telephony and VoIP as they contained many examples of real world systems that I've worked with on my own networks. The network security chapters are also good, particularly the firewall chapter.
I would have preferred to have a larger section on network diagnostics and on network management. These are complex issues that are invaluable. Perhaps in upcoming editions the author will consider expanding these topics. As it stands this is a pretty long book, nearly 900 pages in length. I think that this is the best general networking book available, and that if you are going to buy one networking book and keep it on your shelf that this is the one to have. It is probably the best networking book of the current crop, and I'm glad I found it.


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Everything you need to set up and maintain large or small networks

Barrie Sosinsky
Networking Bible
Create a secure network for home or enterprise
Learn basic building blocks and standards
Set up for broadcasting, streaming, and more
The book you need to succeed!
Your A-Z guide to networking essentials
Whether you're setting up a global infrastructure or just networking two computers at home, understanding of every part of the process is crucial to the ultimate success of your system.This comprehensive book is your complete, step-by-step guide to networking-from different architectures and hardware to security, diagnostics, Web services, and much more. Packed with practical, professional techniques and the very latest information, this is the go-to resource you need to succeed.

Demystify the basics: network stacks, bus architectures, mapping, and bandwidth

Get up to speed on servers, interfaces, routers, and other necessary hardware

Explore LANs, WANs, Wi-Fi, TCP/IP, and other types of networks

Set up domains, directory services, file services, caching, and mail protocols

Enable broadcasting, multicasting, and streaming media

Deploy VPNs, firewalls, encryption, and other security methods

Perform diagnostics and troubleshoot your systems

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CCNP SWITCH 642-813 Official Certification Guide (Exam Certification Guide) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just took and failed the new 642-813 exam primarily based on study with this book, a lot of lab work with actual Cisco equipment and practice exams, including the exam on the CD in the book and the Ex-Sim Max exams (which "guarantee" you'll pass the test if you can pass them). In the past, for other Cisco tests, I've found the Official Certification Guides to be very comprehensive and provide almost more material than you need to past the tests. However this guide is not a good representation of what's on the test (or practice exams) and vice versa. I went into the test feeling extremely confident and ended up guessing on many questions and the simulation questions where much more difficult than those found on the BCMSN test. I'm an MCSE, CCNA and ITIL certified IT professional who has been working in this field for over 15 years, and I've never felt so prepared for a test and then performed so poorly on the actual exam. I'm not saying don't buy this book, I'm just saying do NOT depend on it to give you the material you need to pass the exam. This should NOT be the Cisco Official Exam Certification Guide.
Dan Allen, MCSE, CCNA, IPPI

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CCDA 640-864 Official Cert Guide (4th Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)The dominant computer networking company is Cisco. So if you aspire to be a network manager, being certified in Cisco products can be an important qualification. To help you pass the CCDA DESGN exam, the authors of this book compiled a massive study aid.
Each chapter is prefaced by a 'Do I know this already' quiz. A few pages of multiple choice questions. None seems particularly hard or conceptually deep. This is a nice format for what is meant to be a purely functional, single purpose book. Perhaps like the venerable Schaum's Outline series, fleshed out with more narrative. I wonder why I don't see this more often. Often texts for exam preparation have quizzes at the end of chapters; not at the start.
As usual with most Cisco books, the network diagrams are well drawn and usually simple. An invaluable aid to understanding the accompanying narrative. Often, the diagrams reduce the discussion of a network topology or routing to the minimal essence in graphical form. This pictorial representation might be what really makes a lot of text coherent to the reader.
The book can serve another purpose. The grouping of information into the various chapters is a handy way to study networking. Several of the chapters, like those on Internet Protocol version 4 and version 6, can be regarded as quite generic; ie. not about Cisco products and their specific properties. Likewise with the chapter on managing security. This talks about 3rd party tools (think Nmap, Nessus and Kismet as examples) and the overall design of a network.
Don't forget the accompanying CD. While the book has those quizzes, the CD is meant as a full test run, after you have hopefully assimilated the chapters. If you are indeed preparing for the exam and have gotten this book, sittin thru the CD is vital feedback on your preparation status. If you find that you've scored too low on the CD exam, then consider postponing taking the real exam while you reread [more carefully this time!] the book. This can easily repay the cost of the book, compared to having to retake the exam.


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Trust the best selling Official Cert Guide series from Cisco Press to help you learn, prepare, and practice for exam success. They are built with the objective of providing assessment, review, and practice to help ensure you are fully prepared for your certification exam. CCDA 640-864 Official Cert Guide presents you with an organized test preparation routine through the use of proven series elements and techniques. "Do I Know This Already?" quizzes open each chapter and enable you to decide how much time you need to spend on each section. Exam topic lists make referencing easy. Chapter-ending Exam Preparation Tasks help you drill on key concepts you must know thoroughly. Master Cisco CCDA 640-864 exam topics

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Building the Mobile Internet (Networking Technology) Review

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(More customer reviews)Do you need to increase your understanding of how mobility can be supported in IP networking? If you do, then this book is for you! Authors Mark Grayson, Kevin Shatzkamer and Klaas Wierenga have done an outstanding job of writing a book that examines the different techniques for building mobility into the Internet.
Authors Grayson, Shatzkamer and Wierenga, begin by defining the mobility market in terms of device proliferation, consumption trends and radio-specific challenges in scaling for massive adoption of the mobile Internet. They also explain the protocols and layers that make up the Internet architecture; as well as, the fundamental problem with that architecture in supporting mobility. The authors continue by describing how users and devices are authenticated for using the network and its applications; in particular, those that are not operated by the operator that the user has a subscription with. Then, they explain the benefits of solving mobility at the data link layer. Next, they provide an overview of a number of network layer solutions for delivering seamless mobility and session continuity. The authors also describe the advantages of integrating mobility functionality into transport/session layer. They continue by describing how the application layer can be enhanced with additional mobility functionality, thus allowing advanced mobility use cases to be supported, including the ability to move media sessions between different devices. Finally, the authors provide an overview of the approaches fro redesigning the Internet architecture to allow better mobility; as well as, a discussion of the pros and cons of some typical examples of those approaches.
This most excellent book takes a look at mobility from a broad perspective of use cases and examines how mobility solutions are in fact pervasive across all layers of the protocol stack. Perhaps more importantly, the book provides details of how mobility functionality has been added to these layers and describes use cases that demonstrate the different approaches to building the mobile Internet.

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The complete guide to technologies and protocols for delivering seamless mobile Internet experiencesIn Building the MobileInternet, three leading mobility architects and implementers from Cisco present complete foundational knowledge about tomorrow's mobile Internet. The authors cover everything from market trends and user expectations to the latest technical approaches for making the Internet "mobile by design." Writing for senior technology decision-makers and network design professionals, the authors explain the relatively static nature of the Internet's original protocols and design, discuss the concept of "mobility," and identify evolving mobility requirements. Next, they thoroughly explain each of today's most promising techniques for building mobility into the Internet, from data link layer to application layer. For each layer, the authors cover mechanisms, protocols, relevant Wi-Fi and cellular architectures, and key use cases.Using this book's guidance, mobile network executives can define more effective strategies, network designers can construct more effective architectures, and network engineers can execute more successful migrations. Mark Grayson, Cisco Distinguished Consulting Engineer, leads Cisco's mobile architecture strategy. He has 20+ years of wireless experience ranging from military and satellite systems to the evolution of traditional cellular architectures and the creation of new small cell solutions. He has been granted 50+ patents. Kevin Shatzkamer, Cisco Distinguished Systems Architect, is responsible for long-term strategy and architectural evolution of Cisco mobile wireless networks. His experience ranges from 3G and LTE to security, video distribution, and QoS. He now works with both content providers and service providers to enhance the end-to-end digital media value chain for mobility. Klaas Wierenga, Senior Consulting Engineer in Cisco's Office of the CTO, has 15+ years of experience implementing diverse mobility, security, and identity solutions for enterprises, municipalities, hospitals, and universities. He created the worldwide eduroam service for federated network access in academia.· Understanding key mobility market trends: device proliferation, accelerating consumption, and radio-specific scalability problems· Reviewing the challenges that mobility presents to conventional Internet architectures· Understanding nomadicity, including authentication for users moving across networks and operators· Identifying opportunities to address mobility at the data link layer· Comparing and using network layer solutions to deliver seamless mobility and session continuity· Integrating mobility functionality into the transport/session layer· Adding mobility functionality to the application layer–including support for moving media sessions between devices· Redesigning Internet architecture to enable long-term improvements to mobilityThis book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press®, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers.

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Charging for Mobile All-IP Telecommunications (Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Charging for Mobile All-IP book is a good beginning place for those new to the Billing Models for the new systems. It has enough detail to be useful as a starting point for the more detailed issues. It gives a general idea on call flow and is very good at providing the terminology in this part of the Telephony, IMS, and IT charging systems.


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This book provides a complete and comprehensive overview of 3G UMTS charging services

Evolving from offline billing of traditional telecommunications, charging for IP services in mobile networks is challenging; charging convergence is one of the major trends in the telecom industry. Advanced mobile telecommunications incorporates data applications with real-time control and management, and requires a convergent and flexible online charging system. Such convergence is essential to mitigate fraud and credit risks in order to provide more personalized information to users about charges and credit limit controls.

Charging for Mobile All-IP Telecommunications provides comprehensive and practical coverage of online and offline charging based on mobile operator experiences, and the latest efforts undertaken by the UMTS specifications.

Key features:


Presents a complete overview of the telecommunications charging system, including the evolution from 2G to 3G and all-IP network charging frameworks
Discusses all management aspects related to charging and billing processes, with a focus on the major trends and developments within the telecoms industry
Provides an overview of the telecom networks such as PSTN, GSM, UMTS and IMS
Covers the concepts of the telecom charging on mobile services and the new technologies for implementing online charging system, such as GTP' and Diameter protocol
Contains coverage on network nodes and data flows in relation to charging of mobile applications, such as IMS call and content downloading
Explains the IP-based online charging system, protocol details and recent trends in charging for mobile telecom industry


This book is an invaluable resource for graduate students, telecoms and IP engineers, network service providers and system architects. Information technologists and networking equipment manufacturers will also find this book insightful.

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