Layer 2 Overview
According to the Lab Exam Topics v4.0 Blueprint, there are seven subsections to this category. And many of those are further divided into even smaller units, covering a specific topic.
The INE material breaks the Layer 2 category into "Bridging & Switching" and Frame Relay. They have 50 exercises for Bridging & Switching and another 16 for Frame Relay.
The Cisco Press CCIE Practical Studies books (Vol I and Vol II) both have relevant material. Vol I covers some very basic and fundamental lab information. If you are starting your quest, you will need to know how to set up lab equipment to perform some of the configurations. Even a modest lab can save you a considerable amount of money in rack time. You will also want to become proficient at creating Access Servers and Frame Relay switches out of a few simple routers. Although some of the things in this book are a bit dated, the central idea of 'modeling' an internetwork is still relevant.
Volume I - Chapter 2 covers LAN Protocols. 802.1d is covered there, along with Ethernet and Token Ring. Yes, Token Ring is no longer covered on the v4 exam. However, if you've never encountered it, you might want to read through those pages. The material not specifically mentioned on the Blueprint is not guaranteed to not be on the exam. Wouldn't it be a kick in the head if something related to Token Ring was on the exam as a very minor piece, but it caused you to make a mistake? What do you think it would do to your confidence level to see something that you know you have no clue about suddenly appeared on your exam? I read this material, but go over it only in the same way I would a fiction novel. That way I am familiar with it and it wouldn't set me too off-balance, but I don't get tangled in the weeds on it. Moving on to Section III in this book covers HDLC, PPP and Frame Relay.
Volume II of this series overlaps Volume I regarding Layer 2 Technologies, but presents it with more of a configuration orientation. All the rest of the Layer 2 sub-topics are covered in Volume II. It specifically covers Configuring Advanced Switching on the 3550 switch. At the time of this writing, the v4.0 lab will be using:
Version 4.0
1841 series routers - IOS 12.4(T) – Advanced Enterprise Services
3825 series routers - IOS 12.4(T) – Advanced Enterprise Services
Catalyst 3560 Series switches running IOS version 12.2 - Advanced IP Services
However, the INE material uses two 3550s and two 3560s in their lab scenarios. This seems like it would be the best opportunity to learn the differences between the 3550s and 3560s.
This is the first section I've studied and one of the biggest obstacles I have found to completing this section is not the material itself. I have found it hard to know when I was 'done' with this section. How much do you have to know? How well do you have to know it? This was the impetus for the site's creation. If I know the material well enough to synthesize all my learning and discuss it succintly here, then I know the material.
But, this is only the first step. Once you know the material, you have to be able to use it efficiently during a scenario. That's where the INE Vol 2 workbook comes into the mix. This is just the concrete foundation. The actual house needs to be built through practicing scenarios. But it would be foolish to rush into the scenarios without first getting the most solid foundation possible.