Cisco Networking Certifications: Introduction

CISCO NETWORKING CERTIFICATIONS:

Who is CISCO: Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate.

Cisco was founded in 1984 by a group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been prominent in advancing the development of IP- the basic language to communicate over the Internet and in private networks. Cisco equipment which includes switches, routers, firewalls, Network security equipment and its popular software Internetwork operating system (IOS) is used world wide.

Husband and wife Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, both working for Stanford University, wanted to email each other from their respective offices located in different buildings but were unable to due to technological shortcomings. A technology had to be invented to deal with disparate local area protocols; and as a result of solving their challenge - the multi-protocol router was born.

Since then Cisco has shaped the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors and ecosystem partners and has become the worldwide leader in networking - transforming how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Its products are used worldwide and cisco certifications are the benchmarks in the networking world and the people with cisco certifications are on high demand and are well paid.You can read more on Cisco history on http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/corporate_timeline.pdf and visit www.cisco.com for more information about Cisco.

Overview of Cisco Certifications:

For people without any networking or I.T background I recommend them to first do the N+ certification from CompTia. Cisco certification are so demanding and the score marks are very high. The exams for cisco certification includes practical configurations questions on simulated networks which requires to configure the equipment for the network to work, multiple choice questions, also has drag and drop questions and finally the multiple choice questions. Cisco certifications expires after 3 years and inorder to be recognised as a certified professional again, a person must write and pass one exam. Cisco certification are in hierarchical order. You cannot attempt the CCNP certification without the CCNA. Cisco offers various certification programs namely Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP), Cisco certified Network Professional Wireless(CCNP wireless), Cisco Certified Voice Professional (CCVP) and many other specialist certifications. The most popular certification from Cisco is the CCNA , CCNP and CCIE certifications.

Pundits in the industry recommends candidates to first do the CCNA and CCNP certifications which offers the solid background in routing and switching which is the core of any functioning network before moving to wireless, security and voice certifications. Visit Cisco’s learning academy for more insight and detailed information about Cisco’s certification programs. http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/index.html