Cisco Systems is a global company based in San José, it was founded on June 8, 1984 and until 2009 it was considered one of the largest companies in the technology sector and an important member of the NASDAQ market.
Mainly dedicated to the manufacture, sale, maintenance and consulting of telecommunications equipment such as:
- connection devices for computer networks: routers, switches and hubs.
- security devices such as Firewalls and Concentrators for VPN.
- IP telephony products such as telephones and the CellManager.
- network management software such as Cisco Works
- equipment for storage area networks .
In addition to developing the hardware for its equipment, Cisco Systems also develops its own management and configuration software. Such software is known as currently closed-source and fully proprietary IOS.
Through the IOS, it is possible to configure Cisco equipment through the so-called "Command Line Interface" (CLI) (Command Line Interface, by its name in Spanish) that serves as an interpreter between the user and the equipment.
Cisco Systems also has a division of technological publications called Cisco Press, which has an agreement with the US publisher Pearson VUE, has at our disposal a platform where we can obtain various certifications that prove our knowledge. The way to obtain these accreditations consists of taking an online course through a flash platform (very visual) with various evaluation exams at the end of each topic, plus a final exam that includes content from all the previous topics.
The levels are as follows:
- Basic level: CCENT.
- Associate: CCDA, CCNA.
- Professional: CCNP, CCDP.
- Expert: CCIE, CCDE.
- Architect: Cisco Certified Architect.
During 2012, Cisco made multiple announcements regarding new features in its certification structure. These announcements have not only been referred to updates in the different exam syllabi, but also to important modifications in the structure of the entire system.
Thus, the service provider certification path (CCNA Service Provider, CCNP Service Provider and CCIE Service Provider), and the Data Center (CCNA Data Center, CCNP Data Center, CCIE Data Center) were introduced as new features.
Thus, today there are 9 certification paths, at the same time as the traditional "entry" certification in the system, CCNA (or more specifically CCNA Routing & Switching), is the beginning for 6 of those paths: Routing & Switching, Security, Wireless, Voice, SP Operations and Storage.