Being in the Information Technology Field, and an active member of the Association for Computing Machinery, I take full advantage of studying everything I can and getting every certification I can. I am on the way to completing my Cisco certification, along with several others.
In this highly competitive field, it's good to be able to perform as many services as possible, and Cisco is a major player. A major salary increase comes with knowledge of Cisco, and it shows your dedication to knowing all you can about your work. This is a network which lends your resume and you quite a bit of credibility and should be considered by everyone in IT. There are different types - CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, CCDA, CCDP, and CCIP. Even some IT students may not know these terms, so these are what they mean, and the benefits recieved from each.
1. CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate. These are certified professionals who can install, configure, and operate LAN, WAN,
and dial access services for small networks (100 nodes or fewer),
including but not limited to use of these protocols: IP, IGRP, Serial,
Frame Relay, IP RIP, VLANs, RIP, Ethernet, Access Lists.
2. CCNP - Cisco Certified Network Professional. These can do the following:
- Implement appropriate technologies to build a scalable routed network.
Build campus networks using multilayer switching technologies. - Improve
traffic flow, reliability, redundancy, and performance for campus LANs,
routed and switched WANs, and remote access networks. - Describe network security strategies including how to implement a site-to-site IPSec VPN and Cisco IOS Firewall.
- Describe VoIP Cisco VoIP solutions and QoS considerations
3. CCIE - Cisco Certified Installation Experts install and maintain the routers.
4. CCDA - Cisco Certified Design
Associate. These are certified professionals who can design routed and switched network infrastructures involving LAN,
WAN, and dial access services for businesses and organizations.
5. CCDP - indicates advanced or journeyman knowledge of network design. With
CCDP training , a network professional can design routed and switched
networks involving LAN, WAN, and dial access services, applying modular
design practices and making sure the whole solution responds optimally
to the business and technical needs and is designed to be highly
available.
6. CCIP - Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional. This is a mid-level certification
for IT professionals who have a detailed understanding of networking
technologies in the service provider arena including IP routing, IP QoS, BGP,
and MPLS. The only requisite for the CCIP is the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) exam.
Obviously, these aren't overnight goals, but they're very good if you plan on working in networking or the general IT field. There are many schools, and Cisco itself will offer you benefits of becoming one of their associates. It's highly sought after for potential employees, and most schools don't require the certification, though they'll cover some networking basics. Certification shows expertise and dedication, not just a basic knowledge.
Most important, when you undertake a goal like this, do it in reasonable steps. For example, I am currently on Cisco CIPT1 6.0: Introduction to Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Basically, to successfully deploy IP telephony within a
network, it is important to gain a basic understanding of the major IP
telephony components involved. Cisco Unified Communications Manager is
the software-based, call-processing component of the Cisco Unified
Communications solution. This course describes the characteristics of
Cisco Unified Communications Manager, and explores the available
deployment models for implementing it in a Cisco Unified Communications
solution. In addition, the software’s installation process and
licensing model are also explained.
