Introduction
W
elcome
to the exciting world of Cisco certification! You have
picked
up this book because you want something better; namely, a better job
with
more satisfaction. Rest assured that you have made a good decision.
Cisco
certification can help you get your first networking job, or more
money
and a promotion if you are already in the field.
Cisco
certification can also improve your understanding of the internetworking
of
more than just Cisco products: You will develop a complete
understanding
of networking and how different network topologies work
together
to form a network. This is beneficial to every networking job and is
the
reason Cisco certification is in such high demand, even at companies with
few
Cisco devices.
Cisco
is the king of routing and switching, the Microsoft of the internetworking
world.
The new Cisco certifications reach beyond the popular
certifications,
such as the MCSE and CNE, to provide you with an indispensable
factor
in understanding today’s network—insight into the Cisco world
of
internetworking. By deciding that you want to become Cisco certified,
you
are saying that you want to be the best—the best at routing and the best
at
switching. This book can lead you in that direction.
Cisco—A Brief History
Without Features at the end A lot of readers may already be familiar with Cisco and what they do. However,
those
of you who are new to the field, just coming in fresh from your
MCSE,
and those of you who maybe have 10 or more years in the field but
wish
to brush up on the new technology may appreciate a little background
on
Cisco.
In
the early 1980s, Len and Sandy Bosack, a married couple who worked
in
different computer departments at Stanford University, were having
trouble
getting their individual systems to communicate (like many married
people).
So in their living room they created a gateway server that made it
easier
for their disparate computers in two different departments to communicate
using
the IP protocol. In 1984, they founded cisco Systems (notice the
small
c
)
with a small commercial gateway server product that changed networking
forever.
Some people think the name was intended to be San Francisco
Systems
but the paper got ripped on the way to the incorporation
xxiv
Introduction
lawyers—who
knows? In 1992, the company name was changed to Cisco
Systems,
Inc.
The
first product the company marketed was called the Advanced Gateway
Server
(AGS). Then came the Mid-Range Gateway Server (MGS), the
Compact
Gateway Server (CGS), the Integrated Gateway Server (IGS), and
the
AGS+. Cisco calls these “the old alphabet soup products.”
In
1993, Cisco came out with the amazing 4000 router and then created
the
even more amazing 7000, 2000, and 3000 series routers. These are still
around
and evolving (almost daily, it seems).
Cisco
has since become an unrivaled worldwide leader in networking for
the
Internet. Its networking solutions can easily connect users who work
from
diverse devices on disparate networks. Cisco products make it simple
for
people to access and transfer information without regard to differences
in
time, place, or platform.
In
the big picture, Cisco provides end-to-end networking solutions that
customers
can use to build an efficient, unified information infrastructure
of
their own or to connect to someone else’s. This is an important piece in
the
Internet/networking–industry puzzle because a common architecture
that
delivers consistent network services to all users is now a functional
imperative.
Because Cisco Systems offers such a broad range of networking
and
Internet services and capabilities, users needing regular access to their
local
network or the Internet can do so unhindered, making Cisco’s wares
indispensable.
Cisco
answers this need with a wide range of hardware products that
form
information networks using the Cisco Internetwork Operating System
(IOS)
software. This software provides network services, paving the way for
networked
technical support and professional services to maintain and optimize
all
network operations.
Along
with the Cisco IOS, one of the services Cisco created to help support
the
vast amount of hardware it has engineered is the Cisco Certified
Internetwork
Expert (CCIE) program, which was designed specifically to
equip
people to effectively manage the vast quantity of installed Cisco networks.
The
business plan is simple: If you want to sell more Cisco equipment
and
have more Cisco networks installed, ensure that the networks you install
run
properly.
However,
having a fabulous product line isn’t all it takes to guarantee the
huge success that Cisco
enjoys—lots of companies with great products are
