CISCO OVERVIEW

Public corporation specializing in the designing, manufacturing and selling of network equipment and is ranked high in several stock exchange indices that include; NASDAR-100 and the S & P 500 index and first came into operation in 1984.

It is among the first companies globally that started the sale of routers that are commonly known to support multiple network protocols. This has enabled it to keep up with the rising technology.  As time went by, CISCO was able to develop new and high-tech products.

In addition, CISCO acquired several other companies that led to its expansion and expanded popularity to date. It also led to the development of more product lines like the layer 3 railing and switching that proved to be first and simple in terms of operation.

As time went by, technology moved to a new level and CISCO was able to catch up with the trend; it introduced high-tech routes and other products that became vital in terms of internet access, and also developed several startups that were used to process the updated internet protocol packets and the MPLS in the routing and switching system.

Presently, CISCO is a global leader when it comes to enhancing connectivity of different and people especially through cloud compacting applications and services. It also offers internet services where one can search for everything including its own products. As a result, CISCO is always among the top companies when it comes to company rankings and awards in the corporate world.

CISCO offers products and services that focus mostly in common market segments, including small businesses, homes, enterprises and most service providers.

In the corporate market, CISCO offers the following products and services;

• Data centre and virtualization - CISCO specifically offers cloud computing services, data centre switching and unified fabric computing.
• Next generation networks – In this section, CISCO provides routing and switching for broadcast videos, mobile service networks, entitling and in different content delivery systems. Aids in provision of borderless networks because of their wireless systems, security system, and WAN acceleration, range of router and switches and management systems. IP video and phones, unified communications, cell centre sand in most mobile applications.
• In small businesses - common products is the CISCO SG 300-20-28 PORT gadget and Ethernet, used in home businesses and most startups.

For home users, CISCO provides broadband and video flips.

CISCO also sells products that are mainly used for data functions.

• Catalyst switches
• Security appliances
• CISCO wireless LAN products
• Telephony products
• Routers

CISCO TECHNOLOGIES

• Voices-over-Internet Protocol

This is a technology which utilizes voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) network including the internet. The system controls both session and signaling set up, and tears down of calls. Using special media delivery protocols, the VoIP system transports audio streams over IP networks, encoding voice, audio, video with audio codec and video codec as digital audio by streaming media.

• WebEx communications

A CISCO acquisition providing a varied range of services including on-demand collaboration tools (i.e. discussion forums, document slurring and calendaring), online meeting, video conferencing and web conferencing.

• Home network

It allows for communication and operation among digital devices within the home range. This allows one to automate repetitious tasks, increase personal productivity, and enhance home security and easy access of entertainment facilities.

• CISCO valet routers

Involves a simplified mode of installation and configuration of a home network by shipping routers pre-installed with software which allows users to set-up the network, following a step-by-step wizard.

• Data virtualization

This technological approach of data management allows for retrieval and manipulation of data without requiring technical details about the data, such as formality and mode of formatting

• IronPort system

Involves designing products and software that provide enterprises with protection against internet threats. For instance, the famous IronPort Antispam; the sender base email reputation service and email security appliance.

CISCO CERTIFICATION

CISCO offers a number of IT professional certifications that are essential as they promote technological productivity of an individual. It involves the following five levels; Entry (CCENT), Associate (CCNA/CCDA), Professional (CCNP/CCDP), Expert (CCIE, CCDE) and the Architect.

In addition, one can choose from the 8 available paths, i.e. Routing & Switching, Data Centre, and Wireless, Service Provider operations, storage networking, design security and voice. CISCO also provides certification that specialize in sales, data centre and technician experts.

Sitting and passing of exams, lab and theory, enables one to acquire the above certifications hence eligible in attaining accreditation.

The certification, after accreditation, enables one to gain the skills and knowledge to restore, repair and deal with any critical CISCO networking systems.