The Cisco Certification Tree is a very important concept. Essentially, each employee within an organization has several levels of employment. Within these levels of employment, there will exist supervisors, departmental managers, and end-users, all with their own set of job duties and responsibilities. A Cisco Certified Systems Engineer may be the department manager, but is not required to have completed any Cisco courses in order to perform this job title. It is the responsibility of the department manager to make sure that everyone in the department is performing their job duties, as well as meeting customer expectations. One way that this is accomplished is through hiring qualified individuals, whom have completed Cisco courses, to complete specialized exams.
Individuals who complete Cisco certification examinations have the knowledge and expertise to perform the job titles listed above. However, these experts may not necessarily have been certified in the field. In order to be qualified for department manager or for any other role in an organization, it is essential that individuals be able to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and expertise through the various Cisco certifications. This is what the Certification Tree provides.
The reason that Cisco has implemented the prerequisite system is because they realized that not every person who applies for employment will be successful. There are many different reasons why the percentage of successful candidates entering an organization via the prerequisite list is not always high. Some of the most common reasons for this include lack of prior knowledge and experience in the field, poor performance when under pressure, a history of failed Cisco certification exams, and the inability to successfully pass prerequisite exams.
To remedy the situation, Cisco developed a comprehensive testing method that ensures that candidates who apply for networking or switching certification have at least the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful at the job. This comprehensive prerequisite list consists of three major Cisco exams: CCNA, CCNP, and MCSE. All individuals who wish to become eligible for department manager or for a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) must pass one of these three exams. Cisco offers testing kits that can be used for each of the three exams, guaranteeing a passing score regardless of previous knowledge and experience.
With the help of online training, CCNA certification is much easier to achieve. In many cases, someone who is not familiar with Cisco products may not feel confident in performing the exam. That is why the Cisco Certification Institute offers training online that can help someone get familiar with the subject and feel more confident before taking the exam. When someone passes their CCNA exam, they will have the added benefit of having their work recognized by Cisco and having a degree that indicates to potential employers that they have the skill set needed to succeed in an office environment focused on information technology.
CCNA certification training can include learning about different technologies and how they are used by Cisco in their networking products. Cisco uses a routing algorithm called BIND. This algorithm is based on the idea that every IP packet has an unchanging set of instructions called an IP destination. When a packet is received by a router, it can determine the destination by following the instructions it is given, and then use that information to return to the sender.
There are two types of CCNA training: instructor-led and self-led. With instructor-led training, an instructor will oversee individual students, giving them specific guidance on the topics to be discussed and helping them practice what they have learned. Self-led means the individual takes the CCNA exam themselves, following exactly the exact steps from the study guide. Each of the four exams, however, requires passing at least one of the two sections, which are the written as well as the lab. Achieving one of the two exams is the only way to get certified.
