What is the big deal with Cisco network certification?
How is a Cisco router any different from any other router and why do most companies make such a big deal about having a Cisco network certification?
Well, if you can set up one router you can set them all!
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Cisco is the leading provider in router and network devices. They are basically the de jure standard throughout the industry. Just think of it like needing a Microsoft certification. Not many industries would require you not to know the workings of a Microsoft OS.
I am afraid that it is a gross oversimplification to say that “if you can set up one router you can set them all up”. You might be able to understand the basics of how different router vendors work, you could likely get standards based protocols to talk, but you will not be able to actually configure them both. Syntax and OS are very different on these different devices, which is why being certified in any one of them allows you opportunities over the others. The look and feel may be the same, a device might be billed as “IOS-like” but in truth, especially in networking, the devil is in the details.
So in answer to your first question … If one’s goal is enterprise class routing (we are leaving other products out for the moment) is your goal, wouldn’t you be most employable being certified in the market leader? And in the enterprise, not a “slight edge” market leader, but rather a dominating force. If you are going to look at ISP or SMB routing (the latter is a small market, there is not a lot of employment exlusive to routing in the SMB – at least here in California), the Cisco is still a good move, and it affords you the flexibility to swap into other markets if need be. Lastly, consider that they are also the de facto switching platform, have a large footprint in IP Telephony, Wireless, Security, etc. and you start to see why having a Cisco certification is such a “big deal” as you call it. Essentially it is all about options, and Cisco provides a lot of options.