Page 6

Introduction

he 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 internet-
working. This book is intended to help you continue on your exciting new
path toward obtaining CCNP and CCIE certification. Before reading this
book, you should have at least read Sybex's

CCNA: Cisco Certified Net-

work Associate Study Guide.

Although you can take the Cisco tests in any

order, you should pass the CCNA exam before pursuing your CCNP. Many
questions in the CCNP Switching exam (640-504) are built upon the CCNA
material. However, we have done everything possible to make sure you can pass
the 640-504 exam by reading this book and practicing with Cisco routers.

Cisco--A Brief History

A lot of readers may already be familiar with Cisco and what they do. How-
ever, those of you who are new to the field, just coming in fresh from your
MCSE, or those of you who have maybe 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

with a small commercial gateway server product that changed networking

forever. Some people think the name was intended to be San Francisco Sys-
tems but the paper got ripped on the way to the incorporation lawyers--who
knows? In 1992, the company name was changed to Cisco Systems, Inc.

The first product the company marketed was called the Advanced Gate-

way 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).

www.sybex.com