CVOICE Approach Question

hermeszdata

Today, finally, I managed to put 640-802 behind me. Now, I need to pull out the stops to put the current CVOICE behind me and I need some recommendations on that line.

Hardware is not my question though my lab consists of the following:

1 Adtran 550 - (8 - FXS, 2 - .X35, 1 - NT1 trying to steal a Quad-T1)
1 c2811 - VWIC- 1MFT-T1, WIC2-1DSU-T1, HWIC-D-9ESW-PWR, NM-2V (VIC-4FX0 and VWIC2-2FXS), IOS/Flash/DRAM Plenty
2 c1760-V - MAX MEM, VWIC-1MFT-T1, WIC-1T, VIC-2FXO, VIC-2FXS, PVDMs.
1 c2621XM - Max Mem, WIC-1DSU-T1, NM-2V (2FXO, 2FXS)
2 c2620XM - Max Mem, (one has NM-16A for terminal Server the other has an NM-2V waiting for FX* modules)
1 c3810 - 1-T1/E1-PRI (though have not been able to config as PRI because of location), 4FXS, 2FXO, 2 Serial.
1 3550-48-SMI
2 3550-24-SMI-PWR
1 3508 (GBICs for fiber and copper - so I may take advantage of me GB interfaces on servers and desktops)
1 1130AP
2 7960 phones
4 7910 phones

1 HP DL380-G4 with CUCM 7 installed (has been sitting for a few months consuming power LOL.)
2 Dell 2650s (one w/W2003 Server as DC. the other running Ubuntu 10)

I currently use the 2621XM as my home/office connection to my ISP w/CME4.1, the 7960s and 2 7910s (I do swap the 2811 in/out on ocassion) and have had VoIP running here for almost 1 year. I'll be adding a few extras as I am able to the rest of my lab.

I have been going through the CCNA Voice Study Guide and Lab book for several months (mainly to keep busy) to give a bit of additional foundation in prep for studying CVOICE. This afternoon I ordered the CVOICE Study Guide and that should be here on Wednesday.

So, the question is, What is the best way to attack this certification?

I have roughly 5 weeks before time runs out and the exam is locked. I do have the benefit of unlimited study time as I am currently not working (temporary disability) and do not expect to begin working again in the next 8 to 12 weeks. No children to worry about, just the wife, doctors and lawyers, regarding interruptions.

Anyone with suggestions?

Thanks.

tokhss

I would say ....GET IT ALL WORKING.. do you have any DSP's ? your hi cap lines, such as T1's will need a dsp to transcode the voice signal.

design a multi site network, build your pstn/wan cloud and get it all working.

its all about the process and basic steps.. test wise.. just read up on the key points, watch the cbts, and you should be good.

what i have come to understand is that the cisco tests are bs.. yes, i cringe when i say this.. all these networking/tech tests are bs.. they test you on random, non real world material.

if it was my call.. the tests would be pure labs.. from ccent up to ccie. I mean, the real deal.. like ccie labs. not some test engine. bleh.

sorry for the rant.. goodluck lol.

mikej412

hermeszdata wrote: »

Anyone with suggestions?

Start reading, watching, learning and labbing. Then toss in some review in the mix.

Repeat until your can't take anymore -- then go take the exam.

hermeszdata

tokhss wrote: »

I would say ....GET IT ALL WORKING.. do you have any DSP's ? your hi cap lines, such as T1's will need a dsp to transcode the voice signal.

design a multi site network, build your pstn/wan cloud and get it all working.

its all about the process and basic steps.. test wise.. just read up on the key points, watch the cbts, and you should be good.

what i have come to understand is that the cisco tests are bs.. yes, i cringe when i say this.. all these networking/tech tests are bs.. they test you on random, non real world material.

if it was my call.. the tests would be pure labs.. from ccent up to ccie. I mean, the real deal.. like ccie labs. not some test engine. bleh.

sorry for the ran.. goodluck lol.

I have DSPs inthe 1760Vs, 2811 and 3810 and I am looking to add an AIM-Voice-30 to one of the 2620XMs (unfortunately, the $$ for that and a couple other goodies went to pay for the 640-802 re-test.)

I've had basic multi-site lab working with for a few months as mentioned. This includes Analog, VoIP and VoFR within the lab as well as the ability to make calls to/from the LIVE PSTN.

Regarding testing ... well that is another issue altogether.

tokhss

right on.. sounds like you should be good then..

aimvoice 30s are cool.. but keep in mind.. they bind hard to one interface at a time. thats right.. all channles are locked to once vwic.. sucks but it works well for a branch office.

i currently have a 2650xm w/aimvoice30 module setup as a branch.. allocated 10 channels or so which is overkill but it does the job. i think they go for like 100 bucks on ebay from china ..

chmorin

tokhss wrote: »

if it was my call.. the tests would be pure labs.. from ccent up to ccie. I mean, the real deal.. like ccie labs. not some test engine. bleh.

I just wana chime in and say that if that were the case, we would have people who could do, but not understand what they are doing and what is the result of their commands.

That's like paying a tax professional to use turbo tax. Even the CCIE has a written part.

Anyway. CVOICE is full of, in a sentence: "Understanding the basis of what Enterprise Telecomunications can be made up of". I got about halfway through the book and barfed. If I had to go through it now (and I will soon...) I would take all of your equipment, skip to the chapter that deals with that that device does in an enterprise, and configure it as such while reading the chapters. Rinse and repeat until you have a cool mini-enterprise configuration going, then rip it to shreds.

LAN party.

hermeszdata

chmorin wrote: »

I just wana chime in and say that if that were the case, we would have people who could do, but not understand what they are doing and what is the result of their commands.

That's like paying a tax professional to use turbo tax. Even the CCIE has a written part.

Well said. Very early in my electronics career (1981) my boss told me that if one is not able to explain the how/why something works enough to teach it, they do not know the subject! This becomes particulatly inportant when there is a problem requiring troubleshooting. The ability to effectively resolve an issue is deminished if one does not know the theory involved and more often than not their solution is little more than a bandaid compared to an permenant resolution.

Anyway. CVOICE is full of, in a sentence: "Understanding the basis of what Enterprise Telecomunications can be made up of". I got about halfway through the book and barfed. If I had to go through it now (and I will soon...) I would take all of your equipment, skip to the chapter that deals with that that device does in an enterprise, and configure it as such while reading the chapters. Rinse and repeat until you have a cool mini-enterprise configuration going, then rip it to shreds.

LAN party.

This is what I was doing while preparing for CCNA and while going through the CCNA:Voice Study Guide setting up VoIP in my home office. I was thinking last evening (I do have enough equipment on hand for this) about using a couple of the addresses from my block of public IPs (currently using 2 of 5) to expand the the scope a bit more.

I am still waiting ofr my CVOICE book to arrive so in the meantime I am going back through the IIUC material to lock down dial peers and translation patterns.

tokhss

While i agree on not being able to explain why something works.. My intent about pure labs was to apply real world scenarios during a test. How often do we forgot the little terms and details the book and the test engine require us to know. learning concepts is great.. but when it comes down to getting things done in the real world, being able to know how to do something from my experience means you already have the concept of how things work. go read the book, learn the concept, but bring more real world test taking cisco!

What i am trying to say is.. these certs we all take, the questions are long forgotten and sometimes are pulled due to being really old or having mistakes. It would be nice if our exams were a combination of general concept and real world lab.. physical equipment test/setup/troublehsooting. The only problem is, most people cant afford a full blown lab. Either way.. lol I still think the tests should be more lab based than book based / exam engine.

Also, how many paper cert techs do we have out there that cant find a job b/c the employer wants 5-10 yrs hands on. How many HR managers want to hire a tech who has little experience with some high end certs only to get low balled for some A+ position offer.

I think cisco should up the ante and put in some real world testing, full blown labs, take top 10 company network topologies and use it as its framework. Maybe then when a HR manager asks, what kind of experience do you have, a prospect could answer, Cisco.

sorry for the thread jack. just some wishful thinking.