Glad I took CCVP first over CCNP

tokhss · December 2011

After finishing my CCVP, I decided to continue and get my CCNP (which i just started).. but looking backing through all the time spent on CCVP really makes me feel like it was the right choice mainly bc of the amount of time it takes to learn the voice side. I already came from a RS world and voice was brand new to me.

With that said, learning the voice side really did strengthen my VOIP knowledge and skill level overall by A LOT..i thought i knew voice AKA skype.. lol..after this, its like whoa..i knew so little!! I feel as if voice takes more dedication than route/switch .. specially takes a deeper cut in the wallet.

To those who started voice recently, relax, and focus on whatever makes you get through the amount of time its going to take to conquer this one. Stick with it!! Be ready to spend countless hours banging your head just to bc a call wont establish properly, or a device wont register. lol..but at the end, the satisfaction of teaching yourself something is priceless.

Good Luck to you all!

and if anyone is still wondering.. yes, i still hate how Cisco certifies

I say real world labs for every damn certification.

nel · December 2011

Congrats man!

tokhss · December 2011

Thank you!

shodown · December 2011

Your right i have been working on mine back when it was called CCVP in 08. back when gateway/gatekeepers were still part of the cert. In that same time I have knocked out S+, CCNP, and a few specializations which were much easier. At the same time though my passion has been voice so I don't just try to pass the test, I learn it in and out and spend a weeks on chapters, where with the other ones I would do a chapter a day and learn enough just to pass.

You will find CCNP to be a walk in the park

tokhss · December 2011

Exactly, voice is so complex in regards to so many variables to make a "system" work, that you gotta certainly make the time for this path. Overall, i spent 3-4 months per exam. Sometimes, I wouldn't even open the book. I would mock up my own lab and attempt to make it work. It was only during the "attempt" where i really learned and was forced to google keywords, refer to my book, and any pdf i had at hand, along with a little intuition with the command helper. Trial n Error for days at a time, even reaching out some friends I made online who would console in and give up after 30 min lol... I cant stress how great it feels when you figure things out on your own. geezuz.. i would spend hours till i figured it out.. sometimes, i would be up till 3 am and only then would i go to bed bc i was shaking from lack of sleep loool, only to wake up a few hours later with another idea!

This stuff really is a life style!!

ram1101 · December 2011

Im actually thinking about doing voice but i dont have a lab i could pass ccna:voice but doing all the other ones would be a complicated since i dont have the equipment. so how were you able to pull the ccvp?
what kind of equipment do you have?

tokhss · December 2011

I was able to pull voip by simply being dedicated, i spent roughly 2 years overall from starting CCNA:V to VP.. Reading @ work, @ home, watching videos, reading on the forums, and interacting with others on top of my lab.

My lab consists of the following..

1 x 3745 loaded with all the goodies (carrier emulated, WICs, VWICS, Serials, DSPs etc.. )
2 x 2811 loaded with all resources required. VWIC's / DSP's
1 x 2801 loaded as well..
1 x 2650 loaded as well (used this intially for my GK via a T1,. but then cisco shifted to SAF/CCD)
1 x 881W (home gateway)

1 x 3750-48-power
1 x 3550-48-EMI
1 x 3524-24
1 x 2960-24

1 x 7970
4 x 7940
CIPC's across all desktops/laptops/servers

2 servers,. vmware desktop and ESXi running multiple call managers and unity connection. Also, i decided to purchase multiple sip trunks from different ITSP's to learn the cube side of things and make sure calls truely establish in a real world scenario between ITSP's. playing with different configs and code's, seeing how QoS kicks in and how AAR worked too was cool.

I also have a the latest NFR kit 8.6 .,. I actually plan on loading up contact center and figuring this out,, i notice a lot of demand for this.

Anyhow,, yes.. if you got the desire, then all you need is the time.

shodown · December 2011

Thats a pretty sweet lab

I have

2 2801 with DSP's and VWICs
2 3550's for POE basic VLAN's
2651XM PSTN/Frame/Gatekeeper

1 Dell server that I run multiple copies of CUCM7/8 with Unity Connection, Presence, UCCX

Kelkin · December 2011

Hey Showdown.. hows the IE studying coming ? *Not meaning to hijack the thread

*

shodown · December 2011

I actually just startred on it. I had to do some nexus work, some WAAS and some other things. I'm pretty much starting over on topics I was weak in. So I"ll be finishing out my CCVP. 2 exams done 3 more to go. Hope to have CIPT2 done by new years, then knock out the other 2 then take a QOS course and have the written done by May of next year. I'm at a pretty slow pace as I really break down each topic lab it over and over.

Kelkin · December 2011

Ohhh for some reason I was thinking you tackled your vp and was gearing up on ie.. anyway good luck!

shodown · December 2011

I had met a couple of tac engineer who had the same path as I had and they skipped the VP(back then) and went straight into the IE world, which I was attempting to do, but with life and wife it makes it kinda difficult so this journey will be at much slower pace. I dont' expect a lab attempt until 2013 at this point.

Glad I took CCVP first over CCNP

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