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CCIE Voice Information

The Voice track concentrates on voice solutions for the enterprise and includes subjects such as QoS, MGCP, Call Manager (Cisco's VoIP PBX), Cisco Unity (Cisco's Unified Messaging platform), Unity Express and IP Contact Center Express.

The CCIE Voice (CCIE Voice Written Exam (305-030) & CCIE Voice Lab Exam) certification is said to be one of the hardest around at the moment, and it is estimated that there are less than 800 CCIE Voice certified people in the whole world at present.

The CCIE Voice lab exam blueprint includes the following:

• Basic Campus Design
  • DHCP, TFTP
  • Catalyst voice and data VLAN configuration
  • Catalyst VTP configuration

• Call Manager and Call Manager Express Configuration
  • Phone registration
  • Phone configuration

• Voice Gateway and Signaling
  • Analog and digital voice protocols: analog FXS, FXO-M1, T1, E1, PRI, CAS, R2
  • VoIP protocols: H323, MGCP, SCCP, SIP, RAS

• Call Routing
  • CCM route patterns (@ wildcard not tested)
  • CCM route preference and redundancy
  • IOS dial peers
  • Digit manipulation and translation

• Voice CODEC
  • G711ulaw, G711alaw, G729, G723

• Call Admission Control
  • Location-based
  • RAS-based

• High Availability Features
  • SRST
  • AAR

• Media Resource Management
  • Conference bridge software and hardware
  • Transcoder
  • MTP
  • MOH

• QoS Considerations
  • L2/L3 classifications and policing
  • Queuing mechanisms
  • LFI
  • Catalyst switch QoS

• Unified Messaging
  • Unity voicemail integration
  • Unity administration

• CRS/IPCC Express Application
  • Default script configuration and integration
  • Custom script configuration and integration

• Call Manager Voice Applications
  • Any native applications to Call Manager, examples are extension mobility, attendant console, IPMA

• Supplementary Services

• Directory Services and Integration

• Fax
  • Fax pass-through
  • Fax relay

What sets the CCIE Voice lab exam apart from typical CCIE lab exams is the widely dissimilar platforms that are used. Configurations will have to be done on the Windows 2003 Server environment, on a CallManager web-based GUI, on the CatOS command line, on the IOS command line, as well as on the proprietary configuration environments of telephony devices such as the ATA186 and VG248. As such, it is not an exam that involves a uniform method of configuration, and it involves a lot of back-and-forth fine tuning between the numerous platforms.

The device list for the CCIE Voice lab includes the following:

• Hardware
  • MCS 7835 Call Manager/CRS Servers
  • MCS 7835 Unity Server
  • Catalyst 6503
  • 3725 Routers (WAN, Gatekeeper, Gateway, PSTN Emulation)
  • Cisco Unity Express
  • 2651XM H.323 Gateway
  • VG248 Analog Phone Gateway
  • ATA186 Analog Telephone Adapters
  • Catalyst 3550 with inline power
  • IP Phones
  • Analog Phones
  • FAX

• Software
  • All routers use IOS version 12.4 Main Train
  • Catalyst 6503 series switches use Switch OS version 7.6(X)
  • Catalyst 3550 series switches use IOS version 12.1EA
  • CCM version 4.1(3) with latest SR
  • Unity version 4.0(5)
  • CRS version 4.0(1)

Source: Wikipedia.com