From the day I passed my CCIE Voice written exam on Nov 25, 2010, until the day I passed the CCIE Voice lab on Aug 17th, 2010, I logged 933 hours of “study.”  To keep myself honest, I had a very rigid definition of studying.  “Study” was classified as the following:

• Lab time was typically recorded in eight-hour segments.  I used ProctorLabs.com for my CCIE Voice studying needs. In order to get the most “bang for my buck,” I always used the full eight-hour voucher.  This was helped me a lot when the real lab came around.  I was already used to focusing for lengthy periods of times.  This removed the concern about stamina on exam day.
• Theory time was spent either (a) reviewing IPexpert lab solutions and explanations, (b) listening to Amy Ryan’s amazing Audio on Demand series, or (c) reading every Cisco document that I could get my hands on.  For those of you preparing for the lab, become extremely familiar with the CUCM 7.0(1) SRND, CUCME 7.0(1) Admin Guide, QoS SRND, and anything pertaining to gateways and gatekeepers.  I highly recommend the Troubleshooting IP Telephony book available through Cisco Press.  It’s a bit old, but sure to be a faithful reference beyond passing the exam.
• Distraction-free was a keyword for studying.  If you’re going to study, don’t leave the TV on in the background.  Don’t listen to music.  Don’t sip margaritas.  You are preparing for a strenuous test unlike any other certification in the IT community.

As you can see from the graphic below, as time progressed, my lab study overtook my theory study.  I don’t think I could have done this any other way.  Before you can really launch out into full eight-hour mock labs, you must have a very solid understanding of call routing, protocols, QoS, features, etc.  The first four months were consumed with SRNDs.  I would wake up at 4:30AM and study theory until 7:00AM.  I’d go to work, come back home, and study another few hours.

As I reached the end of my journey, my theory focused diminished gradually and was replaced by additional lab time.  You should eventually reach a place where you only need to look at documents for clarification.  To make an analogy, you have already built the house, now you’re just applying the finishing touches.

Reader Participation: At this time, I want make myself available to answer strategy questions.  If you have any questions about study methods, lifestyle modifications, etc. pertaining to lab preparation, post them as comments on this blog.  I will compile the questions and answer them as a separate post in the next week.

I want to thank IPexpert for their help and support during the last year.  Amy and Vik are incredible instructors.  They really want to form you into a true CCIE, not just someone who can pass the test.  I am greatly indebted to the amount of work they put into the v3 materials that they offer.  Way to go guys!

I also want to say a HUGE thanks to the IPexpert technical support guys: Drew LePla, Ryan Barnum, and Andrew “B” Shipton.  You guys know how many times I  sent after-hours support requests!  Thank you for your help.

A thanks to my buddy, Mike Down aka “Frank” – You sold me a good deal on the end-to-end package and provided plenty of sarcasm and customer service throughout my journey.  Keep yer’ stick on the ice, my friend.

I also want to thank my study partners: Antonio McCarver, Roger Källberg, Jeff Cotter, Warren Heaviside, and the list goes on and on.  I made some great friends on this journey.  You know who you are.  Let’s keep in touch.

I also wanted to shoot out a few thoughts while things were still fresh in my mind.

Tip 1: You begin taking the lab the night before

Make sure that you prepare yourself for the lab the night before.  My wife told me to not have sugar or carbs because they can slow down your mental recall abilities.  Don’t eat heavy food. Try to avoid excess sugar and carbs.

Take a 30-45 minute walk the night before.  This will help alleviate stress and provide “feel-good” endorphins that will help as you go to bed.  The morning of the exam, do not have ANY sugar or carbs.  For me, I went to Denny’s and had eggs, bacon, and fruit.  Protein is good for endurance and mental alertness.  After having breakfast, I went for a 30 minute walk.  I was super nervous going into the lab because it was my first attempt.  I felt that the walk in the morning was a great stress reliever.  When I went into the lab, I was riding high on those positive endorphins for the first hour.

Tip 2: Don’t waste your “free” meal at Cisco’s cafeteria

You get something like $13-14 to spend for lunch.  Following my wife’s advice, I avoided sugar and carbs.  I had a big salad with tons of protein (chicken, bacon, eggs) and fruit.  I was tempted by the fresh pizza, burgers, and fries, but managed to avoid them.  When I returned to the lab, I was alert and not groggy in any way.  Other guys picked up sugary drinks, chocolate, cookies, fries, etc.  Don’t make that mistake!  You’ve invested a lot of time into your preparation, don’t handicap yourself by being undisciplined and eating junk food for lunch.

Tip 3: Keep a spreadsheet to track your study progress

The CCIE lab requires a high level of personal dedication and perseverance.  Use a spreadsheet to track your study time.  Every Monday morning, I would determine the number of hours I would study that week, clearly define what IPexpert labs I would focus on, and what Cisco documents/concepts I would study.  I would schedule my week and hold myself to it.

Logging your time can be a great confidence-booster as well.  By the time I went in to the take the test, I had logged 600 hours worth of rack time and another 350 hours worth of reading/reflection since January 1st.  I was able to confidently tell myself, “Matthew, you know this!  You’ve done this many, many times before.”

Tip 4: Get involved in online study lists like the OSL

Gather people around you who will challenge you.  IPexpert’s online study list was a great way to meet other people and be challenged.  If you come across a question, do your research, check the OSL archives, and then send an email out to the group if you’re still stumped.  Make an effort to be a contributor.  Don’t just ask questions, but answer them as well.  I made a commitment early on to answer at least one email once a week.  It was a great way to be stretched.

I will write more on my blog over the next few weeks, but these were just a few tips that really helped me.

You know, there’s no shortcut to getting your CCIE.  In the end, it takes a lot of hard work, sore muscles, awkward schedules, etc.  The reason Voice IEs are so coveted in the marketplace is because there are so few of them.  Not many people are willing to make the sacrifice in order to get the prize.  Commit yourself to the goal, throw yourself into your study plan, and “get ‘er done!”

Let me just say that it’s a phenomenal feeling to get that score report. Now I can exhale, lay back, and get back to my real life.

CSCsl74701 Bug Details
ARQ requests 1280 when no regions are defined to use g711

Symptom:
ARQ sent to gatekeeper requests bandwidth for a g711 call (1280) even though only g729 is configured in all of the regions.

Conditions:
In a call routed to a GK controlled ICT and all regions are configured for g729, the originating CCM requests 160 in the ARQ to the gatekeeper. When the h225 setup arrives at the terminating CCM, an ARQ is sent to the gatekeeper requesting 1280. This is because the IntraAudioRegionDefault and InterAudioRegionDefault service paramater settings are included in the calculation for the maximum bandwidth request. Callmanager default setting for IntraAudioRegionDefault is g711.

It should check region pair before applying default if there is nothing matched.

Workaround:
Set both service parameters to g729, or increase zone bandwidth setting on the gatekeeper

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/psa/default.html

When you’re at work and have a problem, search this site for your answers.  Train yourself to use the documentation.  Resist the urge to use Google to find your answer.

The CCIE lab is just as much about knowing the technologies as it is knowing Cisco’s documentation.  How’s that for “drinking the Kool-aid” and taking the Cisco plunge?

These examples will provide you TONS of working configuration examples.  Be familiar with these guides.

CUE/VPIM Configuration

• Clickable path: CISCO UNITY EXPRESS > CONFIGURE > CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES AND TECHNOTES
• Cisco Guide 1: Configuration Example: Cisco Unity Express Networking
• Cisco Guide 2: CallManager for Cisco Unity Express Configuration Example

B-ACD

• Clickable path: COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER EXPRESS > CONFIGURE > Configuration Guide
• Cisco Guide: Cisco Unified CME B-ACD and Tcl Call-Handling Applications
• Search for: “Embedded Call-Queue and AA Tcl Scripts: Example”

RSVP Agent

• Clickable path: CISCO IOS SOFTWARE > CISCO IOS 12.4 T > Configuration Guides
• Cisco Guide: CUCM and Cisco IOS Interoperability Guide, Release 12.4
• Search for: “Configuring RSVP Agent”

DSP Farms

• Clickable path: CISCO IOS SOFTWARE > CISCO IOS 12.4 T > Configuration Guides
• Cisco Guide: CUCM and Cisco IOS Interoperability Guide, Release 12.4
• Search for: “MGCP Gateway with T1 PRI: Example”

Transcoding

• Clickable Path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER > CONFIGURE > CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES AND TECHNOTES
• Cisco Guide: Enhanced Transcoding and Conferencing for IOS Voice Gateways in a CallMananger Network using DSP Resources Configuration Example
• Search for: “sccp ccm”

COR

• Clickable path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER > CONFIGURE > CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES AND TECHNOTES
• Cisco Guide: Unified SRST Interactive Voice Network Configuration Example
• Search for: “Configure Class of Restriction (COR) on the SRST Router”

MGCP

• Clickable path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER > CONFIGURE > CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES AND TECHNOTES
• Cisco Guide: Unified SRST Interactive Voice Network Configuration Example
• Search for: “Remote RTP Router”

Cisco Unity Express (CUE) with CUCM

• Clickable path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > CISCO UNITY EXPRESS > CONFIGURE > CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES AND TECHNOTES
• Cisco Guide: CallManager for CUE Configuration Example

Cisco Unity Express (CUE) with CUCME

• Clickable path: Clickable path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > CISCO UNITY EXPRESS > CONFIGURE > CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES AND TECHNOTES
• Cisco Guide: CUCME/CUE Configuration Example

Cisco Unity Connection (CUC) with CUCME

• Clickable path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > CISCO UNITY CONNECTION > CONFIGURE > Configuration Examples and TechNotes > Configuration Guides
• SCCP-Based Cisco Guide: CUCM Express SCCP Integration Guide for CUC Release 7.x
• SIP-Based Cisco Guide: CUCM Express SIP Trunk Integration Guide for CUC Release 7.x

SRST Configuration

• Clickable path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > CISCO UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > MANAGER (CALLMANAGER)  > TROUBLESHOOT AND ALERTS > TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNOTES > Unified SRST Interactive Voice Network Configuration Example
• Cisco Guide: Unified SRST Interactive Voice Network Configuration Example
• Search for: “COR” (Configure Class of Restriction (COR) on the SRST Router)

3750 QoS Configuration

• Clickable path: SWITCHES > CISCO CATALYST 3750 SERIES SWITCHES > TROUBLESHOOT AND ALERTS > TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNOTES
• Cisco Guide: Cisco Catalyst 3750 QoS Configuration Examples
• Search for:

IPPA

This section contributed by a CCIE Voice study partner of mine, Roger:

• Clickable path: VOICE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS > CUSTOMER CONTACT > CISCO UNIFIED CONTACT CENTER PRODUCTS > CONTACT CENTER EXPRESS > Install and Configure Guides
• Cisco Guide: Cisco CAD Installation Guide for CAD 6.6 for Unified CM
• Search for: “:62” – Third hit is what you need.

You know there are two different URLs that can be used for the UCCX phone agent service?

One where you have to insert agent id, password and agent extension on the phone, since this takes valuable time away from your lab time we often choose to use the other method, namely the one where all this is already filled in when you subscribed to the service. In other words, the one button login.

There is a document that describes how to do this, but it can be somewhat difficult to find. At least if you compare to the effort needed to find the first example. But rest at ease, the is an easy way to do both with what you find in the easily found document.

The trick to find this second URL and the name of the parameters is to paste the first URL into a browser on your computer: http://<IP_of_UCCX_server>:6293/ipphone/jsp/sciphonexml/IPAgentInitial.jsp

In the result that comes up in your browser you will have the second URL and the exact name of the parameters needed, remember that these are case-sensitive.

Answer: Make sure that you check the following:

1. AXL connections are setup correctly under Telephony Integrations > Phone System > Edit > AXL Servers
2. AXL connections are using port 443
3. AXL service is activated and running on Unity Connection
4. CUCM end user is associated to its IP phone and that a primary extension is set under User Management > End User

Answer: You would use “csim start [dialed digits]“.  However, be aware that though the dialed digits strings will match the destination-pattern defined in your dial peer.  Any voice translation-profiles applied at the dial-peer level will not be activated during a csim test call.

Case in point, I have the following setup:

dial-peer voice 11300 voip
 translation-profile outgoing OUT-GK-EXPAND
 destination-pattern [15]…$
 session target ras
 dtmf-relay h245-alphanumeric
!
voice translation-profile OUT-GK-EXPAND
 translate called 11300
!
voice translation-rule 11300
 rule 1 /5…$/ /1#1212394\0/
 rule 2 /1…$/ /1#1617863\0/

If I dial “5002″ from BR2-PHN2 (ext. 3002), dial-peer 11300 is matched ([15]…$) and then translated from 5002 > 1#12123945002 before it is sent, via RAS, to my gatekeeper. 

If I issue a “csim start 5002″, it will match my dial-peer 11300 (“debug voip dialpeer”), but the translation will not occur.  Verify this for yourself by running “debug gatekeeper main 10″ from your gatekeeper.  You’ll see that the call comes in as “5002″ instead of “1#12123945002″.

Happy labbing!

Answer: You would use “dial-peer terminator [0-9, A-F, *, or #]“

One more note: I’ve been impressed with IPexpert’s materials and how closely they parallel the material covered in the exam. If you’re just getting started in your pursuit and are looking for quality training materials, check them out!

Click here to download (Right-click, select “Save As”)

This is what I asked:

Ben,

In your opinion, when do you “know” that you’re ready to take the lab?  There’s a plethora of Cisco documents to review, hands-on training to get, etc.  For someone like me who is having to shell out the money myself (going on $10k without booking the lab), how do you know?  What can a candidate use to gauge his confidence level?

I know some guys have the mindset that they’ll take it once, expecting to fail.  Most of those guys are probably getting it paid for by their employer.  For guys like me, who want to take the lab (and actually have a chance of passing the first time), what would you say?  Any sagely words of wisdom?

Ben responded with the following insight.  I think he did a pretty good job of summarizing what it will take to pass:

I’d say you’re ready to pass if you can do these:

1. Configure most of the UC routing and features listed on the blueprint
2. Be able to troubleshoot any of the blueprint items: knows where, what, and how to gather and then understand debugs and traces.

Yes, I don’t advise one to come in the lab just to take a look – you prepare as if you only have one shot at it. But if you did not make it, take advantage of the experience learnt from the failed attempt and do better on the next.

Let’s say there are three people who need to lose 30 lbs to meet the physical requirement to become a fire-fighter, each took a different route:

• One started exercising daily and watched his diet, and which eventually become part of his daily life,
• The other started to reduce food intake to the minimum for an extended period of time;
• The third one went to a surgeon and requested removal of excessive body weight

In the end all three lost the weight and became fire-fighters, I am sure each route was not an easy one for the individual who took it, as each required sacrifices in his own circumstances. I do think one might have a better chance of becoming a confident firefighter with a long lasting career, but only time will tell.