CollabCert's CCIE Collaboration Bootcamp

Around a year ago I completed a 9 month journey to attain the CCIE Voice. There were a lot of ingredients that contributed to achieving this goal. One of the most valuable ingredients was the CCIE bootcamp program I attended. I am of the opinion that incorporating a bootcamp program into your IE training plan goes a long way to ensuring success. Moreover, my belief is that the effectiveness of an IE bootcamp program is primarily rooted in the abilities and effectiveness of the instructor not the company selling the program.

The instructor of my IE Voice bootcamp was Vik Malhi. Vik recently launched his new venture, CollabCert, which is a training company specializing in the Cisco CCIE Collaboration track. I was invited to participate in the inaugural bootcamp of this IE training program. The following provides my thoughts on the bootcamp experience.

Using SQL as a Phone Provisioning Methodology for CCIE Voice

"What is the fastest way to provision the phones for the CCIE Voice Lab?" That is a question I asked myself a lot during my preparation for the IE lab. I also saw this question posed by a fair number of fellow candidates on various forums. There are a lot of different methodologies that could be applied here, but the bottom line is you have to go with what you know. You need something you can execute consistently and rapidly. 

I tried a lot of different methods and came up with one that worked best for me. I originally planned to post an entry on my method and then stopped short because I thought the benefit of the method would be lost in blog format. When I thought about posting it again I was slammed busy and I figured that the new blue print is right around the corner. Timing is everything.  

However, recently I have received several requests from readers asking about the phone provisioning method I alluded to in other blog entries. So, I dusted off the draft and am presented it now. Hopefully, someone finds this information useful.

The CCIE WINS its Voice Back!

As noted in my blog entry "Cisco Needs Its Voice Back", Cisco announced the new CCIE Collaboration track blueprint on May 29th. The community of engineers that live and breath the Cisco UC/Collaboration portfolio were happy to see the CCIE Voice track evolve to the next level. This was welcome news because we (the engineers) have been doing UC/Collaboration for years and have been waiting for the IE track to catch up. 

Of course, the news came with a huge downside. The CCIE Voice certification was being retired and not renamed. IOW, all of the engineers who make the Cisco's UC/Collaboration solution what it is would be left behind.

Starting the day of the announcement, the CCIE Voice community and our supporters started to speak out against the change. We leveraged social media and Cisco's community portals to make our opinion heard. We started a petition to centrally document our position. Folks at the Cisco Partner Summit in Boston and the Cisco Collaboration 10 PBT in San Jose spoke out and gave our movement a face (or many faces?).

Today, Cisco demonstrated an outstanding level of integrity and commitment to their brand and our community. The official announcement is not out yet but Jim Duffy from Network World has reported that Cisco will be providing CCIE Voice engineers a reasonable migration path.  

Cisco's official statement:

We are listening to the feedback from our valued CCIE community, and will be adjusting the CCIE Collaboration requirements. As a quick preview of the evolution of the CCIE Collaboration certification, a current holder of the CCIE Voice designation will now be able to migrate to a CCIE Collaboration credential by taking the CCIE Collaboration written exam only. We appreciate all of the great feedback and patience of the community while we update our webpages to reflect this change. We will be communicating further details about this modification as soon as possible.

This is outstanding news for the CCIE Voice community.

Color Me Impressed

The original announcement came out on May 29th and within 24 hours we bore witness to the power of social media. When we started to push back I had no idea that we would get over 1,000 names on the change.org petition. I was floored to see a discussion thread on the topic in the PBT community reach 9,700 views (in a little over 48 hours). 

I am impressed by the fact that our community rallied behind a core message, kept things civil, and used positivity to move our message up the management chain within Cisco. Honestly, right now, at this moment I am pretty damn proud to be part of a community that refused to roll over, made a stand, and combined efforts to make sure our VOICE was heard.

I'd like to extend my humble appreciation and my respect to each and everyone of you who helped put this change into effect. I'd also like to give a nod to Cisco Systems for listening to their user and partner community. The level of integrity you have demonstrated here is inspirational. You have successfully reinforced my brand loyalty.

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Thanks for reading. If you have time, post a comment!

Where's The Video In the "New" CCIE Collaboration?

As noted in my blog entry "CCIE Needs Its Voice Back", Cisco recently announced a new CCIE track: CCIE Collaboration AND they announced they would be retiring the CCIE Voice. This means that all certified Voice IEs are also retired.

Over the past week, the Voice IE community has stepped up and made their "VOICE" heard. We have been active in Twitter, Facebook, the Learning Network, and several Cisco online communities. I have been wading through the various threads and noted that there is a common misconception from those that support the retirement of the Voice IE. That misconception takes various forms of the argument: CCIE Voice is just voice and the new exam is much more. One of the commonly quoted "NEW" technologies is video.

There are several people who have said that the new IE is more than voice because it adds video and this creates a whole new paradigm. I see this response and I am honestly a little confused. I look at the new blueprint and the new equipment list and I have to ask: "Where is the video?"

CCIE Needs its Voice Back

May 29, 2013 marks the day that Cisco announced the new CCIE Collaboration track. For many existing voice CCIEs, this was a welcome change to the blue print as it lined up with what we really do. We were excited about the blue print change and then we read the catch: 

"CCIE Voice will be retiring and the new CCIE Collaboration will become the standard for telecom, unified communications, and video professionals". 

What does this mean? It means that if you have a CCIE Voice, you will remain a CCIE Voice and if you want to be recognized as a CCIE Collaboration you have to go through the whole lab process again. 

Needless to say people will pitch a fit over such news. I don't think anyone (especially Cisco) is surprised by that. There are a lot of unhappy campers in the Cisco "Collaboration" world today. I can't speak for all of them but I can lay out my argument for why I believe Cisco made the wrong decision.

CCIE Voice Tactics: Dealing with IOS DHCP

To complement the CCIE-V Strategy Series I am going through the process of parsing my IE voice notes and pulling out the more interesting bits. As with the other series hosted on this blog, I base my topic choices on perceived (subjective) interest, requests via comments, and the common questions I see on various forums.

For this installment, I am going to walk through some of the tactics around DHCP.

CCIE Voice Blue Print Change and a New Name: CCIE Collaboration

Today I was happily plodding my way through developing a Jabber Deployment Guide for one of my customers and my Mac starts a buzz'n with new information concerning the CCIE Voice track. As folks pursuing the CCIE Voice know the current blue print (v.3.0) has been around for a  long time. IE voice candidates have been waiting with anticipation for the next blue print announcement. 

Today (about 20 min ago) I heard a rumor that our wait is over. I don't have details yet but what I have heard from two reliable sources is that the CCIE Voice is going to be renamed to CCIE Collaboration. This updated CCIE track will be available starting November 13, 2013.

Details are sparse at the present moment. A quote on the INE blog site says that the new blueprint will include voice, video, and IM/Presence. I'd expect SIP will be a central theme and I sure as hell hope that Frame-Relay gets dropped (I'd be surprised if it didn't). 

Traditionally, Cisco offers lab seats for 6 months under a newly retired blue print. I assume this policy will continue with the new CCIE Voice, errh Collaboration blue print coming to light. My advice? Don't freak and if you have been putting off picking a date for your IE voice exam, schedule it. Then get back to focusing on doing the job you set out to do. Don't let this throw you off your game.

Update (5/29/2013):

The rumor was confirmed and there is a new CCIE Collaboration track. The CCIE Voice track has been expired and any existing Voice IE remains a Voice IE. Cisco's current position is they will not rename the IE. You can get the full program information here.

Timeline for Exam Changes


CCIE Voice
The last day to take the CCIE Voice Written exam is November 20, 2013.
The last day to take the CCIE Voice Lab exam is February 13, 2014.

CCIE Collaboration
The CCIE Collaboration Written exam availability begins November 21, 2013.
The CCIE Collaboration Lab exam availability begins February 14, 2014.

Does My IE Voice Become an IE Collaboration?

No. Your IE Voice remains active and you can keep renewing your certification using Cisco's standard process. But the voice is retired. I don't agree with Cisco's decision to simply retire the IE voice. I believe it should have been a simple rename akin to how they handled the CCIE Communications and Services to CCIE Service Provider. My argument can be found here.

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Thanks for reading. If you have time, post a comment!

CCIE Voice Lab Strategy Part 5 - Bringing it Home

Time to bring this series to a close. This series started with a background of strategies I used as reference points to build my own strategy. Next, I covered my process for reading through the exam and getting my ducks in a row. Part 3 continues the planning discussion and dives into the first configuration phase. The last installment covers the configuration phases that I try to nail down before lunch. So, what's next? Well,  I am going to wind this down and talk about the afternoon activities.

CCIE Voice Lab Strategy Part 4 - Morning Configuration Strategy

In a previous installment of this series I went over planning a configuration strategy and the first configuration phase of my lab approach. Including the read through, I would be somewhere around 2 hours into the lab at this point. IMO, these are the most critical minutes of your exam day (followed by the first 30 minutes after lunch). 

It is during this first 120 minutes where you establish a good rhythm and you should be firing on all cylinders. You don't want to lose this rhythm as move into the next configuration phase, which is CUCM provisioning.

In this installment I will cover the CUCM provisioning and move on through the configurations I try to nail down before lunch. 

CCIE Voice Lab Strategy Part 3 - Planning and Starting the Configuration

This is the third installment of a blog series on my CCIE Voice lab strategy. Part 1: Formulating a Strategy provided some information on strategies I came across when I started down the CCIE trail. These strategies helped me formulate my own specific approach. In Part 2: The Read Through, I went through the "boot strap" process (if you will) of my lab approach. In this third installment, I will begin a walk through of my approach to the lab.  

CCIE Voice Lab Strategy Part 2 - The Read Through

What started as a single blog entry quickly became two and after finishing Part 2, I am fairly certain there will be one or two more entries to round out this "thought". Before diving into this entry, I'd recommend taking a look at Part 1: Formulate Your Strategy. 

In Part 2, I am going to talk about my personal strategy a little more and focus on the Read Through phase of taking the lab exam. Not because I think my Read Through is all that fascinating. I just feel that by talking about the Read Through I can further illustrate my actual strategy. 

CCIE-V Lab Strategy Part 1 - Formulate Your Strategy

I know what you are thinking, yet another blog on CCIE-V test taking strategy. Well, of course I would do that. It is almost a right of passage. An obligatory first step for any who have passed the exam. It is a glorious sign that you have arrived! Right? Not really. It is actually a sign that you have nothing better to do and are struggling with how to burn through the huge amount of free time that now lay in front of you! 

So, yes I am going to talk about test taking strategy. This started as just a single blog entry and then I realized it was becoming a little too long for just one blog. I wouldn't really go as far as saying this will be a series but it is certainly going to be more than one entry. 

For part 1, I wanted to walk through a couple strategies I came across as I was trying to determine my own path. I also want to discuss some of the factors you should account for when coming up with your own, personal strategy. You see, I believe that a well-prepared candidate will have a strategy that is unique to them. Even if that strategy borrows heavily from other approaches. You don't want to blindly follow someone else's strategy just because they appear to know what they are talking about. Listen, learn, and form your own opinion. 

Read the News Today, Oh Boy! I Passed the CCIE in Cisco RTP

Yesterday, I sat for the CCIE Voice lab in RTP.  At 0300 EDT my mailbox received the grade notice. A few hours later I actually opened the email and followed the link to get my exam report. 

For some reason I stared at the screen for what seemed forever before it sunk in that I passed this beast. Though, in a way I am still numb. 

CCIE-V "I Shoulda' Checked That" Tip #5: Dial-Peer Zero is Bad Like Vad

This is the fifth installment in what I am calling the "I Shoulda' Checked That" series. The inspiration for this series is covered in the first installment. To save readers some time, I am going to jump right into things. On this go around, I am going to discuss the fifth tip of the series: Don't Forget Dial-Peer 0. 

Cisco UC Apps Native Prompt Recording - CCIE-V

There are several applications that are in the CCIE-V blueprint that may require a candidate to create a custom recording or prompt. Unity Connection, Unified Contact Center Express, BACD, and Unity Express all leverage prompts in some way. All of these applications, save BACD, also have the ability to record prompts. So, the question becomes what approach (or approaches) do you apply when sitting for the exam? 

In the "real" world you probably have tools that you have grown accustom to using. I have a set that I discuss in a UC Toolkit series hosted on the NetCraftsmen site. Unfortunately, you won't have access to 3rd party tools and will need to make do with the inherent capabilities of the UC applications in the blueprint. 

There are a variety of ways to address the need. I have played around with a few options and I figured I would share my approach. Just in case someone else may find it useful. 

CCIE-V "I Shoulda' Checked That" Tip #4: Media Resources and Live Record

This is the fourth installment in what I am calling the "I Shoulda' Checked That" series. The inspiration for this series is covered in the first installment. To save readers some time, I am going to jump right into things. On this go around, I am going to discuss the third tip of the series: Don't Forget the Media Resources. This one could also be called: Just because they didn't ask doesn't mean you shouldn't do it...

CCIE-V "I Shoulda' Checked That" Tip #3: MTP Out To Lunch

This is the next installment in what I am calling the "I Shoulda' Checked That" series. The inspiration for this series is covered in the first installment. To save readers some time, I am going to jump right into things. On this go around, I am going to discuss the lazy MTP.

CCIE-V "I Shoulda' Checked That" Tip #2: SNR and Voicemail

This is the second installment in what I am calling the "I Shoulda' Checked That" series. The inspiration for this series is covered in the first installment. To save readers some time, I am going to jump right into things. On this go around, I am going to discuss voicemail requirements and Single Number Reach (or Mobile Connect).

CCIE-V "I Shoulda' Checked That" Tip #1: Network Clocks

This blog series is inspired by a forum thread I found where a fellow CCIE-V candidate was really fired up about a recent exam attempt. He had finished the exam in around 6 hours and had 2 hours to double and triple check everything. He was very confident about this sitting and was sure everything was operating as expected. Unfortunately, the grade came back "Fail". Obviously, he wasn't too happy about that and was convinced that everything was working when he left the testing facility.

I heard this story more than once and it got me thinking about a couple of things. The first thought revolves around how the IE voice exam is graded. For the IE voice it is a hybrid method of running automated scripts and proctor review. Since a portion of the grading is automated, you have to ensure you are very specific. If you overlook or miss any aspect of a question, no matter how small the miss, you will get zero points.

Another thought was about the relationship between requirements in the lab. While the lab is made up of individual questions, it is supposed to act as a seamless solution once you complete all tasks. This means that when you work on one question, you have to ensure it does not violate the requirements of another question.

Enough of my pondering, let's get to the point. While I believe it is remotely possible that an exam is unfairly or inaccurately graded, I believe it is more likely that small oversights will derail your efforts. The first "I shoulda' checked that" tip of the series: Checking Network Clocks.

Using SQL to Verify Configurations for CCIE-V Lab

It was bound to happen: two separate blog series have collided. Ever since I started down the path of getting the CCIE-V I have been thinking of ways to leverage the
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) CLI to speed up the provisioning process. In most cases, I have determined that while I could do some complex provisioning from the CLI it didn't really save much time (or, in many cases, it cost more time).

That isn't to say there aren't some shortcuts available via the CLI. In fact, I think using SQL select queries from the CLI can save time when doing verification. A case in point: this past week I had a problem with RSVP between two sites that resulted from a configuration issue. I used SQL to identify the configuration issue and eventual fix in about 1.5 minutes.