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.

Provisioning Cisco Jabber for iPad on the VCS Starter Pack

Cisco just released VCS release X7.2.1, which contains some third-party software updates and a handful of bug fixes. That's great but hardly noteworthy. What is noteworthy is that X7.2.1 adds support for the Cisco Jabber for iPad client on the VCS Starter Pack Express.

A few months ago, I posted a write up on provisioning the Cisco Jabber for iPad client with CUPS/CUCM and another one covering provisioning the client for hosted services like WebEx Connect. I guess the next logical step would have been to discuss provisioning with the VCS+TMS. I'll have to come back to that one. For this blog post, I am going to focus on provisioning the Jabber client with the Cisco VCS Starter Pack Express.

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.

Coming Down from the CCIE-V Bootcamp High

Last week I was out in San Jose, CA for the CCIE-V "One Week Lab Experience" delivered by IPexpert. Now that I am back home, I am starting to go through withdrawal. I think I would like a 3-week bootcamp! That would be a lot of fun. I suppose you would learn something too. However, that isn't really what I enjoyed the most about the experience. I enjoyed having an excuse to focus my full attention on a specific task.

I put the bootcamp experience up there with the various Cisco Proof Of Concept (CPOC) sessions that I have had the good fortune of being involved with. It is a real joy to focus on a task that allows you to build something from the ground up.

If you are pursuing a CCIE and have the means, you should invest in the bootcamp experience. I think it is worth it just to have an excuse to focus on the technology. Not to mention, I definitely think it will go a long way to ensuring success when sitting for the exam.