Archive for the ‘CCNP Voice’ Category

Cisco’s Crazy Cabling Contest

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Cisco ‘s Crazy Cabling Contest has begun. If you work in a data center where the volume of wires, cables and boxes is, well, out of control….Cisco wants to see it! Send Cisco a photo of your data center filled with all of those pesky, winding, snaking, zigzagging cables and if yours is the wackiest, you could win a new Flip Mino HD 120 camera and an Amazon gift card worth $200.00 USD! Second and third place winners will also receive a Flip Mino and Amazon gift cards worth $100.00 and $50.00 USD.

Submit your photos to dccablingcontest@cisco.com before 3/25/2011 for consideration.

PrepLogic offers Cisco training for the CCNA, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice and CCNA Wireless, CCIP, CCNP SWITCH, CCNP ROUTE and  CCNP TSHOOT.

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The Role IT Certifications Play in the Hiring Process

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

Recently released, the CompTIA study Employer Perception of IT Training and Certification reports employers are inclined to rely more heavily on professional certifications when hiring information technology (IT) workers, but are challenged by credential evaluation and validation issues.

Professional certifications are already viewed by hiring managers as a high-value validation of IT skills. The CompTIA study suggests certifications will grow in importance as organizations seek to fill tech jobs. Eight in ten human resources (HR) professionals surveyed believe IT certifications will grow in usefulness and importance over the next two years. But employers also expressed concerns about some aspects of using IT certifications in the hiring process. There is a perception among some hiring IT managers that the HR department does not have a solid understanding of IT certifications. Some firms also said verifying a job candidate’s credentials can be a challenge due to the time involved and effort required.

Experience, track record and accomplishments rank as the most important factors when evaluating job candidates, according to the study. But education and credentials such as certifications also rank high. For example, 86 percent of hiring managers indicate IT certifications are a high or medium priority during the candidate evaluation process.

The study suggests that certifications will become even more important as employers struggle to find individuals to fill job openings. Despite a virtual buyer’s market for hiring, roughly eight in ten HR executives in the United States said it’s challenging to find the right candidate with the right skill set to fill their openings. Many IT managers in the study share a similar view. Tim Herbert, vice president, research, CompTIA notes, “In an environment of needing to do more with less, organizations cannot afford the time and cost of bringing on a new employee who cannot contribute immediately.”

The CompTIA study Employer Perception of IT Training and Certification is the result of two separate online surveys: to 1,385 business and IT executives that made a recent IT hiring decision in the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa; and to 300 HR professionals in the U.S.

PrepLogic offers training for over a hundred different certifications, including CompTIA certifications, Cisco certifications and MCITP certifications. Visit http://www.preplogic.com to learn more about advancing your career with affordable IT skills training.

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Posted in A+ Certification, CCNA, CCNA Voice, CCNP, CCNP Voice, CCVP, Certification, Cisco, CompTIA, Engineers, IT Industry, IT Training, MCITP, Microsoft, Network+, Preplogic, Security+ | No Comments »

What’s Different about the New CCNA Voice Certification?

Monday, October 25th, 2010

If you are working toward a Cisco Certification in the Voice technologies track, you need to be aware of some major changes. On Thursday we posted a blog article about these changes. Here is a quick overview:

  • The CCNA Voice certification has been updated with new content and a new exam titled ICOMM v8.0 640-461.
  • The CCVP certification has been re-branded as the CCNP Voice and all five exams have also been updated.

Today we are going to focus on the new CCNA Voice exam, whose full title is, “Introducing Cisco Voice and Unified Communications Administration (ICOMM v8.0) 640-461 exam”.

The old CCNA Voice certification had two exam options. A candidate could either take the IIUC 640-460 exam or the CVOICE 642-436 exam. A candidate only needed to pass one of these exams to earn a CCNA Voice certification.   Now, a candidate has another option, the new ICOMM v8.0 640-461 exam. Eventually, the ICOMM v8.0 640-461 will be the ONLY exam a person can take to earn the CCNA Voice. Beginning March 1, 2011 the IUC 640-460 and CVOICE 642-436 will no longer be offered. But until that date, CCNA Voice candidates can take any one of these three exams to earn their CCNA Voice.

The new CCNA Voice exam title now has the word “Administration” in it.  This is, of course, to represent the new exam’s focus on administrative topics. These topics include:

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM)
  • CUCM Express
  • Cisco Unity Connection
  • Cisco Unified Presence

The certification is well suited for people in IT who have voice administration roles. Additionally, the new ICOMM v8.0 640-461 requires more hands on practice, particularly with the CUCM, Unity Connection, and Unified Presence topics.  A minor change to note is the new ICOMM v8.0 640-461 is currently only offered in English.  The Cisco website has not yet published a release date for the ICOMM v8.0 in other languages.  The old IIUC 640-460 exam is offered in English, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, French and Spanish.

The eventual elimination of CVOICE 642-436 for the CCNA Voice does affect candidates who then wish to go on to CCNP Voice (previously called CCVP). Earning a CCNA Voice is a prerequisite to earning the CCNP Voice. The old CCNA Voice candidates were able to take the CVOICE v6.0, get their CCNA Voice certification from passing ONLY the CVOICE v6.0 and then use that passing score as one of their pre-requisites for the CCNP Voice (CVOICE is one of the five exams needed to become CCNP Voice certified). So, if a CCNA candidate chose to take the CVOICE instead of the IIUC, they would only need to take four more exams to become a CCNP Voice.  Come March 1, 2011 CCNA Voice candidates will have no choice but to take the ICOMM v8.0 640-461 (the CVOICE option will be eliminated). Thus, to become a CCNP Voice after March 1, 2011 you will have to take a total of six exams, the ICOMM v8.0 to be CCNA Voice certified and then five exams, including CVOICE v8.0, to be CCNP Voice certified.

You can read more about these changes at the Cisco Learning Network website.

You can also watch this Learning@CISCO video for more information.

PrepLogic offers a variety of Cisco certification training, including LearnSmart Video CCNA training and LearnSmart Video CCNA Voice Training.

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Posted in CCNA, CCNA Voice, CCNP Voice, CCVP, Certification, Cisco, IT Industry, IT Training, Preplogic | No Comments »

Updates to Cisco Voice Certifications: New Exams for CCNA Voice and CCNP Voice

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Cisco, the vendor behind the well respected CCNA certification, has announced a few major changes to their Voice certifications.  The company has updated their Voice certifications to be more in line with recent advances in data, voice and video convergence.   The two certifications that have been updated are the CCNA Voice and the CCVP certification.   The CCNA Voice certification has been updated with new content and a new exam titled ICOMM v8.0 (640-461).   The CCVP certification has been re-branded as the CCNP Voice and all five exams have also been updated.    Both the CCNA Voice and CCNP Voice certifications are intended for people in IT who work with Unified Communication applications and voice networks.

Changes to CCNA Voice
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Voice certification validates associate-level knowledge and skills required to administer a voice network.  The CCNA Voice certification demonstrates skills in VoIP technologies, such as IP PBX, IP telephony, handset, call control, and voicemail solutions.

The new CCNA Voice certification exam is called the “Introducing Cisco Voice and Unified Communications Administration (ICOMM v8.0) 640-461 exam.   This exam tests a candidate’s knowledge of the architecture, components, functionality, and features of Cisco Unified Communications solutions.  The ICOMM (640-461) exam replaces the IIUC (640-460) and CVOICE (642-436) exam.

The last day to test for the CCNA Voice certification using the IIUC (640-460) or CVOICE (642-436) exam is February 28, 2011.

Changes to CCVP, Now Called CCNP Voice
The Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) Voice certification, previously called the CCVP, validates advanced knowledge and skills required to integrate collaboration and voice applications into underlying network architectures.  The CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) Voice is the next level up after the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Voice certification, which is a prerequisite to CCNP Voice.  The CCNP Voice certification demonstrates that an IT professional has a strong and sophisticated skills set in implementing, operating, configuring, and troubleshooting a converged IP network.  The CCNP Voice curriculum  focuses on Cisco Unified Communications Manager (formerly Unified Call Manager), quality of service (QoS), gateways, gatekeepers, IP phones, voice applications, and utilities on Cisco routers and Cisco Catalyst switches. Additionally, the integration and troubleshooting of Cisco Unified Communications applications are now covered in the CCNP Voice, specifically the Cisco Unity Connection and Cisco Unified Presence applications.

Beginning March 1st, 2011 the following new CCNP Voice exams must be passed in order to earn the CCNP Voice certification:

  • 642-437: Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Voice over IP and QoS v8.0 (CVOICE v8.0)
  • 642-447: Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Part 1 v8.0 (CIPT1 v8.0)
  • 642-457: Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Part 2 v8.0 (CIPT2 v8.0)
  • 642-427: Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Communications v8.0  (TVOICE v8.0)
  • 642-467: Integrating Cisco Unified Communications Applications v8.0 (CAPPS v8.0)

The last day to test using current CCVP exams is  February 28, 2011.  The CCVP exams consist of:

  • 642-436: Cisco Voice over IP (CVOICE v6.0)
  • 642-446: Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Part 1 (CIPT1 v6.0)
  • 642-456: Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Part 2  (CIPT2 v6.0)
  • 642-426: Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Communications Systems (TUC)
  • 642-642: Quality of Service (QoS)

From now until February 28, 2011 candidates who take and pass the older exams (versions 6.0) will still receive the title of CCNP Voice.  CCVP candidates can mix and match CCVP exams with CCNP Voice exams.  For example, a candidate can take the old TUC and QoS exams and fulfill the other three exam requirements (CVOICE, CIPT1, CIPT2) with the new 8.0 versions.   However, beginning March 1, 2011 Voice candidates must pass the new exams (versions 8.0) to become a CCNP Voice.

PrepLogic offers a variety of Cisco certification training, including LearnSmart Video CCNA training and LearnSmart Video CCNA Voice training.

Learn more about Cisco Voice Certification changes.

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