CCIE VOICE HOME LAB

Cisco is going to change the CCIE Voice Lab in mid-July 2009. Major changes are:

1) Remove analog devices (such as VG248, ATA)
2) Remove CatOS (Catalyst 65xx)
3) Replace CCM with CUCM 7 (Linux Appliance)
4) Replace Unity with Unity Connection 7 (Linux Appliance)
5) Add CUPS 7 (Linux Appliance)
6) Add SIP phones





Here are some tips if you're going to build your own lab.

PSTN-WAN simulator

As shown in the diagram above, we have a PSTN cloud and a Frame-Relay cloud. We can use a single router to simulate that. And this router could also be the terminal server.

I would choose a Cisco 2811 router with the following modules:

PVDM2-16 (or other PDVM resource).
HWIC-4T : 4-port Serial module for Frame-Relay simulation.
VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 : 2-port T1/E1 module for PSTN simulation. You need at least three ports. So you may order two of these. Or to save some money, order one 2-port module and one 1-port module
HWIC-8A & CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC : 8-port async module for terminal service

Don't forget the female serial cable (CAB-SS-V35MT). You need at least three.

On HQ, BR1, and BR2 Gateways:

PVDM2-8 (or other PDVM2)
HWIC-1T & CAB-SS-V35MT
VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1

On BR1 and BR2 Gateways
HWIC-4ESW-POE : Ether net module to power up the IP phones.

On BR2 Gateway
NM-CUE : Unity Express Module


Switch

Any Cisco IOS switch that supports PoE.

Servers

I recommend using virtual machine(VM) for the lab:

1. If you don't use VM, you're going to need the expensive Cisco/HP/IBM server to install CUCM, UC, CUPS.
2. If you don't use VM, you're going to need license files for CUCM, UC, CUPS.
3. If you don't use VM, you're going to need 5 servers and a couple of workstations (to simulate soft phone and run CUPC/CAD)
4. With VM, you can easily clone VMs, which saves you lots of time.

I myself use VMWare. I have no experience on Microsoft Virtual PC (HyperV).

Here are some caveats you need to know about VMWare:

1) You may either use "VMWare Server" (a.k.a. GSX) or "VMWare Infrastructure") (a.k.a. ESX)
2) GSX is free while ESX is commercial license
3) VMs on GSX has issues with NTP. This is a known issue.
4) ESX does not support audio device. Your VM might need an audio device to launch soft phone (such as CIPC or IP Blue). Try google "virtual audio cable" and you should find a solution.

Following is my lab set up with four 2811 routers, one 3560 switch, one PC (8G RAM, 750G HDD)

Copy from http://htluo.blogspot.com

CCIE Voice Lab Exam v3.0 Blueprint

1.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Campus Infrastructure and Services
1.01	VLAN
1.02	DHCP
1.03	TFTP
1.04	NTP
2.00	Implement and Troubleshoot CUCM Endpoints
2.01	CUCM SCCP Endpoints
2.02	CUCM SIP Endpoints
3.00	Implement and Troubleshoot CUCME Endpoints
3.01	CUCME SCCP Endpoints
3.02	CUCME SIP Endpoints
4.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Voice Gateways
4.01	T1/E1 PRI
4.02	T1/E1 CAS
4.03	H.323
4.04	MGCP
4.05	SIP
4.06	H.323 RAS
4.07	IP-IP Gateway/CUBE
5.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Call Routing Policies
5.01	Route Patterns and Dial-peers
5.02	Digit Manipulations and Translations
5.03	Class of Services
5.04	Route Selection Preference and Redundancy
5.05	Mobility and Single Number Reach
6.00	Implement and Troubleshoot High Availability Features
6.01	SRST
6.02	AAR
7.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Media Resources
7.01	CODEC Selection and Flexibility
7.02	Conference Bridges
7.03	Transcoder
7.04	Music-on-hold
7.05	Media Resources Preference and Redundancy
7.06	Other CUCM Media Resources
8.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Supplementary Services
8.01	Call Park
8.02	Call Pickup
8.03	Barge
8.04	Callback
8.05	Other Supplementary Services
9.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Other CUCM Voice Applications
9.01	Extension Mobility
9.02	IPMA
9.03	Other CUCM Voice Applications
10.00	Implement and Troubleshoot QoS and CAC
10.01	L2/L3 Traffic Classifications and Policing
10.02	L2/L3 Queuing Mechanisms
10.03	L2 LFI
10.04	RSVP
10.05	Call Admission Control
11.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Messaging
11.01	Cisco Unity Connection
11.02	Cisco Unity Express
11.03	Call Handling and Routing
12.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Cisco Unified Contact Center Express
12.01	Advanced Configuration
12.02	Script Customization
12.03	Redundancy
13.00	Implement and Troubleshoot Cisco Unified Presence
13.01	CUCM Presence
13.02	Cisco Unified Presence Server Integration

CCIE Voice Written Blueprint

1. CallManager
   1. Codecs/Regions
   2. Redundancy (CM Groups/Device Pool)
   3. Dial Plan: Gatekeeper, SIP Proxy, Route Patterns, Route Groups, Route Lists, Digit Manipulation and Digit Analysis
   4. Music On Hold
   5. Conferencing (Audio and Video)
   6. Transcoding
   7. Media Termination Points
   8. CM Features: Extension Mobility, IPMA, Attendant Console, Call Park, Pickup
   9. Phone Settings
   10. CTI, TAPI and JTAPI Interface
   
   
2. QoS
   1. Link Efficiency: LFI, MLPPP, FRF.12, cRTP, VAD
   2. Classification and Marking
   3. Congestion Management: Queuing
   4. CAC: RSVP, GK
   5. Traffic Policing and Shaping
   6. LAN QoS
   7. CM CAC and GK. Hub and Spoke/Fully Meshed MPLS
   
   
3. Telephony Protocols
   1. SCCP
   2. RTP & cRTP
   3. MGCP
   4. SIP
   5. H323
   6. Analog and TDM Signaling
   
   
4. Unity
   1. Integration
   2. MWI, SMDI
   3. DPA
   4. Call Handlers
   5. Unified Messaging
   6. VPIM
   
   
5. IOS IP Telephony Skills
   1. SRST
   2. CME
   3. CUE
   
   
6. IP IVR/IPCC Express
   1. Speech Recognition
   2. ICD Functions
   3. Database Lookups
   4. VXML
   
   
7. Security
   1. DHCP Snooping
   2. MCS OS Hardening
   3. Phone Authentication and Encryption
   4. TCP/UDP Port List
   5. Firewalls and Application Layer Gateways (ALG)
   6. NAT
   
   
8. Infrastructure Protocols
   1. DNS
   2. TFTP
   3. NTP
   4. Inline Power: Cisco and 802.3af
   
   
9. Application Protocols
   1. IP Multicast
   2. Video
   3. Fax and Modem
   
   
10. Operations and Network Management

CCIE Voice Lab 3.0 Equipment and Software Versions

Passing the CCIE Voice Lab Exam requires a depth of understanding difficult to obtain without hands-on experience. Early in your preparation, you should arrange access to the equipment listed below:

Lab Equipment:

• Cisco MCS-7845 Media Convergence Servers
• Cisco 3825 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR)
• Cisco 2821 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR)
• ISR Modules and Interface Cards

+ VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1
+ PVDM2
+ HWIC-4ESW-POE
+ NME-CUE

• Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches
• IP Phones and Soft Clients

Software Versions

Any major software release which has been generally available for six months is eligible for testing in the CCIE Voice Lab Exam.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager 7.0
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express 7.0
• Cisco Unified Contact Center Express 7.0
• Cisco Unified Presence 7.0
• Cisco Unity Connection 7.0
• All routers use IOS version 12.4T Train.
• Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switches uses 12.2 Main Train

Network Interfaces

• Fast Ethernet
• Frame Relay

Telephony Interfaces

• T1
• E1