IPExpert and GWGK

A lot has happened recently.

I passed the TUC exam. Then I won the IP Expert CCIE Voice End-to-End Learning / Blended Learning Solution. Here's a description:

End-to-End Program

I received the hard drive and I must say the videos are fun to watch. I also sampled some lab time by scheduling a lab session on their Vrack a couple Saturdays ago and I must say that I am very happy and impressed.

Their materials have already been helping me with studying for the CCVP. In preparation for the upcoming GWGK exam, I'll be scheduling a rack session to go over setting up a gateway/gatekeeper.

In addition to IPExpert, I am primarily using Cisco Voice Gateways and Gatekeepers by Cisco Press (using a safari.orielly account) in preparation for the exam, as well as the Quick Study Guide.

This will be a more challenging exam for me than TUC was as I've done a lot of troubleshooting at work with Callmanager 4.x but I haven't done much on the gateway side, and very little with gatekeepers.

I was planning to take the GWGK this Saturday, but I'm not even halfway thru this book yet... I'll reschedule for next week.

On a "bigger picture" side, for all the VAR consultants out there, another fun link I recently found on Cisco's website was this:

How do I implement Unified Communications?

A fantastic resource for getting prepped to talk to customers about this stuff. Great case studies, blueprints, and check lists.