So, how do you know when you are ready to take the Cisco IIUC exam (640-460)? You need to consider a number of factors to make that determination. The purpose of this section is to help you to understand these factors before you attempt to achieve your Cisco CCNA Voice certification.
Cisco certification is one of the most sought-after certifications around. Sure, you can get other certifications, but the Cisco certifications seem to hold a higher value in the eyes of employers and coworkers. One of the most successful Cisco certification programs is the CCNA. This certification proves that an individual has a solid understating of the basic Cisco network components and can successfully configure most common network solutions. The question that most CCNAs ask themselves after passing the CCNA test is, “What’s next?” Until recently, the answer was a CCNP, CCVP, CCSP, or CCIP certification. Each of these certifications required the candidate to take and pass three to five tests. Candidates also had to pick an area of specialization. Cisco realized that some individuals wanted to validate their knowledge in certain areas or multiple areas but were not interested or not willing to invest the time and money to pursue the CCxP track. This is why Cisco created the CCNA Voice certification. In addition to the CCNA Voice certifications, Cisco has created a CCNA Security and CCNA Wireless certification.
CCNA Voice is a relatively new certification, and expected demand for individuals with this certification and associate knowledge is very large. This is an excellent certification for a person who has a solid understanding of Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express and wants to be recognized for it.
The following sections take a closer look at the ideal CCNA Voice candidate and give you an opportunity to assess your own readiness.
So, what does the ideal CCNA Voice candidate look like? He or she looks like you or the person down the street or the person that works down the hall. In other words, anyone can achieve this certification, that is, anyone with the drive and desire. That being said, there are certain characteristics and background that successful candidates typically have. Let’s take a look at a few of them:
An honest desire to learn: The students that excel are those who want to learn more about a topic that they are really interested in and enjoy.
Strong studying discipline: Passing the test is not going to be easy. You are going to need to spend time studying. This is where those who have good studying habits will have an advantage.
Solid Cisco networking knowledge: One of the requirements for a CCNA Voice certification is to already have a CCNA.
Telephony background: Because a portion of the test covers traditional telephony knowledge, a strong telephony background is a plus.
Test-taking ability: Because this certification depends on you passing a test, being a good test taker is helpful. Being a good test taker does not necessarily mean that you are calm and cool and are able to “guess” the correct answers. It merely means that you show up (showing up is a huge help in passing a test), stay focused, and manage your time wisely.
Motivation: This is possibly one of the most important characteristics. Like the saying goes, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” With strong motivation and desire, nearly anything is possible.
So let’s say you look at this list and you don’t feel you have any of these characteristics. Does that mean you can never pass the test? Of course not; this is a description of the “ideal candidate.” However, it does mean that you will have a bit of work in front of you.
The following series of questions and observations are designed to help you figure out how much work you must do to pursue Cisco certification and what kinds of resources you can consult on your quest. Be absolutely honest in your answers, or you’ll end up wasting money on exams that you’re not yet ready to take. There are no right or wrong answers—only steps along the path to certification. Only you can decide where you really belong in the broad spectrum of aspiring candidates. Two points should be clear from the outset, however:
Even a modest background in telephony will be helpful.
Hands-on experience with Cisco products and technologies is an essential ingredient in certification success.
The following questions concern your level of technical computer experience and training. Depending upon your answers to these questions, you might need to review some additional resources to get your knowledge up to speed for the types of questions that you will encounter on Cisco certification exams:
1. Have you ever taken any computer-related classes?
2. Have you taken any training on telephony technologies?
This background will help you more quickly understand and digest the many telephony terms and concepts that the test will cover.
3. Have you taken any networking concepts or technologies classes?
You will probably be able to handle the numerous mentions of networking terminology concepts such as DHCP and VLANs. Because a CCNA is required, it is assumed that you have this knowledge.
4. Have you done any reading on telephony technologies?
Knowing telephony terms and concepts is good. However, knowing the Cisco take on the telephony world is more important. Students with a very strong telephony background often struggle with Cisco concepts and commands because they are not what they are used to. It is best to have a solid background but an open mind.
5. Have you been involved in a Cisco voice deployment?
There is simply nothing like hands-on experience. The idea behind any certification is to prove you are capable of successfully completing certain job tasks. This is especially true for the CCNA Voice exam. If you can deploy Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, you should be able to do quite well on this test.
6. Have you done any reading on Cisco voice solutions?
The next question is of course “What did you read?” One mistake people make about this test is that they figure because they have been deploying Cisco Unified Communications Manager for years, they should be able to walk in and pass this test. The problem is that this test is focused on the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, which is not the same as the Cisco Unified Communications Manager. While the names are very similar, the word Express makes a large difference. Even if you have a respectable level of Cisco Unified Communications Manager knowledge, you will need additional study to pass this test.
An important key to success on the CCNA Voice exam lies in obtaining hands-on experience with the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express solution. There is simply no substitute for time spent installing, configuring, and using the various interfaces for this product.
Have you installed, configured, and worked with the following systems:
Cisco IOS?
Strong experience with the command-line interface (CLI) is essential in completing the simulation questions. Some simulation questions might place you at the CLI of a Cisco device, and you will be expected to configure it based on the criteria supplied. If this is an interface you are not familiar with, you had better find a way to become familiar with it before tackling the exam.
Cisco voice gateways?
Some of the required knowledge can be gained from experience with Cisco H.323 gateways. Concepts such as dial peers are used in voice gateways as well as CME.
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express?
Because this test is centered around this solution, some hands-on experience is a huge plus.
Cisco UC520?
If you were able to pick one device to use to get hands-on experience, it should be the UC520. With the UC520, you will be able to gain experience with all the appropriate configuration interfaces.
Note
You can download objectives, practice exams, and other data about CCNA Voice exams from the Training and Certification page at http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le3/learning_certification_type_home.html. Because links change from time to time, you can also go to Cisco.com and enter CCNA voice in the Search box.
Before you even think about taking any Cisco exam, you should make sure that you’ve spent enough time studying Cisco voice principles and practices. This time will help you in the exam—and in real life!
Tip
Whether you attend a formal class on a specific topic to get ready for an exam or use written materials to study on your own, some preparation for the CCNA Voice exam is essential. If you have the funds, or if your employer will pay your way, you should consider taking a class. Cisco maintains a list of training partners that offer Cisco-certified courses. Visit http://tools.cisco.com/E-Learning-IT/LPCM/pub_jsp/lplist/LpcmLPListSearchPage.jsp for more details. If this link does not work, go to Cisco.com and enter learning locator in the Search box. The name of the course that is aligned with this test is “Implementing Cisco IOS Unified Communications (IIUC).”
Preparing for any Cisco certification test requires you to obtain and study materials designed to provide comprehensive information about the product and its capabilities that will appear on the specific exam for which you are preparing. Because this is a relatively new test, the body of available study material is not as large as it is for the route/switch CCNA. That said, the resources are sure to grow in the near future. In addition to the topics and practice exams included in this book, the following list of materials (available at this writing) can help you study and prepare:
CCNA Voice Official Exam Certification Guide (640-460 IIUC), by Jeremy Cioara, Michael J. Cavanaugh, and Kris A. Krake. Cisco Press, 2008. ISBN 1-58720-207-7.
CCNA Voice Quick Reference (Digital Short Cut), by Michael Valentine. Cisco Press, 2008. ISBN 1-58705-767-0.
Cisco.com documentation. There is a wealth of information available at Cisco.com, in some cases so much information that you can get lost. Focus on the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express Command Reference and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express System Administrator Guide.
The official Cisco IIUC training courseware. This is the courseware that you get when you attend the IIUC course. The only way to get this courseware is to attend the class.
Along with this book, this list of materials represents a comprehensive collection of sources and resources for voice and related topics.
While many websites describe what to study for a particular exam, few sites offer advice about how you should study for an exam. The study process can be broken down into various stages. However, critical to all these stages is the ability to concentrate.
To be able to concentrate, you must remove all distractions. While you should plan for study breaks, it is the unplanned breaks caused by distractions that do not allow you to concentrate on what you need to learn. Therefore, you first need to create an environment that’s conducive to studying or seek out an existing environment that meets these criteria, such as a library.
Do not study with the TV on and do not have other people in the room. It is easy for the TV or another person to break your concentration and grab your attention.
There are varying opinions on whether it is better to study with or without music playing. While some people need to have a little white noise in the background to study, if you do choose to have music, you should keep the volume at a low level and you should listen to music without lyrics.
After you find a place to study, you must schedule the time to study. Do not study on an empty stomach, but also do not study on a full stomach because it tends to make people drowsy. You might also consider having a glass of water near to sip on.
In addition, make sure that you are well rested so that you don’t doze off when you start studying. Next, make sure that you find a position that is comfortable and that the furniture that you are using is also comfortable. Finally, make sure that your study area is well lit. Natural light is best for fighting fatigue.
When you begin to study, first clear your mind of distractions. Take a minute or two, close your eyes, and empty your mind.
When you prepare for an exam, the best place to start is to take the list of exam objectives and study each objective carefully for its scope. During this time, you then organize your study, keeping these objectives in mind. This will narrow your focus area to an individual topic or subtopic. In addition, you need to understand and visualize the process as a whole. This will help in addressing practical problems in a real environment as well as some unsuspecting questions.
In a multiple-choice-type exam, you do have one advantage: The answer or answers are already there, and you simply have to choose the correct ones. Because the answers are already there, you can start eliminating the incorrect answers by using your knowledge and some logical thinking. One common mistake is to select the first obvious-looking answers without checking the other options, so always examine all the options, and think and choose the right answer. Of course, with multiple-choice questions, you have to be exact and should be able to differentiate between very similar answers. This is where a peaceful place of study without distractions helps so that you can read between the lines and so that you don’t miss key points.
Whether you attend a formal class on a specific topic to get ready for an exam or use written materials to study on your own, some preparation for the CCNA Voice certification exam is essential. At $125 a try pass or fail, you want to do everything you can to pass on your first try. That is where studying comes in.
Included at the end of this book are two practice exams that you can use for self-assessment. While the questions in this book are similar to what is on the test, you need to remember that they are not the actual test questions, so you need to do more then just run through the assessment until you get all the answers right. You have to truly understand the underlying concepts and know why the correct answer is correct. Use this assessment as a tool to determine what areas you need to study in more detail. When you feel you have mastered the material, you might just be ready for the real world!
Because there are two practice exams in this book, if you don’t score well on the first test, you can study more and then tackle the second test. If you still don’t hit a score of at least 90 percent after these tests, you should spend more time studying before moving forward. There are a number of places that offer practice tests. Before you spend your hard-earned money on these, see what other people are saying about the particular one you are thinking of purchasing.
For any given subject, consider taking a class if you have tackled self-study materials, taken the test, and failed. The opportunity to interact with an instructor and fellow students can make all the difference, if you can afford that privilege. For information about CCNA Voice classes, use your favorite search engine with a string such as “CCNA Voice.” Even if you can’t afford to spend much, you should still invest in some low-cost practice exams from commercial vendors.
The next question deals with your personal testing experience. Cisco certification exams have their own style and idiosyncrasies. The more acclimated that you become to the Cisco testing environment, the better your chances will be to score well on the exams.
Have you taken a Cisco practice exam? If you scored 90 percent or better, you are probably ready to tackle the real thing. If your score isn’t above that threshold, keep at it until you break that barrier.
Tip
When assessing your test readiness, there is no better way than to take a good-quality practice exam and pass with a score of 90 percent or better. When we are preparing ourselves, we shoot for better than 95 percent, just to leave room for the “weirdness factor” that sometimes depresses exam scores when taking the real thing.
Because a certification exam costs money and requires preparation time and because failing an exam can be a blow to your self-confidence, most people feel a certain amount of anxiety before taking a certification exam. Certain levels of stress can actually help you to raise your level of performance when taking an exam. This anxiety usually serves to help you focus your concentration and think clearly through a problem.
But for some individuals, exam anxiety is more than just a nuisance. For these people, exam anxiety is a debilitating condition that affects their performance with a negative impact on the exam results.
Exam anxiety reduction begins with the preparation process. Ensure that you know the material; you should not be nervous about any topic area. It goes without saying that the better prepared you are for an exam, the less stress you will experience when taking it. Always give yourself plenty of time to prepare for an exam; don’t place yourself under unreasonable deadlines. But again, make goals and make every effort to meet those goals. Procrastination and making excuses can be just as bad.
There is no hard-and-fast rule for how long it takes to prepare for an exam. The time required varies from student to student and depends on a number of different factors including reading speed, access to study materials, personal commitments, and so on. In addition, don’t compare yourself to peers, especially if doing so has a negative effect on your confidence.
For many students, practice exams are a great way to shed some of the fears that arise in the test center. Practice exams are best used near the end of the exam preparation. Be sure to use them as an assessment of your current knowledge, not as a method to try to memorize key concepts. When reviewing these practice exam questions, be sure that you understand the question and all answers (right and wrong). Finally, set time limits on the practice exams.
If you know the material, don’t plan on studying the day of your exam. You should end your studying the evening before the exam. In addition, get a good night’s rest before the exam. Of course, you should be studying on a regular basis for at least a few weeks prior to the evening of the exam so that you should not need the last-minute cramming.
Before you take an exam, eat something light, even if you have no appetite. If your stomach is actively upset, try mild foods like toast or crackers. Plain saltine crackers are great for settling a cranky stomach. Keep your caffeine and nicotine consumption to a minimum; excessive stimulants aren’t conducive to reducing stress. Plan to take a bottle of water or some hard candies with you to combat dry mouth. Be sure to dress comfortably.
Arrive at the testing center early. If you have never been to the testing center before, make sure that you know where it is. You might even consider taking a test drive. If you arrive 15 to 30 minutes early for any certification exam, it gives you time to do the following:
Pray, meditate, or breathe deeply.
Scan the Cram Sheet at the beginning of this book and the glossary terms before taking the exam so that you can get the intellectual juices flowing and build a little confidence.
Practice physical relaxation techniques.
Visit the washroom.
But don’t arrive too early.
Typically, the testing room is furnished with one to six computers, and each workstation is separated from the others by dividers designed to keep anyone from seeing what’s happening on someone else’s computer screen. Most testing rooms feature a wall with a large picture window. This layout permits the exam coordinator to monitor the room, to prevent exam takers from talking to one another, and to observe anything out of the ordinary that might go on. The exam coordinator will have preloaded the appropriate Cisco certification exam—for this book, that’s Exam 640-460—and you are permitted to start as soon as you’re seated at the computer.
Tip
The testing center’s test coordinator is there to assist you in case you encounter some unusual problems, such as a malfunctioning test computer. If you need some assistance not related to the content of the exam itself, feel free to notify one of the test coordinators. After all, he or she is there to make your exam-taking experience as pleasant as possible.
All exams are completely closed book. In fact, you are not permitted to take anything with you into the testing area. You usually receive a blank sheet of paper and a pen or, in some cases, an erasable plastic sheet and an erasable pen. We suggest that you immediately write down on that sheet of paper all the information you’ve memorized for the test. In Exam Cram books, this information appears on the tear-out sheet (Cram Sheet) inside the front cover of each book. You are given some time to compose yourself, record this information, and take a sample orientation exam before you begin the real thing. We suggest that you take the orientation test before taking your first exam, but because all the certification exams are more or less identical in layout, behavior, and controls, you probably don’t need to do so more than once.
All Cisco certification exams allow a certain maximum amount of testing time. (This time is indicated on the exam by an on-screen timer, so you can check the time remaining whenever you like.) All Cisco certification exams are computer generated. Most questions are multiple choice, but there will be one or two simulations and a few drag-and-drop questions. Although this format might sound quite simple, the questions are constructed not only to check your mastery of basic facts and figures about Cisco Voice concepts but also to require you to evaluate one or more sets of circumstances or requirements. You are often asked to give more than one answer to a question. Likewise, you might be asked to select the best or most effective solution to a problem from a range of choices, all of which are technically correct. Taking the exam is quite an adventure, and it involves real thinking and concentration. This book shows you what to expect and describes how to deal with the potential problems, puzzles, and predicaments.