Friday, March 13, 2009

The Road to VoIP-GuruNess starts with the CompTIA Convergence+ Certification

I strongly recommend taking (and passing) CompTIA's Convergence+ Certification offering. Fellow VoIP enthusiasts, researchers, technical support people, technical account managers and VoIP Guru-wannabes (like me) should aim for this certification.

I just passed this exam last month (February), and to all seasoned Traditional Telephony and IP Telephony guys and gals out there, the exam is no joke. You need to review and prepare for it still regardless how l337 you are in Cisco. I was under the impression that I will easily crack this exam since I have 4 years of advantage working for a VoIP/SaaS vendor, but It was the other way around. The exam cracked me up. There were tons of questions on the exam on techniques and protocols that I have never heard of (or studied!), lol!

In order to pass this exam, here are my Top 3 recommendations:

1. Master the fundamentals of Traditional Telephony
2. Master the fundamental of Data Networking
3. Do not rely on the official CompTIA Convergence+ Materials alone!

Below are the books and on-line resources that helped me pass the exam. If you can read all this books before you take the exam, I strongly believe you have at least more than 70% chance of nailing it. Please nail it once, $200 plus for the examination fee doesn't come easy nowadays.

Books:

1. CompTIA Convergence+ Certification, 2nd Edition + CertBlaster, Student Manual (Official Student Manual from CompTIA)
2. CompTIA Convergence+ Certification Study Guide (Certification Study Guides) by Tom Carpenter (Hardcover - Jan 7, 2009)
3.
VoIP Deployment For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) by Stephen P. Olejniczak (Paperback - Nov 17, 2008)
4.
Internet Multimedia Communications Using SIP: A Modern Approach Including Java® Practice (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Networking) by Rogelio Martinez Perea (Hardcover - Jan 15, 2008)

On-line resources:

1. http://www.ietf.org/
2. http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-SIP
3. http://voiptroubleshooter.com/
4. http://www.nanpa.com/

There are tons of on-line/web resources out there!

Also, please be reminded that this certification is not VoIP-centric, hence the name Convergence. It will challenge your knowledge in deploying, managing, and troubleshooting converged networks, computer networks with both data and voice traffic running on it.

Remember, to be able to pass this exam, you need to master the fundamentals for all subject areas AND be updated on the current technology and practice. In my case, I allocated at least 2 months of studying and reviewing, reading all those books I identified on top from cover to cover, and making it a habit to visit those on-line/web resources I identified to keep myself updated on the industry of converged networks.

Feel free to ask for questions, I am already working on getting my second certification from CompTIA, Security+. I want to focus on the field of securing IP Communication.

For more information regarding CompTIA's Convergence+ Certication exam, please point your browser to their website:
http://certification.comptia.org/convergence/

Good luck and enjoy the challenge, I did!
Ron

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