Convergence+

Voice Transmission Fundamentals

• Development of Telephone Communications
• Elements of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
• Voice Transmission Fundamentals
• Telephone Network and Subscriber Signaling
  • Network Signaling
  • Subscriber Signaling
  • Supervisory Signaling
  • Tones and Announcements
  • Special Information Tones
  • Ringing
  • PBX Call Control
• Voice Transmission Systems
• Voice Systems:  Legacy, Hybrid, and VoIP
• Prioritization of Voice Traffic
• Trunking Requirements
• Traffic Shaping:  Leaky-Bucket and Token Bucket Implementations

Endpoint Devices and Dialing Plans Used in a Converged Net

• Voice Terminals
• IP Phones
• TDM Phones
• Analog Phones and Adapters
• PC Based Softphones
• SIP Phones
• PDA SoftPhone
• WiFi Phone
• Number and Dialing Plans
• Number Prefixes
• IDD Prefix (International Direct Dialing)
• Number Formats
• The E.164 Recommendation
• E.164 and ENUM:  How ENUM Works
• Digit Translation:  ANI and DNIS Explained
• Toll Fraud and VoIP
• VoIP Service Features
• Number Blocking
• Federal Communications Commission’s VoIP Regulation
• Local Number Portability
• Emergency Services
  • Location Registration Requirements
  • Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)

Quality of Service and Network Performance

• Quality of Service (QoS): Why Is It Needed?
• Quality of Service Implementation Techniques
  • QoS Practices
  • Internet Protocol (IP) Header and the TOS Field
  • IP Precedence
  • Differentiated Services and Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) Field
  • Per Hop Behavior
  • Resource Reservation and Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Frame Tagging
• Multi Protocol Labeling Switching (MPLS) and Its QoS Advantages
• Analyzing Network Performance
• Jitter, Latency, Loss, Port Settings and Bandwidth on a Converged Network
  • Jitter
  • Bandwidth
  • Network Capacity Baselining
  • Network Throughput and Bottlenecks

Networking Technologies and Coding Techniques

• Switching
  • Ethernet LAN Segmentation
  • Physical and Logical Port Settings
• Network Topologies
  • Local Area Network (LAN)
  • Wide Area Networks (WAN)
  • Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN)
  • Global Area Networks (GAN)
• Routing with Network Address Translation and Port Address Translation
  • Network Address Translation
  • Port Numbers
  • Port Address Translation
• Network Protocols
  • TCP/IP:  Addressing, Public/Private IP Addresses
  • UDP
  • Real Time Transfer Protocol (RTP)
  • RTP Packet Structure
  • The Real Time Control Protocol
• Network Transmission Media
  • Cable
  • Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
  • Satellite Broadband Service
  • Wireless Broadband Services
  • Fiber-Optic Cable
• Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
  • Methods of Encoding/Decoding and Compression
  • Voice Compression Objective
  • Analog to Digital Conversion
• Voice Encoding/Decoding Standards
  • Mu-LAW and A-LAW
• Motion Picture Experts Group
  • The MPEG Family of Standards

Networking Applications

• Messaging Applications   
• Collaboration Applications
• Audio Conferencing
• Video Conferencing
• Data Sharing
• Contact Center Components
  • Computer Telephony Integration
  • Call Center Management
  • Call Routing and Queuing
  • Web Chats
  • Call Recording
  • Interactive Voice Response:  Components of Mobility and SoftPhone
• Presence
  • Common Presence and Instant Messaging (CPIM)
  • Presence Information Document Format (PDIF)
  • Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
  • Cellular Integration Services
  • Find me _ Follow Me Feature
• Methods Used for Rich Media Transmission
  • Webcasting
  • Audio and Video Streaming
  • Real-time Streaming
  • Progressive Streaming
  • Multicasting and Unicasting (Audio and Video)
• Compression Standards:  Benefits and Performance
  • Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)
  • JPEG
  • The MPEG Family of Standards
  • H.323 and H.320 Video Conferencing Standards
  • Video Codecs H.261, H.263, H.263+ and H.264
  • CIF, SIF, QCIF, FCIF and H
  • Audio Codecs G.711, G.722, G.724 and G.729a
    G.711 PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) and 722 Codec
  • G.724 ADPCM
  • G.729 Conjugate Structure – Algebraic CELP (CS-ACELP)
  • T.120 Series of Protocols and Services
  • NTSC, PAL and SECAM; NTSC Objectives and roles
• High Definition Television (HDTV) Standards and the ATSC

Networking Components and Architecture

• Origins of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• The OSI Reference Model and Converged Networks
• The Seven Layers of the OSI Reference Model
• Network Models
  • Centralized vs. Decentralized Networks
  • Branch-Edge Network Solutions; Edge Routers and Switches
  • Network Flattening vs. Tier Networks
• Hardware Components as Used on a Converged Network
  • Routers (Multimedia Routers)
  • Switches (Managed, Unmanaged)
  • Differences between a Hub and a Switch
  • Store and Forward
  • Cut Through
  • Fragment Free
  • Adaptive Switching
• Servers
• Gateways
  • TDM / IP Gateway
  • SIP Gateway
  • H.323 Gateway
• Gatekeepers
• PBX (TDM, IP Only & Hybrid):  Key Systems
• Private Branch Exchange or PBX
  • Hosted PBX
  • PBX Market Segments
• MCU (Multipoint Conferencing Unit)
• Firewall
• CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit / Data Service Unit)
• NT1
• Traffic Shapers
• Session Border Controller
• Session Border Controllers and Regulatory Issues
• In-line Power Components (Power over Ethernet)
• Power over Ethernet (PoE) Modes
• Wireless Access Points and     Wireless Routers Using NAT
• Modems (e.g., Cable, DSL
  • Dial Up Modems
  • Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
  • Cable Modems

Management and Security

• Trouble-Ticketing Process
  • Log the Problem
  • Confirm the Problem
  • Troubleshoot the Problem
  • Troubleshooting Connectivity Problems
  • Escalate if Required
  • Close the Log
• Symptoms of Converged Network Problems
  • Poor Voice Quality
  • No Dial Tone
  • Loss of Feature Sets
• Converged Network Problems
  • Bandwidth Restrictions
  • Media Errors, Data Loss, Packet Loss and Rerouting
  • Protocol Mismatch
  • Jitter
  • Hardware Failure
  • MTU Issues
  • QoS Tags Being Dropped
• Tools and Commands to Monitor Network Performance in a Converged Environment
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
• Remote Network Monitoring
  • Ping
  • Pathping
  • Traceroute
• QoS Monitoring Tools
• Bandwidth Monitoring Tools
• Data Analyzers and Protocol Analyzers
• WAN Monitoring Tools
• Voice/Video Quality Monitoring Tools
• Traffic Management
• Quality of Service (QoS) and Router Parameters
• Load Balancing
• Traffic Shaping
  • Leaky Bucket Traffic Shaping
  • Token Bucket Traffic Shaping
• MOS (Mean Opinion Score)
• Monitoring Log File
• Reporting and Managing Configuration Changes
• Admission Controls
  • Registration
  • Registration and Emergency Services
• MAC (Moves, Adds, Changes)
• Call Detailed Records
• Concepts and Components of Security Design and How They Affect the Converged Network
• Firewalls
• Authentication
• Proxies
• Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
• Site-to-Site VPN
• Remote Access VPN
• Network Address Translation (NAT) and Port Address Translation (PAT)
  • Encryption and Encryption Primary Functions
• Intrusion Detection System
  • Protocol and Application-based Intrusion Detection Systems
  • IDS and Firewall Comparisons
  • IPS (Intrusion Prevention System)
  • Network-based IPS
• Computer Viruses and Antivirus Recommendations
• VLAN (Separation of Voice, Video and Data); Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
• Wrap-up:  Course Recap, Q/A, and Evaluations