How to Build a CCNA Voice 640-461 Lab

How to Build a CCNA Voice 640-461 Lab

We are actually going to cover two different approaches for building your CCNA Voice 640-461 lab today. The challenge in building a CCNA Voice lab is it gets very expensive, very quickly. This is primarily due to the requirement for lots of specialized Voice modules and accessories that are only applicable to a Voice lab. But first of all, let's set the stage with what is the heart and soul of a CCNA Voice lab.

What is Call Manager & CME?

Cisco Call Manager(CUCM) and Call Manager Express(CME) They both are call processing devices. CME will give call processing facility for locally attached IP / analog phones. Call Manager supports centralized whereas as CME supports distributed voice network architecture. Call Manager handles hundreds of IP phones centrally and it is a dedicated server/device.

CME provides the router based call management features are router access based. CME is a router with Call Manager Express software installed on it, including some telephone devices. The CME router will act as a gateway between PSTN and local IP voice network. Lab setup phones (IP / analog) both will be connected to the Call Manager Express router using FXS ports via the local LAN switch.

In most home lab setup scenarios, CME would be a better choice in terms of cost and flexibility. So the two most common options are as follows:If we are tight on cash we will use a XM Series router with at least 192MB of DRAM and 48MB of Flash to support the IOS and CME functionality. The downside to this is we can only support CME 4.1.The better approach is to go with a 2811 router with 512mb DRAM and 128mb flash so you can run IOS 15 with CME 8.6.

Now we can use CME as the SIP trunk gateway between home IP lab network and service provider. We will be learning about SIP server in more detail below.

Now there are actually a few different approaches you can take for building your CCNA Voice lab. So let me start off with the easy one first. CUCM. This runs on a dedicated Cisco server platform. These are generally way too expensive to have in a home Voice lab. Thus the approach taken by most is to virtualize this server to learn your CUCM concepts. This can be done using VMWare workstation or server. We will not go into detail on this as this is covered in the Cisco CCNA Voice lab manual.

Now let's discuss our CME approach as this is what you need to purchase your hardware for. The CCNA Voice exam covers CME 8.6. To run CME 8.6 you will need a Cisco 2811 512/128 router with basically maxed our memory and some Voice PVDM, modules, etc. This approach is covered in ourStandard CCNA Voice 640-461 Lab Kit II. The challenge with this kit is it may be a little pricey for some students. So in that case, we have a less expensive option to run CME 4.1 on a 2600XM router. Are all the commands and functionality exactly the same as 8.6? No, but it is a good low cost solution to be able to exercise the Voice topics to prepare to pass the exam.

What Routers, Switches and Modules do I need for my CCNA Voice Lab?

CME 8.6 ApproachTo follow the Cisco Press Lab Manual, you will need two 2811 384/128 routers each with a VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 and a PVDM2-32. We can then supplement that with some VIC2-2FXS and VIC2-2FXO modules for analog and PBX scenarios. Additionally you will want a pair of PoE(Power over Ethernet) 3550 or better switches and two IP Phones along with an analog phone. If you want to also do the current version Unity Voicemail labs, you will want to add in the aim2-cue module or if you don't mind support for only version 7 versus version 8 you can save some money with the standard aim-cue module. Again, this approach is covered hereStandard CCNA Voice 640-461 Lab Kit II.

Now if you want to save some money on this lab, you can cut the lab in half. But you have to understand you will not be able to do any of the exercises for the branch office. You will only be able to do the Headquarters office labs. But it will still provide tons of value and you can add to the lab at a later date.

CME 4.1 ApproachWe understand that the newer routers once you add in all the functionality may be a bit expensive for some. So we created our ownCCNA Voice Lab Workbookand topology for a home lab. We wanted to make it complicated enough to really show you how the traffic flows. As mentioned before, this uses CME 4.1 which is not exact for the current exam, but it is a good alternative low cost solution. So what is required to follow our lab scenarios? Below we have compiled a list of equipment used in a our CCNA Voice lab topology. So we will take a moment to describe each piece of the lab and we will look into what each component does and why it is required. Keep in mind you can replace any of these items with components that support the same functionality.

One 2610XM Router 256MB DRAM & 48MB Flash with 12.4 IOS

Two Cisco 7960 IP Phones

One Cisco 2611 64/16 Router

Two Cisco 2950 Switches

One nm-2v module

One vic-2fxo module

One vic-2fxs module

One nm-cue module

Six patch cables

One console kit

Figure 1 below illustrates the CCNA home voice lab setup scenario which we would going to create using the above mentioned components to setup a voice infrastructure network.

Figure 1: CCNA home voice lab setup scenarioCommon Voice Componets2610XM Router This 2600 series router gives multiservice voice and data integration, support for embedded call processing with cisco CME 4.1 which we will be using in our home lab. It will give us support for VIC cards. This will act as CME router in lab setup. The single Ethernet models (2650xm, 2620xm, and 2610xm) are comparatively cheaper in cost then the two Ethernet models (2651xm, 2621xm, 2611xm) and we dont need two Ethernet ports for a CME router. However we will need 192MB DRAM & 48MB flash with to support CME 4.1 and 12.4 IOS for our Voice concepts.

2811 Router- This is the preferred router to run CME 8.6 and IOS 15.1. Just remember you need 512/128 memory to meet the minimum memory requirements.

NM-2V this for the 2600XM routers since they do not have VIC slots and do not have on board PVDM slots. It is a network voice module which provides the ability to connect directly to PSTN and legacy telephone network to cisco 2600, 3600 and 3700 series routers. It has support for voice interface cards (VICs) to provide the connectivity. In our lab scenario we would be using NM-2V to connect router 2610XM router. The NM-2V supports up to four voice calls. Diagram below illustrates NM-2V network module.

It gives features following features such as Voice/fax over IP, Router-based, modular design, High-performance digital signal processing (DSP) architecture, Cisco IOS quality of service (QoS) features: Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), weighted fair queuing (WFQ), fragmentation, and interleave, compliant with H.323 (Audio and video conferencing), integrates with existing phone /fax.

It has feature support for 2600, 3600 and 3700 such as Foreign Exchange Office (FXO) answer supervision, FXO disconnect supervision, Cisco Echo Cancellation (ECAN), Connection trunk, Connection private line, automatic ring down (PLAR), Cisco Hoot and Holler, Cisco Tool Command Language (TCL) Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Version 2.0, Transparent Common Channel Signaling (T-CCS), Busyout (local voice Busyout [LVBO] and advanced voice Busyout [AVBO]), Pulse dialing, Inbound hook flash (Foreign Exchange Station [FXS]), Outbound hook flash (FXO), Caller ID (FXS), Cisco Fax Relay, T.38 Fax Relay, T.37 fax store and forward (S&F), Fax /modem pass through and (DTMF) relay.

PVDM- Packet Voice Digital Signal Module pretty much does everything noted above that the NM-2V does. It is just this is on board the 2811 router when you insert one of these modules on the main board. VIC's are Voice Interface Cards supporting analogue connections for: FXO (to the local telephone exchange); FXS (to an analogue phone) and E&M (to a PBX)

VIC-2FXOmodule this is a two port voice/fax interface card and gets integrated in 2610XM router which we will be using in our CCNA home lab. VIC-2FXO card will be used to interface the whole thing with the POTS line coming in to your home and you would be able to connect existing home telephone line into this module to make and receive calls via your voice lab from your home telephone number.

VIC2-2FXO- Make sure you note the extra 2 in the model number. This is very similar to the plain version of the card for the 2600XM but it supports a few more features that are on the exam and in the labs for the kits using the 2811 routers.

VIC-2FXSmodules This will be the voice interface card with FXS interface it will connect directly to standard phone, fax machine in the voice network.

VIC2-2FXS- Make sure you note the extra 2 in the model number. This is very similar to the plain version of the card for the 2600XM but it supports a few more features that are on the exam and in the labs for the kits using the 2811 routers.

Cisco IP Phones- 7960G is nice with 6 buttons, but a two line 7940G will also serve the purpose. Basically we need two phones at a minimum, one should have as many buttons as you can afford, the other can be a two line or even a lowly one line 7912G if price is a concern. We need to buy power bricks too if switch isn't PoE. The FXS ports will send the power down the analog phone cables to ring the phones.

In IP phones G stands for global phones use icons on soft keys instead of English text.

Cisco 261164/16 routers 2611 64/16 routers will act as an HTTP server in lab older CME 4.6 environment.

NM-CUE or AIM-CUE The NM-CUE or AIM-CUE will give functionality of intuitive prompts, autoattendent and IVR features in the voice environment. CUE would be the license for the voicemail card. These will allow for Voicemail and Autoattendent so if you want this then you will need one. Unity is an alternate Voicemail System.

AIM2-CUE The AIM2-CUE will give you additional functionality again covered in the new CME 8.6 lab workbook for the 2811 series routers.

What is a SIP Server for my CCNA Voice Lab?

SIP server SIP proxy is a software application which provides call routing services in voice networks. SIP is a multimedia communication standard and used for internal IP telephony transit among enterprise voice gateway and SIP capable IP PBXs and PSTNs. SIP proxy server accepts the registration requests from SIP endpoints such as IP phones, voice gateways, computer applications. It creates a dynamic record of endpoints current contact address. We can also do static registrations with SIP server.

All calls from PSTN will be handled by a SIP proxy server. Below is the configuration of CME for SIP trunking:

voice service voipallow-connections sip to sipsipregistrar server expires max 3600 min 3600localhost dns:mycompany.test.com

voice class codec 1codec preference 1 g711ulaw

! Inbound Translation Rule! for Auto Attendant pilot number 500voice translation-rule 1rule 1 /5552222100/ /500/

voice translation-profile AutoAttendant! Applied to the inbound dial-peers for AAtranslate called 1! SIP Trunk Configuration dial-peer voice 1 voipdescription **Incoming Call from SIP Trunk**translation-profile incoming AutoAttendantvoice-class codec 1voice-class sip dtmf-relay force rtp-ntesession protocol sipv2session target sip-serverincoming called-number .%dtmf-relay rtp-nteno vad

dial-peer voice 2 voipdescription **Outgoing Call to SIP Trunk**destination-pattern 9.voice-class codec 1voice-class sip dtmf-relay force rtp-ntesession protocol sipv2session target sip-serverdtmf-relay rtp-nteno vad

dial-peer voice 3 voipdescription **International Outgoing Call to SIP Trunk**destination-pattern 9011Tvoice-class codec 1voice-class sip dtmf-relay force rtp-ntesession protocol sipv2session target sip-serverdtmf-relay rtp-nteno vad

! SIP UA Configuration sip-uaauthentication username 5552222100 password 075A701E1D5E415447425Bno remote-party-idretry invite 2retry register 10retry options 0timers connect 100registrar dns: mycompany.test.com expires 3600sip-server dns: mycompany.test.comhost-registrar

Now if you follow the topology we described above, you can use ourCCNA Voice Lab Workbookto walk you through 30 different labs. The lab workbook builds upon itself so it is imperative that you have similar or better equipment. To make it easy on yourself, we obviously sell the entire lab kits with all the hardware you need. You can review all of them hereCCNA Voice Lab Kitsto help you achieve your goal of becoming CCNA Voice certified!

This concludes the lesson on setting up your own home lab for the CCNA Voice exam. In this lesson we learned about different types of equipment which are required to setup your own voice lab.

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CCNA Voice Lab Workbook(eBook)

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Passing the CCNA Voice certification exam is difficult enough if you are fully prepared by attending a Cisco CCNAVoiceclass with an instructor and you have access to all the proper books and equipment.But what happens when you go home as it is not reasonable for you to retain all that information you would have been exposed to in a one week boot camp?You will need to setup a CCNAVoicelab in your home or work to really absorb all those concepts and cement them into your brain through actual hands-on application.This is where our CCNAVoice Lab Workbook can help you!

Our CCNAVoice Lab Workbook was designed to be generic so you don't need to have the exact models in our topology(but it will help). You may ask, what is the suggested equipment to compliment this lab workbook? Keep in mind this is a suggestion and you can complete many of the labs with more or less equipment.

To complete all the labs in this lab workbook you will need the following devices or better:

One 2610XM Router 192MB DRAM & 48MB Flash with 12.4 IOS as your CME 4.1 router (keep in mind the newer exam features CME 8.6, but many cannot afford the more expensive equipment and this provides a cost effective solution as the concepts are basically the same).

One Cisco 7940 IP PhoneOne Cisco 7960 IP PhoneOne Cisco 2611 64/16 RouterOne Cisco 2950 SwitchOne Cisco 2924 SwitchTwo Wic-1T ModulesOne nm-2v moduleOne vic-2fxo moduleOne vic-2fxs modulesOne nm-cue module (required for labs 29 & 30)Six patch cablesOne Back to Back Cable

What if you don't have those exact units? Well, most of the labs will still work as long as you have a CME router. If you do not have the nm-cue module(which is about $300), you can still do all the labs except labs 29 & 30. Thus you should be able to put the rest of the topology together for about $1,000. We obviously have these kits preconfigured for you. What if you have to skimp and don't have all the switches or routers? Will you still be able to do them all? To a large extent. You are a CCNA by now. So given that logic you should be able to remove a router or switch from the lab topology and still see how the lab works and understand the concepts behind it. So there is still value in going through the labs even if you don't have every peice as you will understand the how and why behind the lab concept with our in-depth explanations.

So let's take a look at the labs covered in this CCNAVoice Lab Workbook.

Lab #1 Using Analog Phones with a Cisco Router & Dial PeersLab #2 Configuring PLAR(Private-Line Automatic Ringdown)Lab #3 Using Wildcards with Dial PeersLab #4 Using Digital Interfaces for VoIP & T1 PRI ConfigurationLab #5 Configuring Voice & Data VLANsLab #6 DHCP ConfigurationLab #7 NTP ConfigurationLab #8 Installing CMELab #9 Configuring CME as a TFTP Server & ePhone SetupLab #10 Configuring Phones in CMELab #11 Cisco SoftPhone SetupLab #12 Configuring Cisco SoftPhonesLab #13 Dial Plans between Analog & VoIP PhonesLab #14 Installing SIP Phone SoftwareLab #15 Configuring a SIP Phone on a Cisco RouterLab #16 QoS ConfigurationLab #17 Auto QoS ConfigurationLab #18 Configuring a Hunt GroupLab #19 Configuring Caller IDLab #20 Configuring a Call Parking SlotLab #21 Configuring an IntercomLab #22 Configuring Multicast MoHLab #23 Configuring Call Admission ControlLab #24 Configuring Directory ServicesLab #25 Configuring Speed DialLab #26 Configuring PresenceLab #27 Configuring a SIP TrunkLab #28 Configuring Translation RulesLab #29 Setting up Cisco Unity ExpressLab #30 Configuring Unity ExpressAppendix A

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