Bargain VoIP/IPT TrainingBargain VoIP/IPT Training

Two of the areas on which I will focus have to do with network assessment and management tools.

Next month I will be delivering a seminar on IPT implementation and management. Two of the areas on which I will focus have to do with network assessment and management tools.Network assessment is usually required by the IPT vendors. The network assessment in the contract covers 2 to 4 sites, not enough for most implementations. Subsequent assessments will be an extra charge. I believe that most enterprises, with some training, can perform the assessments equally as well as the vendor. The vendor is looking for continued professional services revenue for the assessments.

The enterprise should assess the performance of the WAN connections every 3 months, not just at the beginning of the IPT project. The cost of a few vendor assessment fees, 3 to 4, will cover the cost of purchasing the assessment tool by the enterprise; a much more cost effective approach.

Network management to many data network personnel means fixing configurations and failures. This may be good enough for data, but does include performance degradations for IP voice quality. I have found at least one major IPT vendor that DOES NOT calculate the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) on voice calls.

I think that if the management tools of the IPT vendor do not cover the performance issues well, then the enterprise has to purchase a reporting system to augment what the IPT vendor's tools do not cover. Keeping voice performance up to the MOS of 4.0 or better is not an easy task when the data traffic is constantly increasing in unpredictable ways. See my blog "Troubleshooting Tools Are Not Enough"

My seminar, entitled, "Voice over IP, Beyond the Basics; Deployment and Best Practices in the Enterprise" takes place on March 18, sponsored by the North Carolina Telecommunications Association (NCTA) as part of a one day seminar on VoIP/IP Telephony.

This NCTA seminar is a real bargain, especially in today's economic climate, where training dollars are almost always restricted or eliminated. The material presented will be a one day version of my two day seminar that normally would cost over $1,000 to attend. The cost for the NCTA day is free for up to 3 attendees per 2009 NCTA member-company. Additional Member company attendees are $50 each. For non-members, the fee is $50 per/person, including all materials and lunch, a real bargain.

The seminar is useful to anyone interested in moving to VoIP/IP telephony. This presentation quickly reviews the basics and moves into vendor selection, implementation issues and on going operation. A full notebook of the over 160 Powerpoints will be given out as part of the seminar.

Seminar Outline I. Planning for the Procurement II. The VoIP/IPT Products III. Software Management: Patching and Version Control IV. The VoIP/IPT Organization V. WAN Assessment VI. Security: In Front and Behind the Firewall VII. Troubleshooting Performance Problems VIII. Fault Management and Troubleshooting

The seminar will be held on Wednesday, March 18, from 9AM to 4PM at the Hawthorne Inn & Conference Center, Winston-Salem, NC, (336) 777-3000. You need to register by March 6, 2009. A notebook and lunch are provided for all registrants. RSVP by March 6th to Anne Malloy, NCTA Vice President at [email protected].

NCTA is a non-profit organization for telecommunications professionals in North Carolina. Membership includes representatives from 40 organizations representing education, health care, finance, government, manufacturing, retailing, utilities, service and transportation.Two of the areas on which I will focus have to do with network assessment and management tools.