In this article I want to mention about a popular question of Cisco Voice Certification System. Should you go with CCNA Voice 640-460 or CVoice 642-436? It is also the most asked question in this site so now I am happy to answer it with all the information I know in a separate article. If you know anything more, please don’t hesitate to comment!
First you should learn about the difference between them. The CCNA Voice 640-460 exam, sometimes called the Implementing Cisco IOS Unified Communications (IIUC) 640-460 exam, is the exam for those who are working with the Cisco CallManager Express (CME), Cisco Unity Express (CUE), Unified Communications 500 (UC500) Smart Business Communications System solutions and implementing EPhone, IP Phone. These devices are often used in medium & small organizations (with less than 2000 employees).
In the other hand, the CVoice 6.0 642-436 exam is dedicated for ones who use the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) and Cisco Gateways/Gatekeepers, including dial-peer & call-leg concept, H.323 & SIP protocols. It is typically employed by large organizations such as governments, large companies. In general, this path is easier to learn than the previous path and it is similar to CCNA and CCNP with command-line-interface (CLI). Moreover, you can use GNS3 to simulate a Voice Gateway or Gatekeeper so you will have more fun (in the case you don’t have real devices).
(Note: A Voice Gateway or Gatekeeper is just like a normal router with a special IOS for voice)
If you are still confused, please have a look at the menu on the right of this website, it gives you information about what are covered in these two exams.
Some Cisco IP Phones (for CCNA Voice 640-460)
Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series (for CCNA Voice 640-460)
Now we will go into the main part of this article: Which path should you choose? Well, it really depends on your job. If you often see devices shown above then you should go with CCNA Voice 640-460 to gain knowledge about Cisco Voice devices (CME, CUE, UC500, Ephone…). Otherwise, go with CVoice 642-436. Notice that a company with more than 2000 employees or customers seldom uses above devices because they are not suitable for a big company and not cheap (this is a secret thing Cisco never tells you while learning their certification ^_^), so if you work (or want to work) with a big company, go with CVoice 642-436 definitely.
One big thing needs to be considered is the certification you will get after complete the exam. You can get the CCNA Voice Certificate by either passing the CCNA Voice IIUC 640-460 exam or the CVoice 6.0 642-436 exam. CCNA Voice is the fundamental certification in the Cisco Voice System, just like CCNA (but you will need a valid CCNA Certification to get it). But the problem occurs if you want to continue pursuing CCVP, a higher voice certification of Cisco (just like CCNP). CCVP requires passing 5 exams: the CVoice 642-436, QoS 642-642, CIPT1 642-446, CIPT2 642-456, TUC 642-426 exams. Yes, as you can see, you need the CVoice 6.0 642-436 to be a CCVP. It means if you learned 640-460 and want to get CCVP, you need to learn CVoice 642-436 as a prerequisite.
Some materials for learning CCNA Voice 640-460:
- CCNA Voice Official Exam Certification Guide by Jeremy Cioara, Michael J. Cavanaugh, Kris A. Krake
- Video Training: CBT Nuggets – Cisco CCNA Voice – Exam-Pack 640-460: IIUC by Jeremy Cioara
Some materials for learning CVoice 642-436:
- CVOICE Student Guide v6.0 (this material and the Cisco Press Authorized Self Study Guide CVOICE book are very identical, up to 95% so you should use CVOICE Student Guide v6.0 if available)
- Video Training: Cisco CCVP – Exam-Pack: 642-436 CVOICE by Jeremy Cioara
If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to comment. It surely will help all of us very much!
