This certification requires five exams beyond the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and focuses on integrating IP telephony solutions into underlying network architectures, as well as the ability to implement, configure and troubleshoot. Those who earn the certification are expected to know PSTN, VoIP, signaling protocols, voice gateways, gatekeepers and the Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE).

After completing the CCNA, those who want the CCVP must take:

• Quality of Service (642-642)
• Cisco Voice over IP (642-436)
• Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Communications Systems (642-426)

Test takers must then choose two additional exams based on the product they're specializing in. If that product is Cisco Unified CallManager 4.1, then the track becomes:

• Cisco IP Telephony 4.1, Part 1; Cisco IP Telephony 4.1, Part 2 (642-444)
• Implementing Cisco Voice Gateways and Gatekeepers (642-453)

If the product is Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.0, then the track becomes:

• Cisco IP Telephony 6.0, Part 1 (642-446)
• Cisco IP Telephony 6.0, Part 2 (642-456)

More information on the planned updates can be found here.

CIW Database Design Specialist Exam Released
CIW has released the CIW v5 Database Design Specialist exam (1D0-541) as a replacement for its the earlier database exam (1D0-441), and also turned it into a standalone certification.

At 90 minutes in length, the exam costs $125 and consists of 50 questions. The topics and their weighing are as follows:

• Relational database fundamentals (36%)
• Structured query language (SQL) (20%)
• Normalization and database design (16%)
• Relational algebra and databases (10%)
• Transactions, currency control and database security (10%)
• Relational database design and application (8%)

Go here for more information on the new exam and certification.

Book of the Week: 'Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices, Part 2'
The third edition of one of the best CCNA books recently published, Steve McQuerry's Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices, Part 2 -- a follow-up to the first part which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago -- prepares you for exam 640-816.

You can purchase this book by itself or -- if you want to save some money -- you can buy both parts 1 and 2 together in the CCNA Preparation Library.

Like its predecessor, Part 2 is very well-written and full of enough tables and figures to make the material easy to comprehend. Each chapter ends with a summary and review questions (there are a total of 128 in the book). The eight chapters are:

• Review of Cisco IOS for Routers and Switches
• Medium-Sized Switched Network Construction
• Medium-Sized Routed Network Construction
• Single-Area OSPF Implementation
• Implementing EIGRP
• Managing Traffic with Access Control Lists
• Managing Address Spaces with NAT and IPv6
• Extending the Network into the WAN

Whether you're preparing for the exam or just looking for a good reference book on Cisco network devices, you'll find this title to be just what you're looking for.