CompTIA exam study guide presentations by instructor Brian Ferrill, PACE-IT (Progressive, Accelerated Certifications for Employment in Information Technology) "Funded by the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Grant #TC-23745-12-60-A-53" Learn more about the PACE-IT Online program: www.edcc.edu/pace-it

1. Basic elements
of unified
communications.

2. Page 2
Instructor, PACE-IT Program – Edmonds Community College
Areas of expertise Industry Certifications
 PC Hardware
 Network Administration
 IT Project Management
 Network Design
 User Training
 IT Troubleshooting
Qualifications Summary
Education
 M.B.A., IT Management, Western Governor’s University
 B.S., IT Security, Western Governor’s University
Entrepreneur, executive leader, and proven manger
with 10+ years of experience turning complex issues
into efficient and effective solutions.
Strengths include developing and mentoring diverse
workforces, improving processes, analyzing
business needs and creating the solutions
required— with a focus on technology.

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PACE-IT.
– Unified communications.
– Unified communications concepts.
– Voice over IP.

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Basic elements of unified communications.

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Unified communications
(UC) is not encompassed by
a single product or device. It
is a growing category in
enterprise networks.
UC is the set of products and services that attempts
to provide a consistent single user interface and
experience across different media types and
different devices.
UC allows a user to send a message from one type
of media and have that media received as a
different type of media (e.g., leaving a voice mail
and having the recipient receive it as an email).
Basic elements of unified communications.

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Basic elements of unified communications.
– Unified communications devices.
» UC server.
• Specialized servers (which may be virtual in nature) that are
designed to implement UC solutions in the workplace.
» UC gateways.
• A network device that is designed to translate between
different signaling methods (e.g., a Voice over IP (VoIP)
gateway will translate an analog PSTN voice signal into a
signal that can be understood on the VoIP network).
» Other UC devices.
• Any devices that can be used in the implementation of a UC
solution; they may include (but are not limited to) VoIP
phones, email systems, video conferencing, and instant
messaging (IM) networks.

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Basic elements of unified communications.

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Basic elements of unified communications.
– Presence.
» An indicator that is used to communicate the willingness or
ability of a user to accept communication.
• Common presence statuses include available, online, offline,
busy, and do not disturb.
» Presence services are an important service provided in UC
solutions, as they will track individual users across multiple
devices (and networks) in real time through the use of multicast
transmissions.
• Once a communications session has been established,
unicast network transmissions are used.
– Quality of service (QoS).
» QoS techniques are implemented to improve the UC by
managing network traffic.
• Class of Service (CoS): a QoS technique used to manage
network traffic by grouping similar types of traffic and
assigning a network priority to that traffic (e.g., UC traffic is
given a higher priority than email). A 6-bit differentiated
services code point (DSCP) is used in the IP header to
establish the CoS.

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Basic elements of unified communications.

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VoIP is one of the most
common implementations in a
UC solution. Through the use of
a presence service, calls can be
routed to the correct location.
Two important protocols used in VoIP are Session
Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Real-time Transport Protocol
(RTP).
SIP has two purposes. First, it is used to establish a
communication session between two end points. Once
the session is completed, SIP tears down the connection.
During the communication session, RTP is used as the
transport protocol, helping to provide QoS to the end
points.
Basic elements of unified communications.

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Basic elements of unified communications.
UC is the set of products and services used to facilitate communication
across different devices and media (e.g., transforming a voice mail
message into an email). UC servers are specialized servers used to
implement UC solutions in the workplace. UC gateways are devices used to
translate between different signaling methods (e.g., a VoIP gateway
translating an analog PSTN connection into a digital network signal).
Topic
Unified communications.
Summary
Presence is an indicator that is used to communicate the willingness or
ability of someone to receive communication. A presence service is used to
track users across multiple devices and to deliver communication to the
appropriate location or device. QoS is set of techniques used to manage
network traffic and is often implemented to improve UC.
Unified communications
concepts.
VoIP is one of the most commonly implemented UC solutions. VoIP uses
SIP to establish and tear down communication sessions. During the actual
communication session, RTP is used as the transport mechanism for the
communication. RTP helps to provide QoS to the end points.
Voice over IP.

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THANK YOU!

13. This workforce solution was 100 percent funded by a $3 million grant awarded by the
U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The solution was
created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S.
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assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including
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information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability
or ownership. Funded by the Department of Labor, Employment and Training
Administration, Grant #TC-23745-12-60-A-53.
PACE-IT is an equal opportunity employer/program and auxiliary aids and services are
available upon request to individuals with disabilities. For those that are hearing
impaired, a video phone is available at the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD)
office in Mountlake Terrace Hall 159. Check www.edcc.edu/ssd for office hours. Call
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any additional special accommodations needed, call the SSD office at 425.640.1814.
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