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Summary: The Future of Voice Technology
Review: Anyone interested in understanding where voice technology is going in the future needs to know something about where it's been. This book provides a complete guide to the essentials of what makes traditional voice networks tick as well as a thorough treatment of current and future voice technologies, such as VoIP, VoFR and VoATM. The focus of the book is not to promote one form of voice over the other - as the title suggests, it is to provide the reader a guide of how to interwork them.Important considerations for carrying voice over packet media are detailed. Quality of Service, bandwidth control and signaling (both TDM and packet-based) are covered extensively. This book is a must read for any professional working with realtime communications.
Rating:
Summary: The Future of Voice Technology
Review: Anyone interested in understanding where voice technology is going in the future needs to know something about where it's been. This book provides a complete guide to the essentials of what makes traditional voice networks tick as well as a thorough treatment of current and future voice technologies, such as VoIP, VoFR and VoATM. The focus of the book is not to promote one form of voice over the other - as the title suggests, it is to provide the reader a guide of how to interwork them. Important considerations for carrying voice over packet media are detailed. Quality of Service, bandwidth control and signaling (both TDM and packet-based) are covered extensively. This book is a must read for any professional working with realtime communications.
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Summary: You must have one in your shelf if you are VoIP engineer
Review: I bought the 1st edition back in 2000 and since then it is still the most frequently visited reference when I helped my clients to build VoIP networks. It was written completely from a hands-on engineer perspective, aiming at getting the job done. So you would expect very detailed description on signaling ..., design scenario, IOS programming and trouble-shooting in debug mode. My favourite parts are the coverage on Echo, dial-peer programming and SIP. After finishing a SIP network project, I'm just amazed how a book in year 2000 can provide such a farsighted material.
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Summary: All that you can't leave behind
Review: I haven't read the whole book, I'm 50% done, but the first impression is that there's too much theorical information, but I think we really need that. That's absolutely a wonderful resource. After reading some parts of this book I was able to setup a successful VoIP connection. This book also helps to understand the codecs, problems you can find, etc.. Good choice! Daniel Lafraia
CCNP,CCDP
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Summary: Excellent general reference (with a few minor blemishes)
Review: I specialize in voice/data interworking and this is, by far, the best (single) book on the market for anyone working in this area. Just the coverage of telephony concepts alone is worth the cost of the book. This one is definitely going to be a classic in the same way as "Top Down Network Design" is. Frankly, this book has so much good information in it I wouldn't even know where to begin reviewing it. That said, there are a few very minor issues I have with the book. For example, the coverage of some topics (like W/RED and TCP), while very well-written, has little to do with voice. The section on ATM is pretty sparse, and the author occasionally makes some statements that seem somewhat strange and point to a somewhat Cisco-centric mindset (e.g. claiming that SONET doesn't have a relationship to voice technology -- the primary goal of SONET was carrying TDM (read : voice) traffic.). The treatment of the E and EIR models was very good, but coverage of voice quality testing in general could have been somewhat better. Overall though, this is a book I would wholeheartedly recommend. If you only own one book on voice and data, this is the one (if fact, it could very well be the only one you need.)
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Summary: Best in the field
Review: I was one of the technical editors for this book. I've been TE for many Cisco Press books as well as books by other publishers. This book is one of the two best written books I've had the pleasure of editing. It was well planned, thorough, clear and relatively error free. Examples provide enough information without overwhelming the reader. If you want to know how VoIP works, especially in a Cisco routed environment, get this book.
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Summary: Well written with lots of detail if you want it
Review: I'm a qualified Cisco CCSI/Microsoft course trainer, and needed a book to get me started in the area of Voice networks in a reasonably technical, practical and non-trivial manner. I definitely found it in this book. Keagy provided an excellent overview of the operational details of voice networks & SS7, and married this well to Voice-IP networks and WAN technologies. It was refreshing in that, although Cisco oriented, you are thankfully spared the worst of Cisco's product placement sales pitch (for which you'd need the CVoice book). In fact I can concur with other reviewers in that Keagy's obvious practical experience, mature expressive style with plenty of useful figures/illustrations (which I personally as a trainer really appreciate) and ability to impart knowledge in an enjoyable worldly manner shine throughout in the text in a style that is remniscent of Doyle Routing - I look forward to more books by Keagy (hopefully his wife will let him :o)
Although you can buy books that cover the individual chapters in more detail (Keagy provides numerous references), this single tome is a must for anyone breaking into the trendy area of Voice from a predominantly data networking background.
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Summary: An excellent text that doesn't disappoint
Review: I'm a qualified Cisco CCSI/Microsoft course trainer, and needed a book to get me started in the area of Voice networks in a reasonably technical, practical and non-trivial manner. I definitely found it in this book. Keagy provided an excellent overview of the operational details of voice networks & SS7, and married this well to Voice-IP networks and WAN technologies. It was refreshing in that, although Cisco oriented, you are thankfully spared the worst of Cisco's product placement sales pitch (for which you'd need the CVoice book). In fact I can concur with other reviewers in that Keagy's obvious practical experience, mature expressive style with plenty of useful figures/illustrations (which I personally as a trainer really appreciate) and ability to impart knowledge in an enjoyable worldly manner shine throughout in the text in a style that is remniscent of Doyle Routing - I look forward to more books by Keagy (hopefully his wife will let him :o)
Although you can buy books that cover the individual chapters in more detail (Keagy provides numerous references), this single tome is a must for anyone breaking into the trendy area of Voice from a predominantly data networking background.
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Summary: This is the one to buy
Review: I'm a real person with no stake in the sales or success of this book. In my opinion, this one belongs on the shelf next to Doyle and Clark/Hamilton. This is the best book out so far on Cisco data/voice integration (I've read the rest). It covers everything...designing dial plans and hooking up to PBXx, QOS internals, etc. This one is going to be a classic. Now, would anyone please write one on CallManager? Anyone? Anyone? Beuler?
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Summary: NOC Resources
Review: Integrating Voice and Data Networks / Voice & Data Communications Handbook After writing a review on Voice & Data Communications Handbook by Bud Bates and Donald Gregory I was asked to compare it to Integrating Voice and Data Networks by Scott Keagy. I have other books written by both authors and will tell both seem to stay true to their writing styles and are worthwhile reads. On strengths and weakness of each book: Voice and Data Communications Handbook weakness is also its strength, it's a fast read covering all the topics with enough information to give someone a very good broad over view understanding. He doesn't get into detail on how to configure vendor specific configuration but I don't think that is what he had in mind. Staying in general terms he was able to make a fun read, I read the 1st 11 chapters at my 1st sitting, and made the book in about a week. This book is great for those entering the telecommunications business as a new technical engineer or someone in marketing. Integrating Voice and Data Networks weakness is also something that makes it stand out in its strengths. It is not something I would hand someone new to the industries there were certain knowledge's that this book expected its audience to already have coming in, however I wish I had the book when I was working at SBC Datacoms NOC. As outlined by the Author this book did not go over history expect where needed, and stayed very technically focused. The book reminded me of a few of the Cisco classes I have taken, things where explained and explored in an understandable fashion. I will say somewhere in the middle of the book I felt a bit lost and found it hard to hold my attention to the reading at hand, but that was more me then the topic covered and discussed and after passing that point the book came back into focus for me while reading in areas I was familiar in. While the book covered configuration of Cisco equipment it did not come across as Ciscocentric so anyone working with other vendor's equipment would benefit from this book also. The book should be in everyone's technical library that supports voice and data networks. In closing I would like to say that both books are in my own personal library and will stay there and I am sure each will continue to be well used. I will recommend both books and most likely very often. I think The Voice & Data Communications Handbook is more suited to those new to the Telecommunications, those in marketing and those needing to get a fast general understanding. Integrating Voice and Data Networks is great for those wanting more technical information and those actually supporting or designing voice and data networks. I think this should be standard issue for all NOC centers.
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