New Training: Key Design Elements of CUCM

In this 12-video skill, CBT Nuggets trainer Lalo Nunez covers the infrastructure and design elements of Cisco Collaboration. Watch this new Cisco training.

Learn Cisco with one of these courses:

• Cisco Collaboration Solutions and Architecture

This training includes:

• 12 videos

• 1 hour of training

You’ll learn these topics in this skill:

• Intro to Collaboration Key Design Elements

• Sizing

• Virtualization supported hardware

• ESXi Virtualization

• Bandwidth

• High Availability

• Disaster Recovery

• Dial Plan

• Security Concepts

• Security TLS Handshake

• Introduction to QoS

• QoS Tools

Why QoS is Critical for Performance

Quality of Service (QoS) is the relative indicator of how well a service or network performs as viewed from a user's perspective. Although executing functions themselves is critical, how fast the network performs is equally crucial when it comes to user experience. Some of the most important considerations for determining QoS include availability, packet loss, throughput, transmission delay, and bit rate.

Ensuring high QoS requires more than simply having the best equipment; it involves a deep understanding of what's actually happening on the network and policies that accurately reflect an organization's priorities. For example, reserving resources to be available for high-priority actions during periods of heavy user traffic can be a delicate balancing act as well as a continually moving target.

Internal network QoS is much easier to control than is external connectivity. The Internet is simply a series of exchange points that connect numerous networks, some of which will have disappointing QoS; this isn't your fault, but once connected it becomes a contributing factor in your own QoS. Knowing how to optimize internal service or network performance to adapt for these encounters is just as much an art as it is a science.