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Voice over IP Fundamentals
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Author: Jonathan Davidson, James Peters, Brian Gracely
List Price: $50.00
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 1578701686
Publisher: Cisco Press (27 March, 2000)
Edition: Hardcover
Sales Rank: 20,407
Average Customer Rating: 3.18 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 2 out of 5
Difficult book to read and understand
Although this book is but 15 chapters and 336 pages long it took me an incredible amount of time to read through it due to the complexity with which it was written. I've read several Cisco Press books in the same time it took to read this one! Further, I found myself asking the question over and over again, "If this book is about the fundamentals of Voice over IP and is 'A Systematic Approach to Understanding the Basics of Voice over IP', why is it difficult to grasp even the 'basics' as presented by the authors?" As stated in a previous review, the authors have a great understanding of the topics, however, like my Theory of Operating Systems instructor, they do not do well in 'dumbing' down that information to me, a layperson in this field. This book was definitely written by VoIP engineers for VoIP engineers, not for beginners like myself.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Best suited for Telephony engineers
Strong Points: -The people who wrote it are definitely knowledgeable: They have loads of information about almost every topic they discuss -Chapter organization: the chapters are well organized as far as the order in which to expose a reader to the topics, building up to the next. Weak Points: -In almost every chapter, the author(s) frequently mention or compare the topic being discussed with an actual Cisco product. While many people agree they make good products, including myself, this book should be about the VoIP as a standard (as the title implies), not Cisco's products. -The author(s) explain most topics by throwing tons of (or too much) information at the reader, including exceptions to the rule - all in the same sentence. Some of the key points are not even mentioned or elaborated on, while the author goes to point out small or insignificant details. -While discussing the history of Telephony and VoIP technology, the use of acronyms is unavoidable, but the author(s) overuses them to the extreme. At times, there are synonym acronyms that the author(s) will use randomly and interchangeably in the same chart, diagram or sentence; this is highly confusing. Also, there is no glossary, so you have to waste time flipping back through the pages to look up acronyms they spelled out once. Many acronyms are not even defined - they are just mentioned as casual talk to define other acronyms (so have your internet browser ready). -The author(s) frequently define topics and acronyms sections or chapters after they are first mentioned. This is also very confusing and frustrating. -The book is filled with charts and graphs. Most of them you really have to study to understand because they use many little pictures for which there is no legend, and some you flat our need an electrical engineering degree to understand.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Worth Reading, But of Limited Use
I've had the Davidson book on the shelf for about a year and finally picked it up for a careful read to help me prepare of Cisco's CVOICE exam. While the book is useful toward that end, I recommend it only cautiously.No doubt part of the problem is mine; by background includes extensive data but very little voice experience. I found the topic Signaling System 7 and similar topics to be slow reading, and I questioned the value of the IP tutorial. A reader with the inverse of my background may have exactly the opposite experience. This book is unusually dense with acronyms, even for a technical book. The nature of the topic makes acronyms unavoidable, but I felt the lack of a glossary was a serious deficiency. I frequently found myself flipping back and forth through the book to decode an acronym to no avail. Thorough readers might want to construct their own glossary with index cards. I also had the sense, especially toward the end of the book, that I was getting less of an explanation of the technology than a simple compendium of features. This was especially evident in those thin sections on the Session Initiation Protocol, the Simple Gateway Control Protocol, the Media Gateway Control Protocol, and the Virtual Switch Controller. I found the sections on the H.323 Protocols and Quality of Service more useful and complete. Given the ambitious scope of the book, I believe the author could have provided a more readable and understandable treatment with six or seven hundred pages rather than the three hundred plus provided. Still, I find my understanding of the subject to have increased substantially. It is a fact that there are few alternatives. I give the book a qualified recommendation. Read it slowly and carefully, mastering acronyms as you go, to maximize its value.
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