Firstly, I've just attended the Asterisk bootcamp in London (run by Telappliant). The trainer (Shahid) was first rate and top notch. The equipment did have a few minor problems - but these were cured almost immediately.

Anyway - just to re-iterate - the bootcamp does NOT train you for the dCAP exam(s). The bootcamp is not a dCAP course - it is an 'introduction to Asterisk' type course. It has prerequisites (like most courses) - the main one being a working knowledge of Linux (CentOS was the particular one used on this course). If you don't know a fair bit about Linux - then don't attend the bootcamp until you do.

As for the dCAP itself - it IS a hard to pass exam (on purpose). As Rod said - it is not a paper certificate that means you know how to read a book (or use Google) - it has a lot of credibility and respect in the VoIP community because of this.

Oh - and just for the record - I passed :D.

Firstly, I've just attended the Asterisk bootcamp in London (run by Telappliant). The trainer (Shahid) was first rate and top notch. The equipment did have a few minor problems - but these were cured almost immediately.

Anyway - just to re-iterate - the bootcamp does NOT train you for the dCAP exam(s). The bootcamp is not a dCAP course - it is an 'introduction to Asterisk' type course. It has prerequisites (like most courses) - the main one being a working knowledge of Linux (CentOS was the particular one used on this course). If you don't know a fair bit about Linux - then don't attend the bootcamp until you do.

As for the dCAP itself - it IS a hard to pass exam (on purpose). As Rod said - it is not a paper certificate that means you know how to read a book (or use Google) - it has a lot of credibility and respect in the VoIP community because of this.

Oh - and just for the record - I passed :D.

David,

I cannot comment on your particular experience with the Asterisk Bootcamp in London, but I've just completed the first four days of Bootcamp in South Africa, and my experience is exactly the opposite of yours. I'm sure the rest of our class will concur. The course does draw heavily from the O'Reilly book (or perhaps the material was developed collaboratively), but it covers the extent of Asterisk 1.4 in as much detail as 5 days of training will allow. The pace is well suited to persons with Asterisk experience, but a competent n00b should be okay. The same can't be said for the dCAP exam, though. That's what I'm told.

Our lab was *extremely* well prepared and the equipment was top grade. We are in the business of preparing labs exactly like these, so I speak with some authority on this. Our trainer (David Duffett - Google him, if you want) was one of the best I've experienced. Flakey Polycoms? If so, it's because of something you did.

In summary, your assessment of the Asterisk Bootcamp is unfair, IMO. For me, it was high quality, intensive training, and well worth the price. I'm about to take the dCAP (after the last day of Bootcamp), so I can't comment on that, but don't say you weren't warned that the Bootcamp is insufficient preparation for the dCAP. It's written prominently on Digium's website that the Bootcamp does not guarantee a dCAP pass.

So there.
Deon

You can check with bs-pbx (www.bs-pbx.com). they have dCAP engineers and they will give you some advise and the opinion of current DCAPs.

Hello all.

I am taking the DCAP exam in the next couple of weeks, in Dubai. I would like to have some advise and the opinion of current DCAPs on how to approach the exam (Written and Lab).

Thanks

David,

I appreciate the feedback on your experience at the Asterisk Bootcamp in London. This course was offered through an Authorized Training Partner of Digium. Today, all authorized courses outside the US are provided through Digium partners. Of course, we strive to maintain the same level of quality through partner courses that we have in US-based Digium courses.

Some of your comment seems to be directed at the Asterisk Bootcamp, and some at the dCAP exam/certification. I'm stumped at the comment that the Asterisk Bootcamp includes scant information on Asterisk and configuration — the course outline is posted: http://www.digium.com/en/training/courses/bootcamp.php and describes the modules presented in the course. The Polycom SoundPoint handsets used in the class have been solid performers for hundreds of students; I welcome any detailed comments as we work closely with Polycom, a Digium Premier Partner. We present Polycom and Lumenvox as part of the standard Asterisk Bootcamp; the course is not exclusive to Digium products and is technology-focused, not a week-long sales presentation.

The dCAP exam includes a written qualification exam and a practical portion. The idea of the practical portion is to configure Asterisk as directed, so success does require familiarity with Linux. The exam does have a rather low pass rate, but the certification carries credibility because it is not simply a "paper cert."

I would appreciate any other comments you have to offer, feel free to call Digium and ask for me.

All the best,
rm
--
Rod Montgomery
Director of Services, Digium, Inc.

This is only my opinion...

Become an Asterisk Guru, it said.

I attended this course in London last week and was not impressed. The course didn't seem to be prepared by a professional course compiler. None of the trainers, nice as they were, appeared to be gurus themselves. The provided computers had many problems that prevented Asterisk and Zaptel from being readily installed. The provided SIP phone (Polycom 320) was flakey to say the least. The course gave very scant information on Asterisk itself and configuring it in the real world. The labs started off just being a test of accurate typing - instructions were just 'type something in' without knowing what it did.

There was no real information of echo cancellation and noise on TDM cards, dealing with NAT or firewalls or any talk of any other hardware but Digium's.

As for the dcap exam... It was multiple choice and practical with a pass mark of 75%. At least 25% of the multiple choice questions were on topics not even mentioned on the course. The practical part was appalling. I was given a machine not configured properly so spent 1/2 the exam trying to find out how to undo what another class member had done or not done in Linux.

I haven't officially heard, but I am guessing I failed miserably.

Save your money, take a week off work, take your laptop and a good Asterisk book off to the Bahamas and spend less money.